need to decide

[Franko]

ok thanks for the help in advance you guys are great...
I was planning on a hqi set up (w/mh) for my tank.. but have recently come across a deal froma friend that can save me money...
brand new T5 set up it has 8 39w T5 ho's: 4 actinic and 4 10k daylight plus it has blue led's

Will this be sufficiant for most corals? if so I can save about $600 and buy it over the HQI with the halides in it.....

thanks

[Hop]

What tank and how deep? Does the fixture have individual reflectors (this is really important with t5s).

But probably it will be quite adequate. You will also be able to play with the bulb choices to get a nice color.

[aquawolf]

With the 39 watt bulbs I believe you are talking about a 36 inch long fixture.
That light should do very well over any 36" long tank and save you a bunch of money as you stated.

If that is not the case then let us know the size of the fixture and your tank so we can give you better answers as Hop stated.

[Franko]

they are 48" my tank is 58" I dont plan on having anything on the very outer ends of the tank so the length suits me fine if it is enough power then i am buying them... my system is stable and has been running with nothing but LR for a long time...I need to put life into it ive been waiting on light too long

[Loverotties]

58" I think that's the lenth?How deep-(top to bottom)?

[crvz]

I'm not sure you've got the dimensions correct (or the wattage). 39W T5 bulbs are only 36" long. 54W bulbs are 48" long. So while I'm inclined to say that T5 bulbs are good enough for keeping anything in the tank (I've got eight 48" T5 bulbs over my 60" long tank), if that setup is only 39W bulbs I don't think it's a good match for your tank.

[Franko]

"39W T5 bulbs are only 36" long. 54W bulbs are 48" long."

Thats right 54W is correct I was looking at the manufacturer web site and
stated the Wt's incorrectly sorry...

My tank is just shy of 60" long and is about 20" of water depth so it seems the 48" lighting will work

[crvz]

I've had pretty good success with 48" bulbs over a 60" tank, so if it's that much of a cost savings I'd recommend it. And my tank is about 4" deeper.

[aquawolf]

Glad to hear you got the size thing figured out and it should definitely save you money. You should be very happy if it is like crvz/s lights.