MH supplementation, VHO or T5?

[CAreefer]

Hey there, I'm in the process of assembling my lighting for my 225 gal upgrade and am undecided as to which type of supplementation to use. I will be using 3 250 watt HQI 10k Ushios for the main lighting and probably will need to supplement for aesthetics. I have looked around and the costs seem to be comparable. Is there any performance advantages to the T5 over VHO? I have 440 watts of VHO and 2 250 watt 10k SE on PFO reflectors over my 75 now and really like the look. I could also go with a color temp of metal halide that would not require supplementation, but I have no experience with that and haven't given it much thought yet. Any suggestions?

Thanks
CAReefer

[kgross]

If you want good actinic supplimentation go with the VHO's the URI superactinic R bulbs are the best actinic bulbs on the market.

Kim

[Entropy]

I would just keep the 440 watts of VHO you have now and stagger them in the new canopy. That should still give you great color and the price tag cannot be beat (free since you already own them).

I would go with URI super actinics as Kim mentioned. They are the best I have seen so far.

[moonpod]

It sort of depends on what you want. URI super actinic is the best actinic. The T5 actinic is close but no cigar. The T5 blue+ on the other hand is a cool bulb. Blue color and a black light like effect on all the corals. Really makes the colors stand out. But it's different than the fluorescing effect of an actinic. You gotta see the two to be able to make an educated choice.