More fuel for the T5 fire

[Zylumn]

Photoperiod
10 am to 12 pm

Originally Posted by Myka

Uh...I think they made a boo boo. I'm sure the tank is lit for 12 hours, not 2.

10 fingers and 4 toes = 14 hours

That is a long time to keep lights on.
Kevin

[Der_Iron_Chef]

By the looks of it, buddy boy wasn't too concerned with pinching pennies. I'm sure he found what he liked most and said, "I'll take two."

[Delphinus]

Hmmmm...

Don't get me wrong, I like T5's ... but they are a tool to achieve an end, not a end in themselves. So why bother even debate about what's better? You might as well debate whether an apple is better or an orange is better. The bottom line is an apple is better to make apple juice and an orange is better to make orange juice.

I think Myka hit the nail right on the head. T5's are great, but they aren't "really madly truly" an economical alternative to halides. The lamps are cheaper but you have more of them and you need to replace them more often. I doubt that you really even get substantially less heat overall (it might be better directed though).

To me the choice for lighting should be about the size and shape of the area you wish to cover, and basically what floats your boat better.

I like both halides and T5's. I have tanks with both. I wouldn't say one really has an edge out over the other. I like the slimline low profile the T5 fixture I use has, but I don't like that in 3 months of use that I can perceive that the lights are already dimmer. I like how my halides last 12 to 18 months before I perceive a shift, but I don't like that I have to spend $80 to $120 to replace them when I DO have to replace them.

So in short, I think T5's both rule and suck, and I think halides both rule and suck.

[Delphinus]

Oh and ... wow, what a wicked tank BTW. (Just noticed I forgot to mention that ) DARRRROOOOOOOOOL.

[StirCrazy]

I just can't figure out why the T5 fanatics see a amazing tank that has a million bucks worth of equipment and automatically assume it is the T5's that are responsible for everything on the tank

Steve

[digital-audiophile]

Of course it's not just the T5's But for colour, I really think they have an edge of MH.

I've used 150MH , 250MH and now T5's myself and I must say I prefer the latter, but as mentioned it really is a matter of choice.

[Myka]

Originally Posted by Zylumn

Photoperiod
10 am to 12 pm



10 fingers and 4 toes = 14 hours

That is a long time to keep lights on.
Kevin

Bahahaha!!! Wow...excellent mathematical skills on my part! 12 pm is noon though. 12 am is midnight. I'm sure that the article means his lights are on from 10 am to midnight...which yes, would be 14 hours, not 12.

[Aquattro]

You NEED metal halide. I'm just sayin'.....

[digital-audiophile]

LOL!! Brad, you are the reason I posted this. ... what took you so long?

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by digital-audiophile

LOL!! Brad, you are the reason I posted this. ... what took you so long?

I wanted to share the fun, but nothing good was coming up, so I thought I needed to straighten out the confusion.
I just remember snorkelling through the reefs and recalling that a real reef looks like it's lit by MH, not T5, so therefore to get an accurate representation of a real reef, you need MH. I looked at a tank last night lit with T5s, nice and bright with great colors, but something was just missing. I guess it's sort of the "snap" you get with a more direct light source. And you can tan under MH too, just like on a real reef.