mh to t5 to mh mixed?

[ryuchi]

So I moved my 30G cube into a 110G and was running my coralife clipon 150mh temporarily while I aquired enough LR to aquascape a proper reef. With the rock in place I struggled over the t5/MH question and after many threads and talking with friends with tanks I went with the t5 option, largely due tho the crappy wiring in my rental townhouse and the power concerns therein. I was very proud of myself with the canopy I built and I managed to stuff in 6 48"t5 with icecap reflectors and two 660 balasts (3 on each) slightly overdriven but just barely. 4 Actinic plus 1 50/50 and 1 GE Daylight. The canopy is designed like a car hood and is minimal in size, 48 inches just to hold the lights and the rest is an open top. I guess I knew that I needed fans on the endcaps but with it being 68 degrees in my house and the top being open I procrastinated and after a month or two they over heated and started tripping the ballasts. Here is my point. i borrowed a 2x150 sunpod Mh from a friend because I was leaving town for a week and didnt have time to rebuild the lights and when I got home my coral looked AWESOME. Further talking with friends suggested that my t5 setup was WAY too much light and I was pretty much frying my coral, two sps were growing like crazy but all of my sps and softies hated it and never extended their pollyps fully not to mention no shimmer pretty much suck when you are used to looking at MH. I guess I dont want to give up on the t5 totally and the colors really pop with the actinic+ so I am considering keeping the two 150MH and supp with 4 t5actinic. I think I need a par meter. man thats a long post, if anyone has anything to say fire away I think I need a slap to the face.:yes:

 

[ryuchi]

Amici;596057 wrote: Well it would take 250w halide with T-5 actinics to maintain the pop and shimmer. However LED's are really coming into their own and not only do they shimmer, they also put T-5 actinics to SHAME. Order a cheap screw in style all blue LED from ebay and try it out. If you really love the look then you can choose from a plethora of options. If you have any questions about LED actinics shot me a pm. I am experimenting with them and have really been impressed.

My post was so long that I forgot to mention I have a 48" icecap (t5 style) Blue led strip that I LOVE! its so bright that as a moonlight the zoos and GSP stay fully extended. I keep in on all the time now and it does add a lot to the color. Thank you for the comments, keep them coming!