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Metal Halide vs. T5 lighting

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PrettyBoy

I have seen some people on other boards discussing their luck with t5 bulbs such as the new current nova extreme pro lighting system, some still battle you need a halide such as the current outer orbit lights. Being a newbie the biggest difference I see is cost, the halide lights are about double the cost of a very good t5 lighting system. just wanted to get some input from everyone on this before I order my lighting. As for corals again being a newbie I probably plan on staying with softies but then again with my growing knowledge im sure that will change
 
Hawkeye

Hawkeye

same situation you're in...I'm leaning towards MH right now because I've always liked the shimmer effect and I *think* the tank will not need a chiller given the ambient temp in the house.
 
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sinkingbeach

I've never used T-5s however did run vho's and was successful with sps corals in a 75g, I think provided your tank isn't deeper than 20in. you'll be ok with less than halides. I should point out that I did switch to halides and did get better growth with them. ;)
 
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PrettyBoy

temperature is deffinatly key, the tank is in my room, but it normally stays pretty cool in there, but since it is my room I want to stay away from a chiller as much as I can due to them making a lot of noise
 
J

jscReed

I have run a few combinations on various tanks. I have used a 6 lamp 48" Tek Light on a 75 gallon...without fans I did get some heat under the canopy because of the ballasts more so than the bulbs. I added some fans and everything was cool (IMO should have fans to begin with). On my 150 I run 2 250w halides and actininc supp which was VHO's but recently have been converted to T5. I get more heat off the halides for sure but I also had to mount them pretty close to the water. I run some fans so it does help push out the heat and add some evaporation. I changed the VHO's recently to T5's because i had extra TEK2 reflectors and I could arrange smaller bulbs to fit my layout a little better. The T5's worked out better for me, but being overdriven on an icecap 660 the bulbs put off some heat so fans would be necessary. The reason I went halides on the bigger tank was for the 'shimmer' effect only because the T5's seemed bright enough for my needs before. Just my experiences, hope it helps.
 
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PrettyBoy

jscReed said:
I have run a few combinations on various tanks. I have used a 6 lamp 48" Tek Light on a 75 gallon...without fans I did get some heat under the canopy because of the ballasts more so than the bulbs. I added some fans and everything was cool (IMO should have fans to begin with). On my 150 I run 2 250w halides and actininc supp which was VHO's but recently have been converted to T5. I get more heat off the halides for sure but I also had to mount them pretty close to the water. I run some fans so it does help push out the heat and add some evaporation. I changed the VHO's recently to T5's because i had extra TEK2 reflectors and I could arrange smaller bulbs to fit my layout a little better. The T5's worked out better for me, but being overdriven on an icecap 660 the bulbs put off some heat so fans would be necessary. The reason I went halides on the bigger tank was for the 'shimmer' effect only because the T5's seemed bright enough for my needs before. Just my experiences, hope it helps.
Click to expand...
deffinately helps, i hear a lot about the skimmer effect halides give us, some complain some like it, what actually is it
 
MikeNapoli

MikeNapoli

Its a reflection from the light off the water that shimmers in the tank. The light sorta moves with the ripples on the top of the water. I like it.

I have MH/T5combo on my Reef and i'm gonna do T5s on my Frag tank. MHs are definitely stronger and put out more par.
Depending on what kind of corals you'll be keeping you should go with MH or T5. LPS/Softies -- T5. SPS -- MH.

Hope that helps.
 
reefsandrotts

reefsandrotts

NJRC Member
Over the past 25 years I've done MH,VHO and now I have T-5's,out of the 3 I prefer the T-5.I have a 8x54 on my 120 and everything looks good.There is pics. of some of my corals in the tale of the tank forum with the T-5 and if you look in the for sale for my post rr150 for sale you will see VHO.I did like the shimmer from MH and the crispness of VHO but things just seem to look alot nicer under the T-5, in my tank anyway.
 
dnov99

dnov99

FRAG SWAP VENDOR
PrettyBoy said:
Say I went with the Current Outer Orbit setup, does it matter if I got 150 watt T5s or 250?
Click to expand...

I would definitely go with the 250W setup. I originally bought the outer orbit with the 150W, regretted it and later purchased the 250W setup. Especially if you are looking to do SPS like I was, you should go with the 250W fixture.
 
reefsandrotts

reefsandrotts

NJRC Member
As I stated above my set up is a 8x54 on a 120 48x24x24 made by catalina aquarium in california.
Theres alot of mixed feelings about this company but all the fixtures I've bought have been great,where else are you going to get a 8x54 with bulbs,top mounted fan and a 5 year warrenty for $300.00?They are sold on ebay under track_gps
 
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Subliminal

NJRC Member
I went halide for shimmer and for the cost effictiveness. I have a relatively small tank (29g) and my 175w setup cost me under $100. Of course, I built the hood myself...
 
JRWOHLER

JRWOHLER

What about the Nader of lighting LED? I sort of am leaning towards T5 because of cost both in initial outlay and in energy. Conservation to me is important but that makes the LED idea attractive. Anyone know of LED and T5 combo's out there? That would be extremely interesting IMO.
 
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PrettyBoy

what would be required to make a 150 into a 250? I found a used one on ebay close to me, but it probably needs new bulbs. The guy said make him an offer, so can someone PM me what they would offer him>?
 
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PrettyBoy

its a 3x150 outer orbit setup, does anyone know what is required to make it a 250watt? is it just changing bulbs or a lot more complicated?
 
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