T5 lighting enough for a 90g

[intarsiabox]

I am going to be picking up a 90g tank later today and need to starting looking for lights. Will an 8x54w T5 fixture work on a 24" deep tank that is going to keep SPS and LPS or will there not be enough penatration? My other option would be to go with a 2x250w MH fixture with supplimental T5's. Any thoughts or what works on your 90g tank? Thanks.:biggrin:

[intarsiabox]

Has anybody with a 90g switched from MH to T5's or the other way around? Anyone running a 90g SPS dominated tank with T5's? If so how many bulbs?

[fishytime]

an 8 bulb HOT5 would be more than enough.....as long as you dont plan on putting your sps in the sand:wink:

[Myka]

You will get lots of opinions on this subject! Personally, I'm a diehard metal halide fan. :D

On my 90 I have 2x250w DE halides w/ 2x39w T5HO supplementals. The T5s are from a 3' tank I used to have, they are just temporarily (for the last year LOL) placed on top of the tank until I manage to set up the 48" Tek Retrofit I bought 8 months ago. :redface:

Anyway, I used to be an LPS collector, and swore I would never go back to prissy, finicky SPS. Well, my fixture is too much light for most of my LPS to show their best colors so the SPS have been moving in in plague proportions. All my LPS are on the sand or off to the side away from the halides. Having said that, I know lots of people with 250w halides that have LPS near the top. Go figure. Everything else aside, mine have best coloration with less light than SPS want. My Hammers and Frogs I gave up on and moved into a tank lit by T5s.

[dynamite]

Get a powermodule :D You'll be fine with 6bulbs.
I'm ditching the MH and getting a PW in july :mrgreen:

[bignose]

I'm sure you would definitely see a lot more growth with MH lighting. I have a 6 bulb over my 90G and grow sps just fine. Another thing with T5 is you can choose a bulb mixture to suit your tanks needs.

[dynamite]

Maybe because you have a tek, I've seen tanks with powermodules and the growth is as great or better than with MH and the colors are just amazing. That's why I'm ditching my MH :)

I'm sure you would definitely see a lot more growth with MH lighting. I have a 6 bulb over my 90G and grow sps just fine. Another thing with T5 is you can choose a bulb mixture to suit your tanks needs.

[intarsiabox]

I do want to keep both SPS and LPS, I hadn't realized that MH may be too much for the LPS even low in the tank. I have a couple of SPS frags I got about a month ago under T5 lights (about 13" under light source) and my digi has already sread to the rock I glued it to with lots of new growth. My milli started to lose its polyps at first but has since revived and has started to grow out as well.

[BlueTang<3]

If your on the fence with t5s feel free to come over. Running a 180 gallon sps tank with a 8x80 watt t5 power module can grow sps on the sand. You just have to commit to changing your bulbs twice a year.

[Myka]

You do have to give up the pretty shimmer if you decide to go with T5s, and if you use different colored bulbs you will be able to see stripes of color running the length of the tank (call me anal, but that drives me bonkers). Meh, T5 shmee 5. :p

[viperfish]

I just can't tear myself away from Metal Halide. I use a 4 bulb T5 as a supplement so I can tweak the colour and I did own a TEK but I have never had the results that I have had with MH. I know lots of guys have but I guess it's my personal preference. Cost wise with T5 you do have to change out more bulbs more often so it can get expensive.

[Myka]

You also have to spend BIG bucks to get a T5 fixture from a leading brand like Powermodules or Sfiligoi. Tek isn't top notch, it is mid-range, and definitely not comparable to MH.

[intarsiabox]

I have been leaning slightly to MH as I have a cheaper T5 fixture (Current USA 4x24W with stock bulbs) over my 25g nano and while it does the trick my corals just don't "pop". I like the look of the light that MH's produce but I also haven't seen a top notch T5 system in action to compare to. I guess I'll have to PM BlueTang<3 to get the full perspective. I once had a 150w Sunpod over the tank and wasn't real happy on the depth penatration, hence why I'm considering 250w now. My real concern with the MH is heat, as the tank will be on the main floor of my un-airconditioned house. My little tank got warm on hot days but never effected my corals, will the bigger tank volume help with this? A chiller isn't a very good option as I hate to think of how much I'll really have to pay to convince my wife of it.:sad:

[Myka]

If heat will be an issue I would suggest either buy an air conditioner for that room of your house or go with T5s. Ack...I just said "or go with T5s". Odd. Anyway, I wouldn't suggest the use of a chiller in most applications since running a chiller GROSSLY heats the room the chiller is operating in. I say buy an air conditioner for the room, and both you and your tank will benefit. :D

[saltynuts]

i run a tek 6 bulb unit on my tank. i don,t think i,ll go back to mh.
my sps gow like weeds and i love the color.
on my 75 it will be a tek 8 bulb.
it,s all in what you can spend and your choice.
go look at other reefers tanks.

[Doug]

go look at other reefers tanks.


I did. They told me they change bulbs every 4 to 6 months. So I decided against the fancy t-5 fixture and just run my single halide.

Simply because of the costs of changing bulbs.

On several boards. "yes, t-5,s are as good for sps growth as halides"

Whats not said is they need high end units.

Also bulb change frequency.

Everything needs to be brought into these discussions.

[Albertan22]

You do have to give up the pretty shimmer if you decide to go with T5s, and if you use different colored bulbs you will be able to see stripes of color running the length of the tank (call me anal, but that drives me bonkers). Meh, T5 shmee 5. :p

Now, now... I've never seen a T5 lit tank in which you can see stripes of colours running through the tank.

I'm a big T5 fan, though I've never had MH on my tank. I've had pretty decent growth on many of my corals even with a middle of the line Tek fixture, and with an 8 bulb fixture find that many areas of my tank are actually too bright for LPS corals. My tank is 24" deep (120g) and I've got a brain on my sandbed that has to be placed in shadow to keep it from shriveling up.

For me the choice revolved around versatility in the colours you can produce in your tank through bulb selection, heat levels, and most importantly in my decision, power consumption. I didn't want to have to run a second circuit just for my tank, and I didn't want my power bill to go through the roof either. My entire tank actually only draws about 850 watts, which is less than some reefers lighting systems :smile: I do however envy the shimmer that other people's MH lit tanks have.

[intarsiabox]

If heat will be an issue I would suggest either buy an air conditioner for that room of your house or go with T5s. Ack...I just said "or go with T5s". Odd. Anyway, I wouldn't suggest the use of a chiller in most applications since running a chiller GROSSLY heats the room the chiller is operating in. I say buy an air conditioner for the room, and both you and your tank will benefit. :D

Believe me I've thought about it but the tank is on my main floor which is entirely open. I have portable room air conditioners for my bedroom and one for my girls (they share a bunkbed when it gets hot out) but I don't think they could do a whole floor. I also agree that a chiller would be a bad idea on a hot day as it would make my main level unbearable. I once forgot to put the hose for the airconditioner out the window and it very quickly brought my room to 95 degrees F, I could see a chiller doing the same. It's not too often that my house gets over 80 degrees, I think 84 has been the worst so maybe I don't need to worry about heat as much as I think.

I hadn't realized the high end T5 units required bulb changes more frequently, something else I guess I need to consider. It's not that I mind spending the money on bulbs, it's having to listen to the wife complain about me spending that much money on a light bulb. She doesn't get why they cost more than 99 cents like at Home Depot.:lol:

[Doug]

The bulb change I was referring to has nothing to do with high end units. If anything I would think their cooling systems give longer bulb life. Its just what several aquarists that run nice sps tanks have told me.

Likely others may tell you that theirs will make a year. I would guess that would be even more so on no sps tanks.

My point just was, that its to much of a blanket statement saying that any type of lighting does this or that, without elaborating on specifics of the lighting. Another thing not mentioned is how many bulbs some are using to grow such and such corals.

Lots of good lighting threads on here. I ran my standard 90g with both a pair of 250w halides and then with a SWC 6 bulb T-5 unit. I much preferred the T-5 unit but not close in intensity as the 250,s. Great for other corals though and likely sps higher up.

My friend ran an 8 bulb over his 120. Not sure where all these people get the intensity from but his clams and sps has to be in the top portion or they never did good. And thats an experience not just a guess.

That being said I have seen stunning sps tanks lit only by T-5,s usually the higher end units. I even posted a link to them during a heated discussion on growing sps with T-5,s.

Try a search on T-5,s. Lots of reading. :D Either will work for you and a both top end stuff in both or regular priced, depending on what your end goal is.