MH or T5?

[PupChow]

Would like to ask the gurus for help!

I am going to do this for my clam. Upgrading either to a MH or T5 setup ASAP. I am shopping around, and really would prefer a light that can sit on top of my tank, so ideally it'll come with a hood and legs.

Right now I have a 30g (36 1/4" length), will be upgrading in two months to a 58g (36 1/2" length), so I will go for a hood now that I can use later as well.

What sort of light would you recommand for a 58g tank? The height will be 21". I can definitely place the clam high up in the rockwork.

Will T5 be sufficient (they have 8x36w I believe)? Since it will be in my room, I am leaning towards the T5 due MH's heat issue; but if it doesn't work, then I can definitely look into the MH.

Thanks!

 

[Thunnus]

MH's will give you more flexibility as to what you can add to your tank. There are die-hard T5 fans that will say that T5's can do anything MH's can. I would go with a single 250w MH pendant fixture. There is not a significant increase in the amount of heat output, the heat is just concentrated into one small bulb instead of the length of multiple long tubes.

 

[gcrowptc]

I agree MH for sure and in the long run will cost you less to use than the T5