80g cube: 78w T5 vs 96w PC?

[misterd]

I am looking to light my 80g cube (36" longX24X24) and was wondering what lighting to get.

There is the 36" t5 78watt or the 96watt 36" pc light.

I am not planning on keeping coral. Its a FOWLR. I just want the light to brighten up the fish and make its not seem so dark. Right now, i am using regular flourecent.

http://hellolights.com/362x39wt5hor.html
vs.
http://hellolights.com/361x96wsolre.html

By the way, what is the difference between t5 HO and the tech light t5 --> http://hellolights.com/362x39wtekli.html

Anybody selling any of this or know where to get it for a good price?

-Thanks

 

[Randall_James]

No corals?

I would go with a 50/50 PC light myself as they do a great job of color rendering. Maybe not as efficient as the T5 but easier to get a nice lighting look IMO

 

[Icefire]

go with t5, you'll get 3-4 time more light with 2x39 than 1x96w.
they last 18-24 most, many color to chose from.

 

[Randall_James]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9734274#post9734274 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Icefire
go with t5, you'll get 3-4 time more light with 2x39 than 1x96w.
they last 18-24 most, many color to chose from.

Where do you get 3 to 4X more light from 78W Vs 96W?

Technically speaking, PC lights are in fact T5's themselves. This number "T" relates to the diameter of the bulb in eighths of an inch.

Reflector efficiency of a straight T5 is somewhat better (no where near 3 to 4 X however) than the bent tube of the PC.

I have a 125G FO tank that runs a pair of 96W PC lights and they will last as long as they will stay lit for a fish only tank. As fish do not rely on light to grow (at least my fish are not photosynthetic), as long as the color and intensity is to your liking, you are good to go.

If you had corals, straight tube T5's really need replace on about the same schedule as PC's. Which incidentally is about the same for MH as well (about 1 year give or take for lighting periods)

Anyway as this is a FO tank, all you need to judge is "how it looks" to your eye and total light output is pretty much irrelevant. Find some tanks with the lights and see what you like better

Cheers