CFL vs T5 Lighting

[rwm555]

Many of my Zoanthids are not opening. My LFS and I have checked my water and everything is fine. The LFS swears that the issue is due to my CFL lights. He said that if I would change to T5 lighting, the would open. Does anyone have CFL lights without any problems? Has anyone ever heard of this issue?

I have a 10,000/460 and a 460/420 setup.

the 10,000/460 is on for 8 hours per day and the 460/420 is on 12 hours per day.

 

[Jocko]

How long have the zoas been in your tank? It always took a lot longer for things to open under the CFL because there was just not a lot of light. In general T5s made a big difference, but after going through all 3, I personally like MH the best.

If you don't want MH (and many people don't), then I would say go T5 if you can. With individual bulb reflectors. It's a big upgrade in the light output! Some people do ok with CFL I guess, but I kinda view CFL lights as a mistake that we all make when we start out. No offense to anyone!

 

[rwm555]

Thanks for the input.

The Zoa's have been in for a varying amount of time. As a test, I bought a frag yesterday and put in the tank. At the LFS, it was open wide and looked great. Since moving into my tank, they have not opened. For the others, they vary from 3 weeks to 3 months.

 

[Caragol]

Were they open at some point and closed? Or have they just never opened, does it make a difference if they're near the top of the tank? I keep zoas under CFL in my picos without issue, but there's very little depth involved.

Even if it's not the case, a good Tek light or Aquactinics fixture wouldn't be a bad idea for a 65g tank. I use a 6 bulb Tek fixture on my 58 (which I think is similar dimensions) but MH is never a bad choice either.