Single T5 fixture?

[sedatedgenius]

okay well, for some reason the search feature is only for the 'premium' members; so much for free information... anyway...

im going to start building a 27gallon all out, balls to the wall no stop aquarium. sump, refugium, skimmer the works. im really excited. this will be my 5th saltwater tank and i definently want it to be my best.

anyway, my question is...

im going to be making a lighting canopy for my 27 (30x12x13) and im going to be using a 250mh with a T5 to suppliment the actinic spectrum. (i should note that this is a complete DIY hood with retrofit MH)

can you order a single T5 retrofit kit, so i could suppliment the blue spectrum? or do any of you guys know an easy way to do a DIY?

im really impressed with the T5 technology but for the price, MH is still quite a bit cheaper. i want to add the T5 to maybe add a sunrise/sunset model to an otherwise really bright, mostly direct light solution.

thanks ahead of time for any help you guys can lend me!
:strooper: (starwars icon added for extra effect.):smokin:

 

[horkn]

www.aqualuxlighting.com

you can buy all the individual parts from them. reefgeek and other have them too, but IME aqualux is cheaper.

mh isnt less expensive than t5ho after you figure in the electric bill, not only from the use of more watts, and less eficient ballasts, but you may need a chiller, or other ways to cool a MH lit tank down- if heat becomes an issue. also, t5ho bulbs last longer than mh bulbs.

that said, my 90g will be mh and t5ho lit.
4x54 t5ho, and 1 250de or 400DE mh in the center
they both have their pluses and minuses

 

[sedatedgenius]

cool thanks for the quick reply. yeah, i know the MH uses quite a bit more electricity and definently heats up the tank, that's why im going to install a side fan and some top vents to help cool the hood.

i would like to do an all out t5 fixture though, 4x39 with two ballasts (so i can turn on actinics and 10k's seperatly). ill check it out with that link you provided. thanks.

 

[horkn]

see, my 35g which has been up for a year and a half, is all t5ho lit. the best tanks i have seen and heard of of use mh and t5, so, thats my plan on my 90g i just got.

 

[sedatedgenius]

well i guess id still rather do the MH/1T5 fixture, i could possibly do that for around 200$ as opposed to 300 with the 4t5 (which still doesnt give me as much wpg)

any single t5 kits out there?

 

[sedatedgenius]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7197370#post7197370 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by horkn
see, my 35g which has been up for a year and a half, is all t5ho lit. the best tanks i have seen and heard of of use mh and t5, so, thats my plan on my 90g i just got.

got any pics? im curious to see what the difference between a T5 lit aquarium and a Halide one looks like.

 

[sedatedgenius]

found this, kinda curious if i could mount it into my hood with some waterproof casings:

http://www.hhydro.com/cgi-bin/hhydro/XHH0221.html