Considering switching to t5

[Mik_101]

As the tittle says I am in consideration of witchin to t5 on my 46 g sps tank. A bit about the system it 46g with a sump with about 15 g of water. I am using the zeovit system witch has given me extrodanery results. The main reason that I would like to switch to t5 from metal halides is because 1-less heat, 2-IME nicer colors and 3-the look of the fixturs is more sleek looking than DIY halides hood with 2 t5. I have a few questions about t5's.

1-for my tank system how many bulbs should I go with 4,6,8?
2-will my growth plumit or go up?
3-advantages and disitvantages of t5's?
4-how long should they be on daily?
5-will I lose color?
6-do all the bulbs go on and off at the same time?
7-witch is the best fixture.
8-witch bulbs to use/configuration?(aquablue...)

the ones I am considering are the following few.

http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/store_pages/product-info.php?product_ID=sl-t5tl3606

http://oceanaquatics.com/store/product/3009/Nova-Extreme-Pro-36%22/

(if it comes in 36")http://oceanaquatics.com/store/product/2561/New-Wave-T5-48---48%22-8-lamp/

(if 4 is sufficent)http://oceanaquatics.com/store/product/2274/Nova-Extreme-T5-36%22---4x39w/

Thanks,
Miki

[i have crabs]

since you have 2 250w halides now i would try to get 8 bulbs over your tank, i have a 48" tek fixture with 8 bulbs over a 28" deep tank and its workin out fine but never had 250's so i cant compare,problem is i dont think their is a 8 bulb unit for 36" also t5's still put out quite a bit of heat so they should be up off the tank a good 8-10" i would say, i know on the tek fixtures they have 2 switches so half the bulbs are on each which allows for staggering of the lights.
if you have to go with a 6 bulb fixture i would think you would be going down in lighting but its just a guess so you might nee 2 4 bulb lights and im shure that is not gonna look as nice and sleek as you where hopin for

[kwirky]

1-for my tank system how many bulbs should I go with 4,6,8?
You want 2 bulbs for every 6 inches, front to back. Ie: 12" tank, 4 bulbs. 18" tank, 6 bulbs. 24" tank, 8 bulbs. You can save some money by buying a fixture that doesn't cover the eurobrace. You'll lose most of the light through the salt covered glass anyways.
2-will my growth plumit or go up?
Your growth might be the same, might go up. Depends on previous placement of corals. (explain in next one)
3-advantages and disitvantages of t5's?
MH lighting will have some very bright "hot spots" directly under the bulbs and will dim away further from the bulb. T5's are even all the way across. T5 colour is amazing with some of the new bulbs coming out. MH is a real workhorse. There's a new article on advanced aquarist showing that a bulb on a magnetic ballast still has the same PAR 13 months later (but it draws more electricity). MH's have shimmer lines. MH's are perfect for lighting square, 2'x2' or 3'x3' areas with more recent reflectors. T5's are good for odd tank shapes (ie: narrow tanks).
4-how long should they be on daily?
i'd say same as your halides
5-will I lose color?
if you have sufficient actinics or fiji purples you will GAIN colour almost instantly.
6-do all the bulbs go on and off at the same time?
depends on the fixture
7-witch is the best fixture.
best bang for the buck is the tek fixture. Best fixture period is something like the ATI with active cooling but it's very $$$
8-witch bulbs to use/configuration?(aquablue...)
I love the new 50/50 combination of Korallen Zucht Fiji purple and New Generation. Good PAR and amazing colour. Just amazing colour. Colour depends on both phosphorescing AND reflectivity, depending on the coral. I think 50/50 Fiji Purple and New Generation does the best.

the ones I am considering are the following few.

http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/store_pages/product-info.php?product_ID=sl-t5tl3606
good

http://oceanaquatics.com/store/product/3009/Nova-Extreme-Pro-36%22/
don't bother. They have shared reflectors, cutting your light in half. won't compete with your MH lighting at all

(if it comes in 36")http://oceanaquatics.com/store/product/2561/New-Wave-T5-48---48%22-8-lamp/
not bad. beware that these aren't "meant for aquariums." You may end up with corrosion damage and a possibly safety hazard

(if 4 is sufficent)http://oceanaquatics.com/store/product/2274/Nova-Extreme-T5-36%22---4x39w/
this one has individual reflectors so it should output lighting properly. it also has active cooling so it could possibly be a PAR monster. Make sure this thing's at least 6" from the water surface or you'll bleach most of your coral.

Thanks,
Miki
.

[Mik_101]

So on my tank what would be more preferd/sufficent 6 ot 8 bulb? Another quick question what are the "new generation" lights? I have never herd of them.

The lighting conifigurations i came up with were..
(for the 8 bulb)
actinic+
fiji purple
10k
fiji purple
10k
fiji purple
10k
actinic+

(for 6 bublb)
fiji purple
10k
fiji purple
10k
fiji purple
10k

[Mik_101]

Another question will PAR go up or down with the switch from halides to T5's?

[fkshiu]

Everything kwirky said about T5s is correct. Unfortunately, the footprint of your 46 gallon bowfront presents a lot of problems. I had the same tank and I could only fit the 4x39W Teklight over it because the tank is too narrow (front to back) for any other T5 unit. The only way you could get a 6-bulb t5 unit over the tank is suspending it from the ceiling and even then you'll be lighting your floor as much as the tank.

The other option is to get a t5 unit without individual reflectors because you can smoosh more bulbs together, but that would defeat the purpose of going t5s in first place.

So if you do go with the 4x39W Teklight you will lose quite a bit of light compared to 250W MH. I kept LPS fine in my tank, but never tried clams or SPS.

[Mik_101]

So I wont be able to keep sps of i switch to 4 t5's? Could i get the dimentsions of the 6 bulb fixture.