MH or T-5?

[DCG1286]

Hey MR,

I have been doing a bit of thinking lately on possibly switching over my Coralife 2x250W MH+2x96W PC (I HATE THE PCS!!!!!!!!) to an 8-10bulb T-5 fixture ... I know this question has been asked many many times ... so just bear with me. lol.

I like the ability to change up the colors with all the bulb choices the T-5's have ... but I am concerned that I may have to throw all my SPS that sit towards the bottom of the tank back to the top ... although I have read many accounts of people being able to keep them on the sandbed with their T-5's.

Or my next option ... keep the halides but purchase large MH Pendants (Lumenarc, Icecap ... etc.etc.) ... because I am not thrilled with the size of the current reflectors. Then add a pair of T-5's for actinic supplement.

The tank is a standard 120G ... 48x24x24".

Any thoughts and suggestons would be GREATLY appreciated!

***Or you can simply say my idea is stupid and that'll be that.

 

[jerl77]

mh and old school vhos

 

[topmav1]

How about a retro kit for the t-5's and you keep the halides too?

 

[ecchybridLE]

i look this debate. i think halide is cheaper in the long run as far as bulb cost goes. switching over may cause stress to your corals , but if you can bear it t5 has great color options. i think i would stay with halide.

 

[beerfish]

I always end up going back to MH. There's just something about them. With supplementation and the right bulb combo, you can get whatever color you want.

 

[NYreefNoob]

t5's :Up_to_som and mh isnt less with bulb pending how many mh bulbs you use, cot me 160 every 16 months to replace 8 t5 bulbs

 

[bmarkus]

Well I bought MH which I spent a lot of money on and then I bought a chiller and 3 months later and about a 40% increase in electric bill I started doing research LED, PC, T5. I don't want to give you the long version but what I finally did was I purchased Tek lights and used DD-Giesmann bulbs which I went 60% Actinic Plus and 40% Aquablue + this gave me the look of about 14K. I have very good growth and very nice color LPS and SPS. I am also running Ozone. When I started my ozone I need to move all corals down 3-4" as some started bleaching out. I run my lights about 10+ hours per day and my electric bill is down to "normal" last summer I even did not see the chiller turn on. The bulbs are not cheep and I do replace them every 8 months. I am starting a new 300G tank in about 3 weeks and I looked into LED's again however my concern with LED's is $ and how long will they really perform at top level. Keep in mind LED's will degrade 14% in the first year 8% in the second and 3-4% every year there after. I am going back to what works for me and save my pennies for the bulbs. I can buy a lot of bulbs for the $5K I am saving by not buying LED's LOL.

Best of luck and do a lot of reading before spend the money.

 

[jackson6745]

David, after running halides on my tank for the last 7 years I can honestly tell you would will not lose anything from quality T5's other than wattage. Unless I did a ridiculously large reef I would run T5's. Not jut any T5's though. Either an Ice Cap retrofit or an ATI fixture. Even on this stupid nano I run I am able to get growth and colors that rival much larger reefs.

Closetreefgeek (Thane) came over my place with a par meter. The numbers that I was getting under my ATI fixture was just as intense as a 250w halide. Only difference is the T5's give much better coverage and illuminate every part of the coral. Consequently the growth is full and bushy instead of a vertical growth towards the point source of light (halide)

 

[JARRETT SHARK]

mh with t5's or vho's

 

[john90009]

Jackson although the t-5 have better color it is all up to the coral where it wants to grow from- i have a microladus that will not grow out the front towards the light only out the back- away from the light even when clipping the tips they bend under a rock. I think it is up to the coral to grow- also under t-5 my corals grow super thi when it comes off the base then plumps up cause the fish to break every new piece- im going to switch to halides and see if this continues. Dave i think we know what my idea plans would be : /

 

[NYreefNoob]

been keeping corals under t5's for almost 5 yr's, tried mh and wasnt impressed, honei have kept all types of sps from basic digi to pm and had good growth and color, i dont think the lighting plays as much in the growth as people tend to want to believe, water quality and keeping a steady balance does. flow will cause the corals to grow certain was and directions as much as light causes them to grow towards the light, i keep clams on the sand under my t5's with no problems and have sps on lower end of tank with no problems, rich i wish i could afford the ati t5. one day maybe, but my 8 bulb teks does the job, biggest thing with t5's is getting good bulbs, reflectors. the current t5 fixtures are junk imo

 

[jackson6745]

Well I would agree that Tek fixtures are good too Rick ...but since David is spending the money and not me I want to pimp his tank a little....LOL. I also agree that water quality will be the deciding factor because you can grow SPS under any lighting IME.

 

[NYreefNoob]

waiting to see what the new tek fixtures look like, and trust me if $ wasnt an issue id have gone ati

 

[jackson6745]

What are they changing with the new Tek fixtures?

 

[PolandSpring]

8 bulb ATI powermodule and you can keep your sps anywhere and the color is amazing, no heat, no noise, sleek, and easy
or 10 bulb tek t5 fixture

 

[ECFENCING]

What are they changing with the new Tek fixtures?

Rich: They are adding fans and a shield..supposedly better reflectors

Not sure what other changes other than some different colors on the fixture itself...It looks pretty much the same...

See link below
http://blog.aquanerd.com/2009/12/new-tek-light-elite-from-sunlight-supply.html

Dave: As far as MH v. T5's I am going to give MH's a try....but I think keeping water quality stable is much more important than light selection. I do like the ability to swap out a few bulbs and completely change the look though...with T5's. It's tougher to get it right with Metal Halide bulb selection

 

[ClosetFishGeek]

David, after running halides on my tank for the last 7 years I can honestly tell you would will not lose anything from quality T5's other than wattage. Unless I did a ridiculously large reef I would run T5's. Not jut any T5's though. Either an Ice Cap retrofit or an ATI fixture. Even on this stupid nano I run I am able to get growth and colors that rival much larger reefs.

Closetreefgeek (Thane) came over my place with a par meter. The numbers that I was getting under my ATI fixture was just as intense as a 250w halide. Only difference is the T5's give much better coverage and illuminate every part of the coral. Consequently the growth is full and bushy instead of a vertical growth towards the point source of light (halide)

So true...And his tank does look quite amazing....:division:
With that being said....led is here. They do and will work as long as you get the right setup for your application. I just went to a LIRA meeting to see the New Acan L.E.D lighting(the US version of the Kr series....Sanjay reviewed it) and all I can say is that this fixture has quite a bit going for it. I am not going to get into specifics about the product.....I'll leave that to the Pro's (Sanjay,wingo, james...to name a few) The most important is the follwing...this is the first fixture with a loaner program and a 2 year warranty on everything other than dipping your fixture into the tank. This is critical being that almost all the led fixture companies are over seas and have massive waits and turnaround times for replacement parts(if they even stand behind the product). This company will mail you a loaner unit as soon as you ship out your fixture(and they are located in commack, NY...with inventory). I have been very skeptical about purchasing LED's not becouse of the price but becouse there is no way to effectively warranty it and repair it quickly when it does malfuncton and trust me they all will.....Just my 2 cents. Oh by the way I have no affiliation with this product....lol

Thane

 

[DCG1286]

Well I would agree that Tek fixtures are good too Rick ...but since David is spending the money and not me I want to pimp his tank a little....LOL. I also agree that water quality will be the deciding factor because you can grow SPS under any lighting IME.

LoL ... Thanks Rich ... I will be sure to have my wallet thank you! Of course water quality plays a big role, far bigger then the lighting ... maybe I am just totally old fashioned ... not saying there is anything wrong with that by any means ... just looking to try a different route this time around. It's amazing to see what people like you and a number of others can do with those T-5's ... so I want to give it a try.

Rich: They are adding fans and a shield..supposedly better reflectors

See link below
http://blog.aquanerd.com/2009/12/new-tek-light-elite-from-sunlight-supply.html

Dave: As far as MH v. T5's I am going to give MH's a try....but I think keeping water quality stable is much more important than light selection. I do like the ability to swap out a few bulbs and completely change the look though...with T5's. It's tougher to get it right with Metal Halide bulb selection

That is VERY appealing to me ... it's ridiculous what a few different color temps in the t-5 fixture can do for you.

The Tek Elites look pretty much the same ... like you said ... they added fans to the unit. I am sure there is some other small things ... but that's the biggest change.

 

[DCG1286]

So true...And his tank does look quite amazing....:division:
With that being said....led is here. They do and will work as long as you get the right setup for your application. I just went to a LIRA meeting to see the New Acan L.E.D lighting(the US version of the Kr series....Sanjay reviewed it) and all I can say is that this fixture has quite a bit going for it. I am not going to get into specifics about the product.....I'll leave that to the Pro's (Sanjay,wingo, james...to name a few) The most important is the follwing...this is the first fixture with a loaner program and a 2 year warranty on everything other than dipping your fixture into the tank. This is critical being that almost all the led fixture companies are over seas and have massive waits and turnaround times for replacement parts(if they even stand behind the product). This company will mail you a loaner unit as soon as you ship out your fixture(and they are located in commack, NY...with inventory). I have been very skeptical about purchasing LED's not becouse of the price but becouse there is no way to effectively warranty it and repair it quickly when it does malfuncton and trust me they all will.....Just my 2 cents. Oh by the way I have no affiliation with this product....lol

Thane

Hey Thane,
That's awesome. I have yet to see LED's over a hobbyists tank in person, only in the store which doesn't mean jack ... I am VERY curious though ... and there seems to be some heated battles on this site over which LED's to use as well ... making it more interesting to get involved with them.

 

[rickytsui]

dav u can come over to my place i have wingo led over my 30g cube if u wanna take a look in person is just another option for you to go with