Going on 17yr.s now doing reefs and seen many of my friends. Nothing lights like halides. I run T-5,s over my 75. Nice colour and a decent light, however when I put my 175w halides back on, even with cheaper 14K bulbs, the corals look better.
My friend switched his 180 from halides to multiple T-5,s a year or so ago. The experiment is now over & his 400w halides are back over his tank. His huge leathers & other softies seem to be enjoying the intensity.
I did like vho and agree with Ben,s post on actinic vho bulbs. Good T-5 actinics are pretty close but I still think vho has the edge. Also the above mentioned friend had a previous 120g mixed aquarium before the 180. He lit it with 6-110w vho bulbs. That was one of the nicest looking aquarium I,ve seen. Colours were superb, even with sps.
So I guess I agree with the halide/T-5 combo or halide/vho combo for overall best intensity and colours both the corals & overall tank appearance.
My next best, and better cost wise, would be just halides with a higher colour temp. like the 14K-20K bulbs. And to boot, I like the cheaper bulbs like CV,s or SA bulbs.
__________________
Doug
|