T5's

I

Iceburg98

New Member
Does anyone out there have any experience using T5's on their tanks - either as their main lighting, or supplemental. I've been researching and asking around about lights for the 29g i'm going to be setting up, and one person recommended a hood setup with a 250w MH and 2x24w T5's ( http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem. ... uct=AQ1811 )

I've read a little bit about T5's, but most of the answers i've been getting have been conflicting - some people swear by the things and are running nothing but T5's over SPS tanks, while other people don't think they're as good as PCs...

Wanted to just get some feedback from people that are actually running them

Thanks

PS - i'm going to be keeping SPS and clams, and hanging the fixture about 8" off the tank.
 
I

incysor

New Member
They're much better than PCs, but only if each lamp has it's own individual reflector, which tends to push the price up quite a bit. However they lamps remain effective nearly a third longer than PC lamps, so eventually you end up saving money.

You should probably double check the height for your lamp. I believe that PC's and T5s should be closer to the water's surface than that...More like 2-6inches. But I could be misremembering.

B
 
I

Iceburg98

New Member
Well, the fixture i want to use is a combo MH/T5, so i wouldn't want to keep it only 2-6" off the tank i don't think...

Are the T5's actually brighter? or do they just have better PAR?
 
I

incysor

New Member
Yep you can. You'll need to keep a close eye on things as the bulbs near the 10-12 month mark, so that you can change them out when things start to look like they might not be working at full strength anymore. They're supposed to be good for 18months, but I haven't seen any bulbs yet of any type that are 100% effective towards the last fourth of their supposed life expectancy. With MH you are still getting enough to be ok through that period. With VHO, PC, T-5 you should be prepared to change them earlier. As long as you keep that in mind I think that keeping SPS, anemones, and clams under t-5s should be easier than trying to keep them under PCs.

B
 
I

Iceburg98

New Member
in terms of wattage, how many t5's would you need to equal the light output of a 250w MH? It seems like t5's are less expensive, but that all depends on how many bulbs you actually need to run...
 
I

incysor

New Member
It's kinda like comparing apples and oranges. One is not going to equal the other. Par values are going to be different. I'd just go with as much as you can cram in the space you've got as your budget allows.

B
 
I

Iceburg98

New Member
I understand the difficulty in comparrison - it's always that way with lights - i've just heard that roughly 400w of PCs equals 150w of MH (again, roughly, and of course PAR is very different between the 2...)

Just wondering if there was any general comparison - basically, how many watts of T5 should i get?

I found this fixture that looks good - would this work for SPS, clams and anemones in a 29g: http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant ... =Finnex-T5
 
F

Funky_Fish14

New Member
People have sucess keeping SPS/Clams under 2 x 24W 10K and 1 x 24W actinic/blue T5....best to go with 4 x 24W bulbs though. I'd go for 4-6 over your 29g though. Like 3 x 10K(or 11K aquablue from reefgeek) and 2 actinic or blues.

Chris
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top