T5 Lighting
 

I am thinking of changing the lighting on my 120G
is 24 inches deep, would a 8 x 54W Tek be sufficient ?

What do you want to keep in there? 8 bulbs of T5HO you will be able to keep SPS on the bottom no problems as thats alot of light. Even 6 bulbs would suffice but those 2 extra places are nice for playing with colour.

it will be a mix of everything
some SPS, LPS, softies.

Should be Ok, but personally I wouldn't go less than 8 if your going to have SPS. It will also give you more flexibility with bulb combinations.

t5
 

I would wait for the new tek elites with built in fans and supposedly better reflectors. Reefgeek taking orders now, so should be on the way soon.

explain why

I strongly disagree I had my 120 gal going when i was in Afghanistan, with a 8 bulb tek lighting. i had LPs in there its was ok , my clams had to be at the top. The Sps IME wont really get the kick that they need.

I really see MH having the punch that they have to penatrate the water.

Look at his tank depth, he also would have more lights than you.

120 48x24x24 that is what I used to have and 2 extra 54w tubes isnt going to make is any better

at a 24" depth, you won't have your SPS on the bottom.. well let me refrase that.. they will grow and live but they will rely more of feeding than light for energy. over 20" I recomend MH as well as T5, you can keep them with just the T5 but idealy MH will give you that extra edge.

Steve

I am glad you guys know how to read articals on the internet. I don't go into MH threads and tell people what to do because i have no experience with them.

There are many tanks out there running t5 that are well over 24" plus the OP didn't even say what he was planning on doing with the tank. For SPS here is a great thread to look at for examples:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1083336

If you want to go t5's, go with them and don't let the hard headed die hard MH lovers tell you that they aren't good enough.

hey I like T5's also I have them on 2 of my tanks so I think I have a bit of experiance with them, both fresh water and salt. for fresh I wouln't use anything but, for salt I would do a mix of T5 and MH depending on the depth. if you want to get all out of joint about it then heck you can go with VHO in a 120 and still have SPS, while were at that you could probably do it with NO also, people did it for years.

the simple fact is T5's don't have the intensity that a MH has, yes they light the whole tank up evenly and you can mix bulbs to get pretty colors and make your coral look nice, but for pure punching power you will not get the PAR levels at the bottom of a 24" tank that a nice 250watt MH will give you. adding bulbs doesnt increase the intensity of a T5 system it increases the coverage at the same intensity. Now if the original poster is happy with his tank and T5s are a step up from what he has then ya go for it.. but I have to ask if he is happy with his tank, then why does he want new lights? usaly people want new lights because they are thinking of adding different things than need more light,, in which case both sugestions are valid and the OP should be allowed to make and informed desision with out the T5 holy army comming out and slamming anyone who recomends MH.. right?

Steve

Quite the interesting debate we have here !!
very useful indeed !

what are you plans for the tank.. will help a lot more to know what you are planning?

Steve

Hey i like both lights myself but personally alot of people give out very inaccuate info in t5's. I did a par test 2 years ago comparing a 6 bulb tek system to 250watt MH's and the readings were the same, give or take 20 par from each in different area's on each fixture.

Both are great fixtures and have pro's and con's to each. i think there is a t5vs MH thread every month but in this case the OP strictly asked about T5's. And a 8 bulb TEK will get the job done for sure. If i were to buy another fixture i would jump straight at a sunpower over any sunlight supply product but the new TEk's are interesting.

Well I have run an 8-bulb Tek light on a 48" x 24" x 24" 120 gallon mixed reef for around 5 or 6 years so you may find my experiences helpful as the tank you are planning sounds about the same as mine.

Softies: no problem. Mushrooms don't do well ? too much light or too low nutrients.
LPS: grow excellent
BTA's: grow excellent on the bottom of the tank, got one off Sam 5 years or so ago, now I have around 8 BTA's in 2 tanks, if anyone wants a BTA.
Clams: never tried them, if I had room for a clam I would get a Derasa or if it were a more light-demanding clam I would place it high up.
SPS: Montipora digitata grows like a weed on the bottom of the tank. Montipora confusa grows slowly on the bottom of the tank. Montipora capricornis at the middle of the tank took over 1/2 the tank until I hacked it back severely. One other SPS I tried didn't do well and eventually died, I think that was due to calcium or other issues probably not the lighting.
I have not tried any of the more difficult SPS mostly because I don't have the time to keep on top of frequent monitoring and testing of parameters etc. The tank is on autopilot and doing OK.

In summary if you want a mixed reef the Sunlight Supply 8-bulb T5 Tek-light is a good choice. If you were going to focus more on SPS I would look at a PowerModule.

well my tank has already been established for quite sometime now, i just find MH my colors r dull and growth wasnt too good
and my water quality is pretty good
thought maybe id switch things up

What bulb's/fixture are you running??

lighting might not be the issue

I am with lorenzo here, I don't think you issue is lighting. what size bulbs/type and how many.. might as well be throual. also what are you using for a fixture. oh and are you running any suplemental lighting? (PC, VHO, T5 ect)

also what kind of corals do you have? and which kind do you find dull?

and a list of your peramiters would be good. see if we can help you find a cheep way to get better results :wink:

Steve