Are t5 and mh lights still a thing?

[Reefplumber13]

I was just sitting here looking for lights for a new tank and see they still sell them. are t5 and mh still a thing, do people still use them? If you do post pics of your tank and how old the tank is. Also how long you have been using t5 or mh.

 

[jkz429]

Yes. You can buy the T5 blues on Amazon. You just need the fixture

 

[ecoreefguy]

They are still proven tech that grows coral fantastically . If they did consume so much power and produce so much heat, I’d use them over LED

 

[jkz429]

It’s also a great deal.

 

[anthony]

I think my brother in law has one still.. he went to less tike most of us... his fit a 4 foot 120

 

[Reefplumber13]

Guys I'm not looking for lights lol I was just wondering if anyone still used t5 still

 

[wantsummora acropora]

Yes. Probably the cheapest way to grow coral. No shimmer though. Looks boring to me but they are tried and true. IMO metal halides are not worth the energy costs and you may need to plan for heat management.

 

[myvwrock]

Yes. Still the golden standard in my opinion. I always used t5s. When I got into the hobby it was power compacts, t5s or metal halides...vho and over driving fluorescents was also a thing. Leds were just moon lights. We are all trying to replicate the sun, i feel t5 and mh come closest. I only switched to, two black box leds two years ago. And they are decent, have shimmer , but so did metal halides and t5s

 

[ichthyoid]

I think hybrid T5/LED’s provide a decent & much more efficient replacement for T5/halides.

The heat and inefficiency of halides are not offset by any spectral advantage they may provide.