Looking for some old-timers who left and came back in to the hobby

[StirCrazy]

Originally Posted by Canadian

This is the last time I take this thread off topic but it does address prop's original question about current hobby trends.

Here are PAR measurements on a T5 lit tank with 234W of 39W T5 lighting (a reasonably fair comparison to a typical 250W Halide):

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...0#post16117620

quite hijacking his thread for your own T5 propaganda

seriously though thoes numbers are not much different than your own. still way less than a deicent MH setup.

now so you don't spend a day trying to find some more stuff, I will say as I have said befor, T5's are good, they give a even light (although no shimmer) they are good enough to grow SPS as you could grow them with VHO and PC, why not T5 when it is a higher out put, and the assortment of buld is great.. allowing you to custom blend colors for a nice look. but I don't agree on a lot of the claims which you have just re-enforced my point a couple times now and if you are getting rid of 250 watts of MH and going to 250 watts of T5s you will not save in energy anything apreacable, and heat output will be the same, although it will be better disapated in the T5 unit so won't affect the tank as much.

I actualy had a pig post ready to go last night but I hit the wrong button and lost it all and didn't want to re-type it. basicly the jist was by adding more T5 bulbs you are not increasing the intensity only the spread and evenness, by going to bigger bulbs on a bigger tank it is the same idea, while you will get a larger coverage area from going to bulbs that are twice as many watts the increase in PAR at the bottom will be minimal and will be the result of more complet coverage not an increase in intensity.

this is why I feel the perfect combo would be MH and T5's you can get a nice 10K MH with a tone of PAR and then use a bunch of T5's to blend the color and smooth out the coverage a bit.

Steve