T5 or MH

[wegotcrabs]

I have a 90 gallon mixed reef- the tank is 27 inch deep. I am currently running 4x96 pc but i want to upgrade my lighting. I have heard that even though t5 use less watts they produce more light. Or is MH a better lighting option. I am concerned that MH might get to hot- What is the better lighting option?

[DesertBandits]

put 6 t5s on that tank and you can grow anything you want. overdrive them, and you could even put croceas on your sandbed, though the light produced would be excessive & unnecessary.

[o.c.d.]

You have good reason for concern.First is your lighting going to be inclosed in canope?What is the max temp that your tank runs at in hot summer days? I ran halides for 6years then switched to T5 and every corner of the tank is lighted.My corals no longer reach for the lights,with T5 the light dispersal is awsome.I'm very happy no corals lost in switch beautiful colors and lots of bulb options.

[wegotcrabs]

yes the light will be in a canopy and i dont have any more room in my stand for a chiller. If I went with T5 which one is considered the best.

[jennmac415]

T5s all the way!!!! look at all the T5 threads on here and you will see some spectacular tanks growing anything they want.

[o.c.d.]

Best as in company?I like my Aquactinics,they have a built in fan and 3 switch system so on timers I can simulate dusk to dawn. If no on is going to see them though you can spend less money.Geisman are nice but expensive sunlight supply have retrofit you put together and are 1/3 the price. If you do get T5 try to find the new Fiji purple bulb and run acouple in the system they look awsome.I run 14 3' bulbs and 6 of the 14 are now Fiji and like I said awsome.

[barjam]

I ran T5 for a year and a half and ended up hating them. They were capable but aesthetically speaking I never got a look I liked and the lack of shimmer was just too much for me. I find T5 tanks to be sterile. I have never seen a PC tank (or VHO for that matter) to make comparisons.

You may find some SPS won't color up under 6x54 (it will grow though) but it doesn't sound like you are a SPS fanatic so it doesn't matter. Most SPS does just fine though. You may want to keep SPS high on the rocks since your tank is deep.

As far as heat goes 4x54 in a fixture ran hotter on my in wall tank than 2x54 + 2x250 (diy wood fixture that is more open). Go figure.

[o.c.d.]

Barjam what combination of bulbs were you using? My tank is the same depth and I don't grow acro but montiporia grows on my substrate and seratopora and echinophelila all have to be propigated frequently.Not all bulbs are created equal

[wegotcrabs]

I saw these on ebay- are they any good?

[wegotcrabs]

I saw these on ebay- are they any good? http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=110208811271

[barjam]

Barjam what combination of bulbs were you using? My tank is the same depth and I don't grow acro but montiporia grows on my substrate and seratopora and echinophelila all have to be propigated frequently.Not all bulbs are created equal

Different variations of UVL/ATI/GE. Never tried the Geismans or the Kxxxxxx (forget the name). I have a close relation to Seratopora (pink birds nest) and it had good color, so far the MH hasn't changed it one way or the other. The montis growing on the substrate doesn't surprise me, mine would have too. Do you happen to have purple digi? I tried three different types and never could get it to color up under (normal output) T5. All my corals are showing better colors with the MH now but it really isn't a fair comparison as I have a ton more wattage now. I suspect I would have had similar results if I would have overdriven my T5 bulbs.

[crossi92]

I would just a buy an Icecap T5 retro kit. Couldn't be happier with mine.

[jennmac415]

I am very happy with my Constellation from Aquactinics also.

[wegotcrabs]

what about t5 MH combo? Is that the best of both worlds or just a waste of money?

[barjam]

wegotcrabs thats what I have and love it.

[o.c.d.]

What I've read about the combo systems is that the two types of bulbs run at different ambient temps,the halides running hotter heats up the other bulbs and prematurely wears them.The manufacturers may have corrected any of the problems with that buy isolating the bulbs better. But like I said thats what I read about the combo,I've never tested

[barjam]

It is only the ends of the T5s that matter... seems like it would be easy for them to make the fixtures correctly cool the T5s.... guess not. My fixture is open (diy pendant, in wall tank) so cooling is not an issue for me.

[gabe3d]

I just switched from MH+T5 to all T5 recently and overall tank appearance is better. Certain colors are a lot better under T5s but other are better under MH. From my experience one color that is hard to bring out under T5 is the blue from the corals, which is one color i like a lot. Most other colors will look good under T5, if you have zoas and lots of euphilias then T5 will make them look better.

Heat wise i think T5 will heat your tank up just as much as MH. But it is much easier to ventilate T5s then it is to ventilate MH, because of their long profile.

[austinvanover]

May be a dumb question but what are you referring to regarding over driving your T5s? Also I am getting ready to replace my current T5 bulbs I am look for specific detailed information on which bulbs would be best?

[returnofsid]

To answer your question about which T5s to go with...the most important consideration is to make sure that each bulb has an individual reflector. Sunlight Supply's Tek 5 are by far superior to the rest IMO.
Check out this link.
http://www.reefgeek.com/

[Randy1]

Their is really nothing that compares to MH as for look, you can grow anything with either one.

[austinvanover]

I already have the sunlight supply T5, I am just replacing my bulbs and looking for recommendations on what bulbs to use.

[o.c.d.]

How many bulbs to replace?

[erikages]

I run a combo T5 and MH unit from Coralife (48") in a very restricted canopy for a 90 gal tank built into the living room cabinetry. I admit I have an adjacent fish room with a sump and chiller to maintain roughly 77degrees. That said, I didn't like the heat build up, and further, my canopy is only 3 inches from the glass covers over the tank! (don't have a choice because of the cabinetry).

I solved this problem, stabilized temperature and saved chiller-gobbling energy by buying a string of good computer fans and glued them to the wall behind the main tank, where they blow air across and under the lighting hood and into the living room (very welcome in the winter).

Good fans can be purchased at an electronics specialty store. They're expensive, but their bearings and 100% metal construction make them virtually silent and efficient. They cost about $50 each, but unless you want a noisy room, the cost isn't negotiable.

After installing the fans, the heat issue vanished. In fact, I can place my hands between the lighting hood and on the tank's glass cover and the glass is cool. I keep these on a simple outdoor digital timer from NOMA and run them during daylight hours.

All of this to say that MHs give the most natural sunlight shimmer. For those of us lucky enough to be inspired by scuba diving and snorkelling in living coral reefs, recogonizing sunlight shimmer is part of the joy of reefkeeping. Florescents are integral complements to a healthy spectrum of lighting, but just don't add "life" to the tank.

Good luck with your decision, and remember that you can jury rig combined systems to work within the limitations of your aquarium hood (a glue gun is a good thing, as Martha Stewart used to say).

Another point: if you're running a sump or refugium under your aquarium, try mounting a fan to blow on the surface of any open water available. Evaporation will increase, but so will cooling -- dramatically. Combined with inexpensive digital timers, you can stablize temperature swings in your aquarium system without the horrible costs of runnning chillers.

Good luck, and happy new year!

[austinvanover]

o.c.d I am replacing 6 bulbs, I have the 6 54watt 48" system from sunlight supply