2 Light Setups, Only 1 Tank

[xxoutlawtorn]

I find myself with 2 different light setups but only one tank to put it on and I was hoping you all could give me your opinion on which one to use.

First off, I have a 90 gallon tank with pretty much all LPS and softies except for a couple pieces of Monti Caps.

The lights I have on right now is a Coralife 48" fixture with 2 MH's and 2 actinics.

I also have a 4 bulb T5 retro kit with an Icecap 660 ballast installed under the canopy which is not in use at the moment.

Any advice on which one I should use?

Thanks a lot.

 

[VacavilleFC3S]

make yoru own canopy use the t5's and the metal halides, you'll be as happy as i am

 

[Demonic]

I wouldnt do that. If youre only going to have LPS and softies and a couple of caps then the T5's will be just fine. You dont need the MH, although they do look good they are not necessary for what you are CURRENTLY wanting. But I would not sell the MH just yet, you never know when you might want to get into SPS.

 

[PRDubois]

You can grow plenty of SPS under T5's

 

[Demonic]

You're right. But you will never get that growth with just a 4X54 for a 90 gallon. Sustain SPS maybe.

 

[PRDubois]

Depends on your bulbs and reflectors. I have just 2 - T5HO's on a 72gal and have good growth. With just one 18,000k and one actinics My tank does fine.

If I had to purchase again I would buy 4 bulbs. So I could run the actinics by themselves.

 

[Whys]

Fight, fight!

MH generally provide a superior shimmer effect on the rocks and sand and gets better penetration in deeper tanks. Deeper than what? Deeper than shallow.

What wattage are the 2 MH? Heat can be an issue and a chiller could be necessary.

 

[PRDubois]

If you want shimmer you can add a strip of LED's and still not need the chiller.

 

[Whys]

LED shimmer isn't really the same, and can be rather expensive.

JM.02

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15173547#post15173547 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by PRDubois
Depends on your bulbs and reflectors. I have just 2 - T5HO's on a 72gal and have good growth.

Not to be rude or doubt your results, but clearly this is not the norm, and I would caution others to make decisions based on this information when considering lighting for getting good results out of corals with moderate or strong lighting requirements.

To the OP, I'll just repeat what I said in your other thread, since this one seems to be getting more action. You listed pretty moderate lighting requirements (softies and montis, which are probably the easiest SPS) so the T5 would probably be fine, assuming it has good reflectors.

That said, it is a bit of a personal choice, especially considering the shimmer and contrast you can get from MH. And, since we don't know the wattage of the MH, or reflector style of either fixture, it's hard to even know if the outputs could be expected to be that different, you it may boil down purely to personal preference.