Best SPS lighting (in your eyes)

[PrettyBoy]

Im thinking about changing up my lighting a bit now that I am getting into SPS. Im kinda partial to metal halides but I see a lot of people are having awesome succes with t5s and of course they are a lot cheaper. Im really looking to get some fast growth and great colors. Let me know some of your experiences

 

[Phyl]

With the added light (and heat) of MH you need to dramatically increase your flow to keep up with the respiration needs of the corals. Failing to do so will have your corals "unable to breath". I think people have success with various lighting scemes and it has more to do with husbandry and maintenance than it necesssarily does with lighting alone.

 

[PrettyBoy]

heat was my biggest concern as my 180 is in my room so I really would like to stay away from a chiller. I keep the room at 70* year long and the tank now stays nice and cool. As for flow personally I would like alittle more but some people feel I have more than enough (4 koralia 4s, snapper return pump and a dart on my CLS spray bar) I have had a few people really trying to push me to t5s lately

 

[Edwardw771]

there are pros and cons for both t5s and MH. I currently run both 8 t5s and a 400 watt mh on my 265. believe it or not the t5s are brighter. But don't have the shimmer. So I'm up in the air about which is better. I agree with Phylis on the flow.

 

[PrettyBoy]

I know if you do MH you loose the shimmer, but I have also heard with bright t5s and a lot of surface water movement you can still get shimmer with t5s. I guess my biggest things are heat, I love the shimmer I have now, but I want to do the all around best

 

[pnoyreefer]

You have seen my tank .. I like T5's but I like the MH and T5 or MH and VHO if you going to eun sps and looking for easy grow out. For faster grow out , use 6500k . As for Flow u do have a lot as for the heat buy 2 clip on fans and run your lights in the late afternoon u are set ..

 

[saltwater4life]

I get a bit of a shimmer with my t5's if you want you can add a few leds to add more shimmer. With the right bulb choice they can be better then MH. I run 4x54w T5's and they add around 1.5-2 degree's to my tank. (I think) I do run 2 CPU fans across the bulbs. I went T5's because i could get a better color combo. HTH


~Nick

 

[PrettyBoy]

I get a bit of a shimmer with my t5's if you want you can add a few leds to add more shimmer. With the right bulb choice they can be better then MH. I run 4x54w T5's and they add around 1.5-2 degree's to my tank. (I think) I do run 2 CPU fans across the bulbs. I went T5's because i could get a better color combo. HTH


~Nick

what light order are you running right now?

 

[JerseyWendy]

Without having read everyone's responses, I'd like to say (in my VERY limited experience) that there really is no "only one answer is right" answer to your question, as different people have different taste, different experiences, and different results with different lighting.

I have seen magnificent SPS tanks lit by T5s only, just as I have seen magnificent SPS tanks lit by MHs. I do think that most of us agree that T5s "do" reach their limits once the tank's depth is over a certain amount of inches (30" or so???)

---
Wendy

 

[Hawkeye]

yep and SPS if kept towards the higher end of the tank can be kept successfully even with a bank of VHOs. Ralph has a bank of vhos and keeps a tank full of gorgeous btas.