T5 lighting enough for a 90g

[dynamite]

Maybe because you have a tek, I've seen tanks with powermodules and the growth is as great or better than with MH and the colors are just amazing. That's why I'm ditching my MH

Originally Posted by bignose

I'm sure you would definitely see a lot more growth with MH lighting. I have a 6 bulb over my 90G and grow sps just fine. Another thing with T5 is you can choose a bulb mixture to suit your tanks needs.

[intarsiabox]

I do want to keep both SPS and LPS, I hadn't realized that MH may be too much for the LPS even low in the tank. I have a couple of SPS frags I got about a month ago under T5 lights (about 13" under light source) and my digi has already sread to the rock I glued it to with lots of new growth. My milli started to lose its polyps at first but has since revived and has started to grow out as well.

[BlueTang<3]

If your on the fence with t5s feel free to come over. Running a 180 gallon sps tank with a 8x80 watt t5 power module can grow sps on the sand. You just have to commit to changing your bulbs twice a year.

[Myka]

You do have to give up the pretty shimmer if you decide to go with T5s, and if you use different colored bulbs you will be able to see stripes of color running the length of the tank (call me anal, but that drives me bonkers). Meh, T5 shmee 5.

[viperfish]

I just can't tear myself away from Metal Halide. I use a 4 bulb T5 as a supplement so I can tweak the colour and I did own a TEK but I have never had the results that I have had with MH. I know lots of guys have but I guess it's my personal preference. Cost wise with T5 you do have to change out more bulbs more often so it can get expensive.

[Myka]

You also have to spend BIG bucks to get a T5 fixture from a leading brand like Powermodules or Sfiligoi. Tek isn't top notch, it is mid-range, and definitely not comparable to MH.

[intarsiabox]

I have been leaning slightly to MH as I have a cheaper T5 fixture (Current USA 4x24W with stock bulbs) over my 25g nano and while it does the trick my corals just don't "pop". I like the look of the light that MH's produce but I also haven't seen a top notch T5 system in action to compare to. I guess I'll have to PM BlueTang<3 to get the full perspective. I once had a 150w Sunpod over the tank and wasn't real happy on the depth penatration, hence why I'm considering 250w now. My real concern with the MH is heat, as the tank will be on the main floor of my un-airconditioned house. My little tank got warm on hot days but never effected my corals, will the bigger tank volume help with this? A chiller isn't a very good option as I hate to think of how much I'll really have to pay to convince my wife of it.

[Albertan22]

Originally Posted by Myka

You do have to give up the pretty shimmer if you decide to go with T5s, and if you use different colored bulbs you will be able to see stripes of color running the length of the tank (call me anal, but that drives me bonkers). Meh, T5 shmee 5.

Now, now... I've never seen a T5 lit tank in which you can see stripes of colours running through the tank.

I'm a big T5 fan, though I've never had MH on my tank. I've had pretty decent growth on many of my corals even with a middle of the line Tek fixture, and with an 8 bulb fixture find that many areas of my tank are actually too bright for LPS corals. My tank is 24" deep (120g) and I've got a brain on my sandbed that has to be placed in shadow to keep it from shriveling up.

For me the choice revolved around versatility in the colours you can produce in your tank through bulb selection, heat levels, and most importantly in my decision, power consumption. I didn't want to have to run a second circuit just for my tank, and I didn't want my power bill to go through the roof either. My entire tank actually only draws about 850 watts, which is less than some reefers lighting systems I do however envy the shimmer that other people's MH lit tanks have.