How to switch from T5 to MH

[Montezuma]

I currently use a T5 solar flare on my 90 gal. I got a free 250s pfo ballast with luminarcs, and 2 vhos with ballasts. Im thinking of using that setup instead. My T5s are working fine for SPS, but not that they are bigger, I feel like the lower corals arent getting much light.

My question is, will I burn my corals if I just switch over? How do I successfully switch over?

 

[jerryz]

lol doubtful. Odds are the solar flare has more light over the entire tank.

 

[125G Reefer]

Switch over= plug em in and turn em on.

 

[ksc]

The t-5 can't put out the par numbers that your new MH setup will. I'd reduce photoperiod to half what you are using now and gradually build up.

 

[125G Reefer]

Not for nothing, but. I switched over from PC to Halide..Plugged em in and turned em on, same photo period as the PC's were.

 

[Montezuma]

It was my understandign that the PFO ballast with 10k bulbs and VHos would have a lot more Par than my solarflare. I guess to be safe I can do half the time on.

I can tell you that its a lot brighter than my T5 ever were on that tank.

 

[Left Coast DJ]

Sell me your Solar Flare!

 

[Henry Bowman]

The real difference is that the MH lights are a point source. You need to be careful of corals that may be directly under the MH lights.

Depending on the bulb use, the SF can and does have higher par numbers close to the top of the tank. Where the T5's really exceed mh lighting is in that the light spread is much more even and much brighter over the outlying areas of the tank.

I have a SF and like it. I have used a lux meter to test my tank pars. I dont have the exact numbers in front of me but I do know the par is higher near the sides of my tank than my 2 250W MH set-up. Near the center top of the tank the par readings were within 25 of the mh. In addition the SF produced higher pars as the meter moved away from the MH bulbs at the top and bottom of the tank. I believe that this is due to the reflectors used in the SF and the bulbs I use.

Here is my bulb set up

ATI special Blue
ATI Blue Plus
Figi Purple
GE 6500K
ATI Special Blue
ATI Blue Plus