T5 advantages

[Dagrape]

I have been doing some reading (which for me can be dangerous)and now I am confused . The more I read it seems,the more I misunderstand!

From what I can tell and from what I have read, T5 lighting, even thought it has lower wattage, is better quality than VHO, Correct or am I misunderstanding?

And from everthing I can find T5 (retro kits anyway) are cheaper, last longer and produces less heat, Correct or am I misunderstanding yet again?

Sooooo IF I am correct on the above statement (IF being the key),
Why would anyone choose any other type of fluorcent bulb over T5?

There must be some information I am missing somewhere! Or is there?

[Wiskey]

Mostally due to the individual parabolic reflectors (THIS IS KEY!) they put out more light per watt than VHO or PC. They put out less heat then MH, and IF you have enough of them can be used for keeping all kinds of coral.

BUT you run them much closer to the surface of the tank so IME the tank temp doesn't change much between a MH and a T5.

Here's the deal as I see it. If you have something like a 55, that is 4 foot long, T5's are probably your best bet, because it takes 4 to properly cover the 12" wide tank to do SPS/high light clams at the top. This means a 4 bulb retro ($330) and 216W T5 V.S. 500W MH, 2*250W and about the same startup cost. If you have something like a 120, MH is probably your best bet. It would take with T5 8 or 9 bulb retro, (8 or 9 bulbs to replace every year) plus ~$660 start-up and 432-486W, plus there is some doubt if you can use T5 to penatrate well to 24". If you wanted to do this setup with MH you are looking at 2*250W (2 bulbs to replace) and 500W, and about $300 startup cost.

So what's best for you depends on your tank size, and dementions, especially since they don't make 6 foot T5's.

Then of course I always like MH with T5 supps.

HTH,
Whiskey

[Dagrape]

I have a 90gal (48*18*24) I was thinking about going with 8 T5. DIY reef has 4bulb retro kits on for $209. I cant seem to find a MH retro kit on sale. The LFS in my area want quite a bit of $$$ so I am looking at ordering online. Who has good deals on MH retor kits.

[Wiskey]

Do these DIY kits include either the SLS parabolic reflector, or the IceCap Parabolic reflector? If so then it might be a good deal, but remember there are allot of junk T5 retros out there.

Hellolights.com has a retro with a 250W ARO electronic ballast and something very close to the spider reflector for $100, then you can pick up an XM10K MH bulb for $65. 2 of these and you are good to go.

It's what I use, my 50 However uses a SLS 4 bulb T5 Tek retro from Reefgeek.

Whiskey

[Dagrape]

They are the TEK T% retro kit which includes a TEK reflector. I think I will check out hellolights. Thanks for the info.

[Wiskey]

Cool, Tek is good stuff. With the MH you get the glitter lines You might go 2*54 Tek retro, and 2*250 MH, but on a 18" tank personally I just went MH. But then I like the look of 10K mh without supps, some don't.

Whiskey

Whiskey

[90_berlin_joe]

I have a 90gal and I went with the TEK 8bulb and I am very happy with the quality of the product. I have no heat issues like MH has and I have superb growth out of every thing from softies to high light SPS!

T5-HO is the way to go IMHO!

[Wiskey]

One advantage of the T5 is you can mix different color bulbs to get just the look you are shooting for.

Either setup (2*250MH or 8*54W T5 tek) will alow you to keep anything you want though.

Whiskey

[Dagrape]

I like the idea of T5's alot, however I am a bit concerned with the 8 bulb replacement. I guess if I went with the 8 bulb T5, I could always remove 4 in the future and put in the 2*250W MH.
It may be awhile before I am fully set-up for SPS anyway. Right now I have a 25 with Softies and LPS. They will be the first in the 90 so maybe I will get a 4 bulb T5 setup to start and when I am ready to get SPS I can simply insert the 2*250W MH.


4*54W T5's should be plent of light for my LPS and softies providing I elevate them a bit. Now I just have to decide on color.

[Dagrape]

Thanks for all the help. It is much easier to plan a tank when you have a bit of extra info.

[Wiskey]

Glad we could help!

Whiskey

[LiquidLunch]

Try lurking on reefcentral.com too. The search engine rarely works but when it does it yields some good posts. There's a guy over called grimreefer who knows a lot about T5's.

Originally Posted by Dagrape

Thanks for all the help. It is much easier to plan a tank when you have a bit of extra info.

[notatallhappygolucky]

OT: Whiskey, could you supply a link to this? I'm setting up a 125G 6' long tank but whenever I look for a MH setup the price is at least double. I'm not being lazy, I've looked all around but apparently I'm looking in the wrong places...

Originally Posted by Wiskey

If you wanted to do this setup with MH you are looking at 2*250W (2 bulbs to replace) and 500W, and about $300 startup cost.

[Dagrape]

Cool I will have to do that! Do a little reefin espianage. (sp?)

[Wiskey]

Happy, I'll PM you.

Whiskey