Contemplating a switch to T5's

[Canadian]

Originally Posted by lorenz0

lol the other T5 troll comes out. very true what canadian has said. you will not regret a sunpower, best bang for your buck and out performs tek's due to better ballast and better reflectors.

but remember it all comes down to bulb choices when it comes to color in t5's. i lost alot of color with mostly 14k bulbs but gained double the growth.

Ssshhhhh. Be very, very quiet or the MH Gestapo will hear you and "educate" us about how T5's just don't work. Ssshhhhh.

[lorenz0]

Sometimes stirring the pot is fun lol, i like to hear what people have to say

forgot that nothing can replace MH lighting, funny how SPS junkies switch from MH to T5 and just don't want to go back due to color....

[kien]

Funny I have never heard anyone say that t5s "don't work" :-) some of the best tanks I've seen over the past few months run T5s exclusively.

[TheMikey]

I love my T5s on my nano. I get some very nice colour (bulbs are 3 x 22K Aquascience, 1 x 15K Aquascience). My SPS's polyps are growing and always out and my clam is, well, happy as a clam.

Eventually when I'm out of school and can afford a larger setup I will most certainly keep on the T5 wagon.

[impreza]

The T5 will be for my 28G JBJ nano-cube. I have a few SPS and a few clam's, but don't plan to do an SPS dominated tank. I am more so wanting a clam, acan, zoa, type of tank. Would 6 bulbs be overkill for my purposes? Or should I stick with 4 bulbs?

Also, what are the major differences between the Sunpower and the Powermodule? Is the Powermodule worth the price difference?

Thanks,

[Myka]

What type of clam? You may have troubles keeping a Crocea or Maxima in a tank with Zoas and Acans since the latter two are relatively low light corals (or they will bleach out), and Crocea and Maxima are both high light clams. Although a Crocea would be a good choice for your tank since it stays smaller. Both Squamosa and Derasa would be good choices for a 4-bulb T5 fixture, but they both get big. Zoas and Acans would probably get too much light from a 6-bulb fixture imo. When I had a 2x39w T5 fixture on my standard 33g tank my Acans and Blastos wanted to be near the sand, but of course the 39w bulbs are significantly stronger than 24w.

[banditpowdercoat]

Not allways, My Crocea was doing great in my 45g tank with 4 Tek Light. Little more mantle extension now under the MH, but no change in the brillant colors.

[impreza]

Thanks! I think I am going to go with a 4x24w Powermodule. Now I just gotta see who has stock!

Any bulb recommendations? I want a nice crisp blue with good growth

[Boomboy]

ah the " good ol' " debate about MH and T5's

[TheMikey]

From what I've read, the Aquascience 22K have about as good PAR rating (for growth) as you can get from a blue bulb. That's why I've got three