MH or T5 again

[AprilnWill]

I thought I was done with this and had set to get a nice pair of 250w MH lights for my 75gallon tank. However, someone has said that a 6 bulb T5 setup will be pretty close to a pair of 250s as far as light and par are concerned. After crunching the numbers it doesn't look like there is really much of a cost savings between either as a 6bulb T5 setup is pretty darn close in price to a pair of 250W MHs with reflectors, ballasts, etc.... I can see the advantage of being able to turn different pairs on at different times to create some neat effects but other than that, I'm not seeing much of an advantage for the T5s. I figure heat from 6 T5s with reflectors is gonna be comparable to a pair of MH lights sitting high up in a tall canopy. Any opinions???

 

[mr_X]

i think there will be some heat difference. also, T5's use less electricity to run.
a local store i frequent uses T5's over his tanks and sometimes, the corals look better under his lighting, than my halides.
i do like the "shimmer" effect that halides produce, and T5's don't.
my opinion is that T5's are quite remarkable, but i like good old metal halide lighting.

 

[c-town]

you could just buy a fixture with both,as long as $ isn't a problem.

 

[AprilnWill]

ultimate goal is to have a pair of 250w halide as well as a pair of T5 bulbs. Unfortunately I can't justify all that expense just yet. So its either halides or T5s to begin. It was just brought up that 6 T5s would be comparable to a pair of halides and I wanted some opinions.

 

[Anonymous]

t5's are more expensive long term arent they?

I find a simple 400w radium just that, simple, easy to work with, simple replacement costs

 

[AprilnWill]

okay guess I'll just add to my earlier question- SE or DE. Whats your preference and why. Looks like initial cost for DE is more, does that mean its better in the long term or is it something thats not gonna matter all that much.

 

[mr_X]

you are going to get mixed reviews on that question, but the immediate difference, besides the double ended and single ended bulb styles, is the fact that the single ended bulb is encased in glass, and can be lit over the tank as-is. the double ended bulb requires a piece of glass between the tank and the bulb. something about harmful UV rays needing to be shielded.

 

[ChrisRD]

Personally I think they are all good options (T-5, Mogul halides, DE halides) and for me the choice would mostly have to do with the size/shape of the tank, what I planned to keep in it and whether or not I was concerned about having the halide shimmer.

If we're talking a "standard" 48"X 18"X 21" 75 gallon tank and you like the all-flourescent look, T-5s would be a very energy efficient option. A six lamp system that has good quality individual reflectors and fan cooled lamps should give plenty of light and get good lamp life.

If I went halides I would probably do a pair of DE pendents with a couple of VHO actinic tubes. I've always liked the look of halides w/VHO actinic. Personally, over an 18" wide tank I prefer the compactness of DE setups as the larger Mogul lamps/reflectors make it tougher to fit actinics in the canopy.

JMO & HTH

 

[barjam]

I just upgraded from 4x54 T5 to 2x250 DE with 2x54 supplemental. I went with the DE retro upgrade from Hellolights.com and am very happy with it. If you went with something like a Phoenix bulb you wouldn't need to supplement with anything else.

The Phoenix bulb is many times brighter than my 4x54 T5 were and just adding two more bulbs wouldn't have narrowed the gap much. I think you would have to overdrive to match the output.