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[Coleus]

I currently have

Dual CF 96w

and going to replace with

dual T5HO 39W

Am i downgrade my lightning? The CF generates too much heat and noise (fan)

Please share your thoughts?

Thanks
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[findingnemo1]

Hi there

Nope you are upgrading them. HO t5's are more powerful than what you have now:)

[Coleus]

Thank you for your response. But i just came across this article (http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/lighting/25638-t5-t5ho-vs-compact-fluorescent-power.html) and it seems like i need 5 of T5HO 39 watts bulb to produce almost the same lumen per gallon to my dual CF 96 W

"
Dual CF 96w: 192 watts, 16200 lumens, 2.95 w/g, 249.23 l/g
Quint T5 HO 39w*: 195 watts, 14015 lumens, 3 w/g, 215.62 l/g "

Am i missing something?
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[BlueAbyss]

Well, that depends... which bulbs specifically? What you really should be looking at (rather than watts per gallon or lumens) is the PAR output of individual bulbs. Also, watts per gallon guidelines don't hold true in tanks 10 gallons or less.

You will likely get better PAR values from the T5HO, simply because of the bulbs available, and specially if each bulb has it's own reflector (and a good reflector at that). Also, from what I understand, power compact fluorescents aren't as efficient at putting light into the tank. I think this is because the T5s are tubular in design and the reflectors can direct the light around the bulb into the tank, rather than having light reflected back at the bulbs (and therefore being lost).

EDIT: I should add something here to help clarify this a bit... in terms of PAR output, LEDs are king but may seem dimmer at similar wattages than other light sources, simply because our eyes are rated in lumens, not PAR. 10 watts of metal halide will seem brighter than 10 watts of LED, but the LED will win out in coral (and plant) growth because the LEDs produce more PAR than the metal halides, and are therefore (to plants and corals) brighter. If that makes any sense :lol:

[StirCrazy]

from doing PAR tests on both T5's and CF bulbs I have found that T5's have a 50% more output than CF, so if you are using 39w T5's they will put out about the same PAR as ~55 watt CF bulbs, so if you are staying at the same color of bulb then yes you are downgrading.

I would go to a 4 bulb fixture for the T5s if I was replacing two 96 watt CFs.

Steve

[fishytime]

What type of fixture is it? Does it have individual reflectors?

[Coleus]

It is 36" Glo T5 HO Fixture Double (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3733+13822+19759&pcatid=19759) vs 36'' Marine Coralife Aqualight Double Compact Fluorescent (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3733+13733&pcatid=13733)
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[Myka]

I agree with StirCrazy, you will be slightly downgrading, but also using quite a bit less electricity. So the new lights will be more efficient.

The Glo fixture does not have individual reflectors (although you can buy a reflector upgrade kit it still isn't individual), so is not as effective as a fixture with individual reflectors. When choosing lighting, and comparing, looking at reflectors is very important. For reference, I had the same 2x39w Glo fixture over my 33g reef (16" deep), and I was able to grow LPS quite well. SPS not so much. If you do buy the Glo, don't use the Glo bulbs, they aren't that great. Buy some better bulbs like Korallen-Zucht, AquaScience, or UVL. You will get much better PAR out of them. Also, watts per gallon is not an accurate way to measure lighting, although lumens is not too bad. When measuring lighting, the depth of the water is the most significant factor.

[Coleus]

Thank you for all your feedbacks.

My tank is 21 inch deep. So beforre i can get a hold of 4 fixture T5HO, should i continue to use my two 96 watt CFs? I have some fishes, anemonies, zoa, mushroom, ricordea, but no SPS.
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[Myka]

What specie of anemone do you have? What are the other dimensions of your tank?

[Coleus]

Hi Myka

My tank is 46 gallon bow front. The dimension is 36 inch width x 21 inch height

I have 2 bubble anemones
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