Halide or T5 SPS growth.... ?

[Fish Everywhere]

Im torn between these two at the moment for my new tank, and am really not sure at this point. Need you guys' help please

First let me mention that heat and electricity aren't really too big of a factor simply because electricity is pretty cheap here and I'll be running 250s, not 400s if I choose halide.

For halides, I would probably run a setup like the following:

- M80 ballasts
- Lumenbright mini reflectors mounted in a white canopy
- Radium bulbs
- ATI Blue+ and super actinic supplement (1 each)

For T5, I would probably run a setup like the following:

- ATI Sunpower 6x54 48"

- Blue+
- Blue+
- Coral+
- Coral+
- Actinic
- Blue+

- NO canopy, no point hiding a nice fixture like this one...

Assuming factors are all the same in both tanks, which do you think would yield higher growth rates? I always thought the answer would instantly be halides according to everyone, but it seems after seeing par readings from many tanks that ATI t5 fixtures yield higher par values, interestingly enough.

Thoughts?

 

[kevin_e]

Can't really go wrong with either, tbh. I run combination of both. That's what I suggest. Is this for you 90g? The mini's need to be mounted fairly high for light distribuation, fyi. I had mine set 10" above the water.

 

[Fish Everywhere]

Can't really go wrong with either, tbh. I run combination of both. That's what I suggest. Is this for you 90g? The mini's need to be mounted fairly high for light distribuation, fyi. I had mine set 10" above the water.

Right, forgot to mention lol

The tank this will be going on will be a standard 90.

 

[Bdial]

I have the Hamilton Tech Cebu sun. 2x250 mh and 4 t5s. It's a great fixture and I can grow everything. I upgraded to the m80 ballasts for radiums.

 

[Wrangy]

As mentioned by Kevin, you really aren't going to go wrong either option you choose here One consideration is do you want the halide shimmer or the flat T5 look? As I think that will weigh heavily!
Personally halides are what I run and would choose too

 

[Reel North]

I'm running a 8x80w t5 currently. I love it and my corals grow great.

I may be upgrading from a 220g to a 440g, and may switch back to 400w halides in lumenmax large reflectors. I live in Ontario, Canada, which makes California hydro look cheap lol.

 

[mirkus]

I have t5s and like them....but if heat and $$ are not a factor I would take halide t5 combo all day.

 

[Fish Everywhere]

Well, it seems about tied as of now. Decisions, decisions!!


On a side note, as a more factual question rather than opinionated, which of these two would yield higher growth rates? 250w radiums or 6 bulb ATIs? I would assume the radiums, correct?

 

[Reefstarter2]

Not to derail your thread or start a debate . Just to state my observation with both choices and what I run now . I have tried both T5 and halide and the combo . I battled heat constantly with both choices . T5s don't put out quite as much but since you need to get the bulbs pretty close to the water to get great growth from them it does heat the tanks . Halides even 18 inches from water heat the tank . I now have way way way less heat and am able to run on a 90 degree day with no ac or chiller with , ...... you guessed it led . and the growth to me seems better . both the choices you are debating work for sure . but leds also work very well . if you plan a mixxed reef some T5 suppliment is needed . sps can do fine without it . but it will help shadows . I hope this helps and maybe save you some time and money in the long run

 

[Fish Everywhere]

Not to derail your thread or start a debate . Just to state my observation with both choices and what I run now . I have tried both T5 and halide and the combo . I battled heat constantly with both choices . T5s don't put out quite as much but since you need to get the bulbs pretty close to the water to get great growth from them it does heat the tanks . Halides even 18 inches from water heat the tank . I now have way way way less heat and am able to run on a 90 degree day with no ac or chiller with , ...... you guessed it led . and the growth to me seems better . both the choices you are debating work for sure . but leds also work very well . if you plan a mixxed reef some T5 suppliment is needed . sps can do fine without it . but it will help shadows . I hope this helps and maybe save you some time and money in the long run

Its honestly great that LED is working out for you, and I hope it continues to in the future. As for me, well, I believe LED is definitely the future but it just concerns me a little that so many people switch back to T5 or halides from LED because of a plethora of issues. Can it work? Sure, I'm not one to judge since I have never run LEDs on any of tanks personally.

But, for sake of this thread, I will mainly be focusing on T5s and halides.

 

[kevin_e]

Its honestly great that LED is working out for you, and I hope it continues to in the future. As for me, well, I believe LED is definitely the future but it just concerns me a little that so many people switch back to T5 or halides from LED because of a plethora of issues. Can it work? Sure, I'm not one to judge since I have never run LEDs on any of tanks personally.

But, for sake of this thread, I will mainly be focusing on T5s and halides.

I've run them all and halide t-5 is definitely the best combination by far. LEDs work fine, but they are definitely 3rd on the list when heat, bulb replacements and electricity is not factor.