Help me decide switch from T5 to MH...?

[zooman72]

After helping to set-up the new gorgonian reef tank at the Aquarium of Niagara, and seeing the resultant colors brought out by the 14K MH's, I am considering switching over to MH's on my 29 gallon gorgonian tank here at home. I just am not satisfied by the colors (oranges and purples not good in my opinion) present in my tank, and was considering trying ATI bulbs for the next set of bulbs due next month (1 AquaBlue Special, 1 Purple Plus, and 2 Blue Plus - all 24W, so 96W total).

Now I am considering either 2 70W MH's or 1 150W MH with a 14,000K bulb - so the question is: would the 2 70W's be enough with regards to intensity (2 give better spread - needed as I have gorgonians near the edges of the tank), or would a single 150W be better (for intensity, but lacking spread/ coverage of 2 bulbs)? I am also keeping my glass top (cuts down on evaporation and keeps fish in), so I hope temperature would not become an issue.

I am looking at 2 tank mount fixtures (either Hamilton Bimini or JBJ K2 Vipers) as I cannot rig a ceiling mount. Anyone have any thoughts? Should I just keep the T5's? I am just looking for some additional thoughts other than my own....so thanks in advance!

 

[gary greguire]

IMO light may noy be the only factor in the coloration.

not all 14k mh bulbs give the exact some color rendering diff wattages also change the color

you should be able to play around with your bulbs and get close to the same color.

the metal halide is going to add a lot of heat to a 29 are you going to be able to keep the tank cool this summer?

 

[Flanders]

if you decide to do it, I would simplify things and go with the single 150. most reflectors give you a roughly 2x2-foot spread, so there would only be 3 inches on each end of the tank with (slightly) reduced intensity. but neither choice is a terribly efficient way to light that size tank because you will be getting so much spillover on the front and back.

you may have to lose the glass tops in the summer, or entirely, and go with some type of screen. a fan for evaporation/cooling is your friend. does this tank have a sump? if not and removing the glass is not an option, I wouldn't even consider this.

not a T5 user so I can't comment on the comparison.

 

[jfl14609]

What t5 fixture do you have?

 

[zooman72]

Gary G - yeah, the easiest and "safest" route is to change my T5 bulb combination as I mentioned. My biggest concern is the heat, but my house is cooled with central air.

Flanders - the 70W MH's tend to have a 1'x1' spread, in normal configuration, and the JBJ K2 150W has an asymmetrical reflector to address the spread issue - not sure how it works, but have seen similar uses in other brands of course. The tank has a 20L sump which holds 15-16 gallons, and I would probably have a fan at the top of the display to keep heat on the glass top within reasonable limits.

jfl - I am using a Current Sundial 4x24W running a Indigo Sun, 75:25, and 2 454 Blues. I have a picture of it with and without flash in the latest gorgonian thread - when I get home later I can insert those pictures here too. The fixture has worked well enough for me, and several gorgonians have grown appreciably, but I am simply not happy with the overall color of the tank and the specimens within. Maybe trying the combination of ATI bulbs I listed above would be enough, but I do not use metal halide currently, and after seeing the results of the tank I mentioned above I am "itching" to experiment...

 

[Flanders]

Another thing to consider is 70-watt may give you fewer decent bulb choices and you will be spending more on bulb replacement. I have not kept up with what bulbs are out there, so I could be wrong. And you may find that you also need to increase evaporation by putting a fan over the sump to keep the tank cool.

 

[zooman72]

Thanks Flanders, you have a point about having 2 bulbs to replace instead of one if going with the 70W MH's...and I am also worried about temperature somewhat if I do go this route.

 

[gary greguire]

does that t5 fixture have individual reflectors?

 

[jfl14609]

I currently have the same one on my 75 ( I hate it by the way) it does work well though has individual reflectors I would pop some better bulbs in and you may be happy or as I am hopefully finishing this weekend scrap it and go led haha

 

[gary greguire]

I currently have the same one on my 75 ( I hate it by the way) it does work well though has individual reflectors I would pop some better bulbs in and you may be happy or as I am hopefully finishing this weekend scrap it and go led haha

I will second the better bulbs.....

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

After helping to set-up the new gorgonian reef tank at the Aquarium of Niagara, and seeing the resultant colors brought out by the 14K MH's, I am considering switching over to MH's on my 29 gallon gorgonian tank here at home. I just am not satisfied by the colors (oranges and purples not good in my opinion) present in my tank, and was considering trying ATI bulbs for the next set of bulbs due next month (1 AquaBlue Special, 1 Purple Plus, and 2 Blue Plus - all 24W, so 96W total).

Now I am considering either 2 70W MH's or 1 150W MH with a 14,000K bulb - so the question is: would the 2 70W's be enough with regards to intensity (2 give better spread - needed as I have gorgonians near the edges of the tank), or would a single 150W be better (for intensity, but lacking spread/ coverage of 2 bulbs)? I am also keeping my glass top (cuts down on evaporation and keeps fish in), so I hope temperature would not become an issue.

I am looking at 2 tank mount fixtures (either Hamilton Bimini or JBJ K2 Vipers) as I cannot rig a ceiling mount. Anyone have any thoughts? Should I just keep the T5's? I am just looking for some additional thoughts other than my own....so thanks in advance!

are your Gorgs photo or non-photo? What do you feed them? Can you post a pic of the Aquarium of Niagara's Gorg tank next to a pic of yours?

 

[zooman72]

Gary G - it does have individual reflectors and I like the fixture (built in timers), and I planned on new ATI's for bulbs (Aquablue, Purple Plus, 2 Blue Plus), although the UVL bulbs were thought to be good...

jfl - I have considered LED, just too many variables amonst different fixtures, and do not want to DIY right now...

Gary M - my gorgs are all photosynthetic, and I rarely feed anymore due to excessive nutrients for my system, although there are 6 fish I feed often. I am going back in on Tuesday to the Aquarium, and will ask permission to post a photo (should be OK) - I think it turned out quite well, and we used Sea Life Inc. for the specimens.

 

[zooman72]

Tank photos....

Tank photos....

Taken with and without flash...

 

[bassplaya12]

I would scrap the MH idea and go with LED's. It really is worth it. It did wonders to my tank

 

[gary greguire]

i used to run the uvl t12 vho's i really liked them I tried there t5's and wasent happy

 

[toddmh]

I would scrap the MH idea and go with LED's. It really is worth it. It did wonders to my tank

for such a small system I'd say this is the best bet..not cheapest though

 

[Jstn]

Food for though, I upgraded a current sun dial to a tek, and I'm seeing much better colors along with growth. I also swapped the bulbs from the sundial to the tek, so same exact bulbs.

 

[zooman72]

I have considered LED's, but can't really find any fixtures I like or that are not "uber expensive"...and I know that they pay for themselves in the long run, but one must pay for them in the short run first! I do like LED's and run them on a couple of tanks, but not all of them result in great overall color (not just florescent under royal blues and such), and some I have seen give that "blah" look. I do like the Vortech Radion and NanoBox fixtures (custom) using a mix of colors, but they don't really "fit" my tank and its 30"x12" footprint.

The easiest route for me is to simply use different bulbs as I already mentioned, and I may do this until I can decide on a LED fixture sometime in the near future. I do not currently have a tank running metal halide, so maybe that is why I am envious when I see them on another tank. My corals are doing fine, I simply do not like their colors....so if a few of you are recommending LED's, what do you recommend for a fixture - keep in mind I am not DIY'ing one any time soon.

 

[zooman72]

Anyone else?

I am considering just updating/ ungrading the bulbs to ATI in my fixture at this point just due to simplicity and cost, but am surprised I did not have anyone really "sing the praises" of metal halide yet.

Any thoughts on what LED fixture would work best for this footprint?

 

[Flanders]

well, I was trying to be neutral but I don't care for T5s at all. that type of lighting looks highly unnatural to me. I much prefer the look of MH and LEDs. I like to see shadows and rippling water, not uniform brightness.