lighting

ham · Feb 19, 2009

looking to change out my lighting system running the 48'' solares which is better t5 only or mh with t5 need help

Hawkeye · Feb 20, 2009

i think the answer depends on what tank temps you get in the summer. A MH/T5 fixture (like say a maristar) would increase teh amount of heat in the tank - potentially forcing the purchase of a chiller.

sorry to hear you are moving away from the led's. Any reason why?

onefish2fish · Feb 20, 2009

the depth of the tank and corals you keep can be a factor too. a deeper tank will need the halides to be able to keep stuff on the sand bed. halides with t5 actinics does sound nice but as mentioned they will for sure run hotter then just t5s. a cluster of t5s will give you many color options as you can change colors by switching 1 or 2 bulbs.

calaxa · Feb 20, 2009

Curious why you are changing out from LEDs. I never used them as they are cost prohibitive but I always thought they were considered the "best."

onefish2fish · Feb 20, 2009

i dont know how true this is (maybe i made it up?) but i could have sworn i heard that LEDS are on their way out. im pretty sure a company purchased the patent for LEDs (that is not fish related)
i have heard solaris LED strips fail all the time but i guess that brings an entire new topic.

reefsandrotts · Feb 20, 2009

I run an 8x54 T-5 system on a 24" deep tank and have sps on the bottom with no problems,and no heat issues like I had with the halids.

pnoyreefer · Feb 20, 2009

ham said:
looking to change out my lighting system running the 48'' solares which is better t5 only or mh with t5 need help

You can run both and see good results.. It also depends on your stock list. If you will go SPS dominant then MH will be my pick ( just MY OWN OPINION ) .. I have seen tank with MH and T5 and can grow anything but you have to consider that lighting is only one part of the puzzle....

ham · Feb 20, 2009

the tank is a 90 48'' long 24'' deep. we'll before the solares i was running 2-250mh with 4 -110 vho's and i know how the heat was with that combo.in the tank we have montapora acro. acons and others. i see other people running the t5 and their tanks look great.i am also doing the vodka.as the lighting goes we are just looking to do something diff. never had a problem with the solares.

mgonz · Feb 21, 2009

I have a 75 gallon and I run an 8x54 watt fixture. I have had no problems holding anytype of sps/lps. I keep clams pretty close to the bottom and have no issue doing so. I like the t5 fixture much better. I don't evap as much water and I don't get a heat issue with the bulbs. also with a full t5 fixture we can manipulate your bulbs and change the look and color of your coral to your liking. the possibilities are endless. the only thing I would recommend is getting bulbs with high par values. more intense bulbs will help. hope it all works out. what will you do with your solaris light?