Are you switching to T5

[Snappy]

Lando,
here's a couple of links on the T5 vs MH debate that also touch on some other interesting aspects of the coral colour equation.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...readid=1252186
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...5&pagenumber=1
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...5&pagenumber=1

[Doug]

Although a successful aquarists for a long time, sps have never been good to me, so my relating to their progress may be somewhat tainted.

I wonder if all the encrusting and lack of vertical growth, has something to do with less intense lights or is this just the natural progression.

I,m happy with the T-5,s over my 4ft. tank and as mentioned may add another set. Also as I mentioned before, if I went back larger, like a 6ft. I would go back to halides, likely a pair of 400,s or a single 400 over a 180 cube or something. I still own my 45g cube and if I went back to it for some reason, I would also run a single halide there, likely a 175w Iwasaki 14K or Ushio 10K.

Likely all my sps would then crap out or something though.

[danny zubot]

Although I've seen a clear improvement in my corals by adding T5 actinics, I will not switch completely. I understand there are some really successful tanks out there that run soley on T5's, but I can't give up MH because of the shimmer they give in the water.

[kwirky]

*sigh* here we go again on the T5 vs. MH

You should have a poll option of "I've had both and think they're both good"

I'd say if you already have MH don't switch, not worth it. If you want to replace your PC or VHO bulbs, whether they're your sole lights or for supplementation, then they're great. Time it though for when you have to replace all your PC bulbs to squeeze a little extra $$ out of your investment. If you're upgrading from PC or VHO though I think T5 and MH are bringing different things to the game. It's like a football team and a hockey team meeting up to play some basketball lol.

MH's are great when lighting SQUARE areas. the latest reflectors are great and make MH's the most efficient I believe when lighting a tank that can be divided up into square areas (ie: 4'x2' = 2 lights. 6'x3' = 2 lights on good reflector)

T5's are great for awkward tanks. For instance a tank 6'x1' would be better off using four 6' long T5 bulbs than 3 MH's.

T5's are much better at reaching all the areas of your tanks. MH's are point sources so you can only really put corals where the rock isn't causing shadows. It's pretty hard to find shadow areas in a tank lit strictly with T5's. This can be a disadvantage too though depending on your rockwork if you have the need to put something in "low light" areas.

efficiency per watt is not important with our current energy prices (here in calgary anyways) because the bulbs need to be changed more often.

MH's can reach deeper. T5's are still flourescent so their efficiency drops past 24" of water or so.

When people say T5's produce "less heat" from my own experience it's not quite true. T5's produce a LOT of light and I found in my tank the light would be converted to heat when it hits the rocks. I had a LOT of heat in my 120g tank lit only with T5's.

Oh and I bleached a lot of coral with T5's. Nothing could be kept in the top 8" of the 24" tall tank without it bleaching. MH's on the other hand, you have the top "corners" of the tank where the coral's still like 16" away from the light bulb making it easier to have corals at the top extremities of the tank.

Sorry it's a long "shpeel" but I think the argument of "t5's vs mh" should be taken neutrally, since they bring different things to the table. And I do NOT believe T5's are a fad, I think they're here to stay, only they won't be "replacing" mh lighting.

I've kept softies and lps in a 120g (48x24x24) tank lit with 8 T5 bulbs (teklight unit). Now I have an sps nano lit with a 14k 150W HQI and PC actinics (that's being upgraded though cuz it's a 2' fixture over a 3' tank). My dream tank is 36x36x24 lit with a single 400W 14k aquatinic mogul MH on a lumenarc reflector. Very efficient watts/gallon I think. One day I'll have a big tank again. One day...

[albert_dao]

:P

T5 works.

Korallen Zucht in Germany uses exclusively T5's.

http://www.zeovit.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11269

Let's get a couple things into perspective here:

1. Both sources of light are viable for SPS tanks.
2. T5 is VERY functional and NOT inferior to MH when it comes to coloring and growth of SPS species.
3. All tanks are different, as are the inhabitants of those tanks. One person might experience a brownout when switching to T5, another might experience an increase in colors:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...5&pagenumber=1

http://www.zeovit.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9125 - Check out JWRE's post.

You CANNOT go wrong with either if you plan well from the start. Switching is a game of 50/50.

Edit: Also keep in mind the different types and combinations of bulbs available to each medium. There ARE garbage bulbs and combinations. Don't kid yourself.

[Jason McK]

Cool thanks Albert for the links. I'll have to book mark them

J

[StirCrazy]

I am trying them on my fresh water planted tank, I'll let you know what I think when I have had them more than a week

Steve

[Samw]

That's interesting. I wonder if I will see any benefits of T5 in my 3'x1' tank. Currently, I have 2x150W HQI for a total of 300W of MH. If I go with T5, I can fit a max of 6 lights x 39W for a total of 234W of T5. I would love to find out which is a better setup between these two.

[danny zubot]

That's interesting. I wonder if I will see any benefits of T5 in my 3'x1' tank. Currently, I have 2x150W HQI for a total of 300W of MH. If I go with T5, I can fit a max of 6 lights x 39W for a total of 234W of T5. I would love to find out which is a better setup between these two.
__________________

So many people mis-associate quantity and quality. With the correct bulb configuration you might find that 234 watts of T5 will be better than the 300 watts you currently have. I have 1x 12K 400 watt MH over my tank but didn't really get decent color in my corals until I added 2x 39 watt actinics. They are the true actinics too, not the cheep blue colored ones.

My next tank (36x36x20") will have the same MH but I will add 2 more of the same actinics. I'm convinced that T5's are a very viable light souce, the only down fall is that they don't shimmer.

[Samw]

I'm not saying that it is or isn't better because of quantity. I'm just hoping to come across some more data on it so that I can make an informed decision before I decide to switch or not.