T 5 vs metal halide

[grouper therapy]

Gametrackers;393037 wrote: I think this test is off by alot. There are a bunch of factors to consider.

#1 - There are only 300 watts of MH versus 432 watts of T5s. We already know that PC are not worth anything. I think bad comparison.

#2 - Go with 3 - 150 watt MHs versus the 8 - 54 watt T5s. Get the Par readings divide the watts by the par reading and you will end up with how many watts= one par.

#3 - How much area is covered? You take a 3 - 4' 54 watt T5 lamps, it spreads its power and heat over an larger area. The air movement will cool that area down faster than a 150 watt MH that is 8 inches and the power and heat is concetrate on a smaller area(depending on reflectors they vary coverage Which small are with the same heat exchange would heat up faster than a larger are with the same heat exchange. So you set up a tank that has 8 - 54 watt T5's and same one with 3 - 150 watts MH and the power and heat will be directed aproximatly over the same area versus putting 2 - 250 watt MH over the same tank.

#4 - Colors of bulbs are different from T5s to MH make a difference. More than like they would be hard to match up but enough to get close that the difference would be not much. ( I could be wrong here this is my opinion.)

#5 - Fixtures T5's and MH and HQI are diffrent and need to be purchase to fit your needs. I like some ares that have less coverage than others. I like a varity of corals. My light is more condensed in the center of the tank and my rock placement creates some shade areas.

#6 - Water Flow and Air movement helps with heat. I have a friend that put a MH fixture on a 55 tank recently and heat was getting to 82-83 I think. The fans in the fixture did not seem to move much air so he put a small fan blowing the air above the water and the Temp maintains 79 degrees. I have 65 cube that has 130 gallons of water moving through it and it never gets above 80 during the day but falls to 74 at night. I dont have a fan or heater on it. My house stays around 75 during the day.

If you shop for the right fixtures you can have great benifits with both type of equipment. It propably depends the trade off you want from one to the other. From what I have learned from this forum and seeing others equipment. I think T5s work great and will safely grow SPS and other corals and MH will grow SPS faster than T5's.

To answer the question that was asked personally I think either way would work for what you want just weigh the PROS and CONS not much either way.

I completely agree

 

[fish_guy]

How do you overdrive the T5 systems?
Looking at wattages it looks like I would need at least 8 bulbs across mymy tank since it is only 24" long.
Am I correct?

 

[oil_fan]

There are some fixtures that do combine MH with T5's. I thought about going that route for my 95 gallon that I'm slowly working on setting up. In the end though for me it finally came down to $$$.

So I'm going with 6xT5 setp.

 

[fish_guy]

so what brand of T5 fixtures does everyone like?
I was looking at getting 2 4 bulb current USA Sundials that are rates as high output.
But I will say I like the look of the ATI sunpower also

 

[snowmansnow]

ok after thinking about this a bit.. you guys are right. they will emit the same heat.

That being considered we can, though, conclude that a t5 setup with the same watts as a MH setup will keep your water temp cooler.

agree?

 

[grouper therapy]

SnowManSnow;393336 wrote: ok after thinking about this a bit.. you guys are right. they will emit the same heat.

That being considered we can, though, conclude that a t5 setup with the same watts as a MH setup will keep your water temp cooler.

agree?

I would include that all things being equal par readings etc.
In the same setup metal halide usually(not always) do heat the water more than T5s you are correct. Or that is what most experience who try the two.

 

[snowmansnow]

so, as has been stated, because of heat intesnsity and focus the MH will tend to raise the temp of the water higher than an = t5 unit normally would.

B

 

[gametrackers]

SnowManSnow;393347 wrote: so, as has been stated, because of heat intesnsity and focus the MH will tend to raise the temp of the water higher than an = t5 unit normally would.

B

As noted yes you might get a more of a spike with MH but if you are set up properly you can easily avoid that spike and not have a problem at all with temp control. If he was to run a fixture that had 2 - 150 MHs and 2or 3 T5 bulbs and the fixture had a sufficient fan he may never see much of a raise in heat and get great lighting coverage and grow the hell out of some SPS.

BUT...... This is over a 65 cube and depending on the setup it may have about 85 gallons of water at the most(unless you are stupid like me and have 150 gallons of water for a 65 cuber) The water does not stay out of the light long enough to exchange heat quickly to avoid over heating. But that is only known once you have the lighting up. Good fans will help alot. Heck you can add one of those clipon fans if you canopy has room also add one in the sump can help a little.

 

[fish_guy]

would I have to match wattage of T5 - metal halide?
It would be pretty much imposible to match a 250 watt metal halide on a 2' cube with T5 bulbs

 

[sailfish]

I have both MH and T-5 ATI powermodel. For me if it is a hard core sps tank it is MH all the way. You can have sps under T-5s and the will grow and look good but for me they almost always look better under 20k MH.

Something no one talks about is all these nice European tanks that have t-5s half of their sps are Digita or birdsnest. Who can't have bright colored colonies of digita & birdsnest? LOL Just something I think about every time I read one of those threads.


I have seen no reason to think T-5s increase growth in anyway. I feel my corals look better and grow faster in my tank with MH. There are way to many variables to say it is because of light but for me MH is still king.

The only way I would choose T-5s over MH is if heat was my main concern and I did not want to run chiller.

Joe

 

[fish_guy]

Heat is the main reason I was looking at using T5's
I am not sure if I want to purchase a chiller for next summer

 

[grouper therapy]

fish_guy;393876 wrote: Heat is the main reason I was looking at using T5's
I am not sure if I want to purchase a chiller for next summer

Keep in mind that just because you use t5 liughting does not mean you will not need a chiller. There are many other variables that can cause heat problems. Using t-5 can be the edge you need sometimes but not always

 

[smoothie]

Height and a good fan would solve your problems with a halide and heat. Use a few t-5's or vho's for actinic and sunrise/sunset effect

 

[gametrackers]

I think if you run 2- 150 watt MH and 2 - T5s you will have enough light to grow SPS then you need to be concerned about your water. It is not just lighting that keeps SPS growing. Great water quality is a must, water flow is a must. Witch all is easy to accomplish with the right setup. But, far as light if you can get a dual 150 MH fixture with great fans and 2 t5s you will have about 400 watts of light and use the T5s to make sunset and sunrise effect and actenic colors. You wont have one problem with the lighting. That is what I might change my lighting to on that tank or just go with 2 - 250 mh and some actenic

 

[snowmansnow]

Ime if u don't start out w 250w you'll just end up upgrading later and spending more $$. If ur going to do mh I would do 250s.

 

[gametrackers]

SnowManSnow;393948 wrote: Ime if u don't start out w 250w you'll just end up upgrading later and spending more $$. If ur going to do mh I would do 250s.

My opinion, I think that 2 - 250 Watts would go great if you are going to put in only corals that love light. You may have to go with a chiller to manage the heat during the day. I have seen 4 - 400s on a 300 gallons plus 6 or more T5s and this tank was just amazing. I think 2 - 150s and some T5s would do great for an all around SPS and LPS and soft coral tank. If you strickly want SPS go with 2 - 250watts and 2 - T5s and get some good timers and set the lights to go on at different times.