lighting question

[sanababit]

hello guys, i was wondering whats the difference between T5 lights, power compact lights and metal halides.

o would like to know diference in cost of running them, and how effective are they, i read somewhere that t5 are cheaper and they use less electricity and are as bright as halides, is this true??, thanks

sana

 

[Zann]

some say they are you can go to the lighting forum and read the test that have been done on them
pc lights run hot and the bulbs are around 25 to 29 dollars for the 24 in
the setup for mh and t-5 i would say are about the same price to get started
but the bulbs are only 15 to 25 dollars and you dont have to replace them but every 18 months to 2 years .
mh bulbs are alot more exspencive like 60 bucks or more and use alot more energy to run and have to be replace every 9 to 12 months
some like the shimmer of mh lights and you dont get that with t-5 lights
so it is just what you like readup on it in the other forum and go from there
you could use t-5 and a small mh light to get the best of both worlds

 

[sanababit]

mmmmmm, good point, thanks zann

 

[jon99]

Generally MH are going to be brighter but also much hotter. I have to keep 3 fans on all day and my temp is still around 83. If you want SPS or clams most people would recommend you go with these. If your more into softies and LPS you can get away with the PC's. Oh, and if you shop around you don't have to pay that much for PC bulbs. I've gotten some decent bulbs that worked out great off ebay for around $15 per bulb shipped. I did have to order 6 of them tho.

 

[jon99]

Generally MH are going to be brighter but also much hotter. I have to keep 3 fans on all day and my temp is still around 83. If you want SPS or clams most people would recommend you go with these. If your more into softies and LPS you can get away with the PC's. Oh, and if you shop around you don't have to pay that much for PC bulbs. I've gotten some decent bulbs that worked out great off ebay for around $15 per bulb shipped. I did have to order 6 of them tho. MH will be quite a bit more to run then the PC's.

 

[sabbath]

Ok, we see how they work but which is best? Well I'm not going to tell, so there! Actually both types make fine lighting for a reef tank and there is a lot of misinformation about the differences between the two. This centers on that the fluorescent lights are a continuum source while MH is a point source.

A big myth is that MH lights are much hotter than fluorescents. That is really not so. A bank of 500 watts in fluorescents puts out around the same heat as 500 watts of metal halides. The fluorescent tubes spread that heat over the entire length of the tube. A MH light concentrates the heat in a small area. This aids in the belief that they create more heat. The light output is also overstated for a MH. Many say that they produce much more light than a fluorescent (s) of the same wattage. This is just the same as the heat. The fluorescent spreads the light out while the MH emits it in a small area. Sure it looks much brighter but if you add up the total illumination for the fluorescent there is not that much difference.

From;
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=550860


I recommend that you look a tank with each typeof lighting LIVE before you pick. MH's point source gives it a natural look 2nd to nothing. IMO

 

[chaseracing]

I agree with Sabbath. I have a PC/MH combo on my tank and the PC's get very hot. My guess is they get almost as hot as the halides.

I had 96watt PC over my sump and I had to increase the height because I was cooking the sump. I also have (2) 96 watt PC's over the tank itself and I can watch the temp go up when they are on.

The halides will give you a very intense light which is great for corals and anything else that requires light for feeding. The PC's are great for shaping your light and changing the colors of the tank. I originally had Actinics on my tank, and I switched to 50/50's to get a brighter look.

I feel like I have the best of both worlds right now. The MH are giving the corals the growth they need and the PC's are making the tank visually appealing.

-=E=-