What does everyone think of T5's for reefs

[albert_dao]

http://zeovit.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9125

Zeo users switching to T5's for better color.

GG

[kwirky]

T5's vs. metal halides is allways such a heated debate

Honestly, I don't have any experience with MH personally, and to let you know i've only had a saltwater tank for about 7 months. Some of the other people on here have a LOT more experience than I do; I only talk loud

I decided on T5's because I'm usually not afraid to be an early adopter to a technology and it just sounded so cool at the time. Thankfully I don't have any regrets. Also where my tank's located, there's only 18" of clearance above the tank to the ceiling, so the extremely slim T5 fixture was quite appealing at the time.

If you're wondering whether it's HO or NO, maybe see if you can look at the manual and see the wattage requirements for the bulbs. That would instantly tell you what kind of ballasts are in there.

But, if you're crunching numbers and trying to get the lowest cost unit possible while still having something of good build quality that won't die unexpectedly, go with a PFO retrofit MH setup. Two PFO 250W mh ballasts with two XM 10k bulbs and two 24" pfo reflectors work out to about $550 all together at J&L online (go to the MH retrofit section). If you were to buy that no-name T5 unit, with your bulbs it'd run you about $500 anyways. I'd go with the PFO MH setup rather than the no name T5 setup. You'd have to build a hood or a pendant, but what's a little woodwork at a buddy's garage?

I'm always leary of no-name anything if nobody's bought it yet and given feedback whether it's half decent or not.

[Reefer Rob]

I'm thinking a combination of MH for texture, and T5s for homogeneous light, with 50% of the wattage each split between the two might be ideal. Has anyone seen this kind of hybrid system?

[kwirky]

Originally Posted by Reefer Rob

I'm thinking a combination of MH for texture, and T5s for homogeneous light, with 50% of the wattage each split between the two might be ideal. Has anyone seen this kind of hybrid system?

seen quite a few exactly like that on the zeovit forums, usually people upgrading their existing MH setups by supplementing with T5 actinic instead of PC. Seem some people using Iwasaki bulbs with T5 bulbs and ending up with a 10k colour. T5's are WAY more efficient than PC lighting.

Would be pretty expensive though, and I have a feeling marcingo has a budget to keep within Two MH lights plus 4 T5 bulbs with ballasts and fixtures to boot would run about $500-900 without the bulbs, I think.

I find the retrofit options available for T5's quite lacking ATM, and wish there was more available, as that would make such a lighting setup dooable without being outrageously priced.

Anyone know how long T5 bulbs last when overdriven with an icecap 660 ballast? Heard it's 6 months...

[Sebae again]

Elos the Aquarium Company has some fixtures with M.H. and 4 t5 bulbs.Some nice pics in their website.

[Kronk]

I have researched the crap out of this subject as well and there doesnt seem to be a clear winner... to answer your original question though i would say just get a new ballast instead of investing a ton on a totally new system.

You could get T5HO's in combination with MH like reefer rob has suggested just keep the single working MH you have and get a 4 bulb retro kit this is the best price i could find with free shipping in canada just be sure to select the right size.

Cheers,
Ken

[marcingo]

Thanks very much... I cant wait until I have 1k to spend on some amazing light system lol. But for now I bought 4VHO with icecap ballast for the side of my tank that is missing a light and im gonna continue running my MH. Thanks for all the helpful suggestions everyone.

[kwirky]

Originally Posted by marcingo

I cant wait until I have 1k to spend on some amazing light system lol.

By the time you feel a real need to upgrade, there'll probably be something even better any ways. I feel with any kind of fast moving technology, the key to buying is procrastination. Leave it to the last minute

[briansmyth]

I have a four foot PFO Solaris 20K LED system on my 90 gallon tank. If you're into leaving a smaller footprint on the planet, you might want to think about these.

I had DIY 400 watt metal halide lighting with a 10K and a 14K bulb. The LED lights are saving me a chunk each month on my utilities plus I'm adding way less top off water to the tank since much less evaporation ... fewer trips to get RO/DI water now. I was able to take off a fan on my sum, so energy savings and water conservation there, too. I imagine my air conditioning will run less in the summer now and it is way less hot in the basement the rest of the time. No chiller required.

Corals seem to be doing well under the LED lighting - I will be checking SPS growth closely beginning in April, but results will be mainly anecdotal.

I think metal halides have a nicer shimmer effect, but as long as you have ripples in the water, you will see most of that shimmer effect with LEDs.

The LED light bulbs may need to be replaced at about 10 years, so there appears to be a cost saving there. Programming the lights, having lunar lights and options such as cloud cover have been of interest to me.

The big downside of LEDs are the price, but if you think about the total cost of ownership, there are benefits to LEDs.

[marcingo]

true i really was interested in the LED lights but I couldnt justify buying a set of lights for almost 4000 dollars.