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Old 06-17-2009, 06:02 AM
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BlueAbyss BlueAbyss is offline
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Well, that depends... which bulbs specifically? What you really should be looking at (rather than watts per gallon or lumens) is the PAR output of individual bulbs. Also, watts per gallon guidelines don't hold true in tanks 10 gallons or less.

You will likely get better PAR values from the T5HO, simply because of the bulbs available, and specially if each bulb has it's own reflector (and a good reflector at that). Also, from what I understand, power compact fluorescents aren't as efficient at putting light into the tank. I think this is because the T5s are tubular in design and the reflectors can direct the light around the bulb into the tank, rather than having light reflected back at the bulbs (and therefore being lost).

EDIT: I should add something here to help clarify this a bit... in terms of PAR output, LEDs are king but may seem dimmer at similar wattages than other light sources, simply because our eyes are rated in lumens, not PAR. 10 watts of metal halide will seem brighter than 10 watts of LED, but the LED will win out in coral (and plant) growth because the LEDs produce more PAR than the metal halides, and are therefore (to plants and corals) brighter. If that makes any sense
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Planning a 29 gallon mixed reef...

Last edited by BlueAbyss; 06-17-2009 at 06:06 AM.
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