SPS and T5's

[Guss]

Is it possible to grow them with out metal halides? And what bulbs would be recomened if it is possible?

 

[Blueline12]

Yes, pretty much any acro can grow and have great coloration with T5's. Just need good reflectors and bulbs. ATI's, KZ's or Gieseman's are best bulbs but the Gieseman has a little less par then the rest.

 

[karsseboom]

Is this a joke?

 

[Guss]

Is this a joke?

My ? ...no not a joke I have read yes I have read no. I want to hear from folks that have done it or have tried and have not. All the tanks I have seen have halides. If it was a joke I would have put it in the lounge! I am new to the hobby and looking for input befor sinking money into something I dont need.

 

[mhucasey]

If you look at European SPS tanks, the best I have seen use T5s. I just switched to T5s and the output and color on these are unreal!

 

[mushroom head]

I ran solely T5's right from the start and never looked back.

This is what i do with only T5's all ATI in a tek fixture

 

[karsseboom]

My ? ...no not a joke I have read yes I have read no. I want to hear from folks that have done it or have tried and have not. All the tanks I have seen have halides. If it was a joke I would have put it in the lounge! I am new to the hobby and looking for input befor sinking money into something I dont need.

Well to answer your question t5 are one of the most proven methods for growing Sps. That's why I thought you were joking. Some of the nicest tanks in the world are running t5.

 

[krzyphsygy]

I am a believer in t5s now. I have run halides for ever and went with an ATI t5 fixture and I have to say that my sps grow very very well under these lights. Their growing good and I am happy with the growth. I never got growth like this out of my halides. My t5s are so strong I have to slowly acclimate them to my light over the course of weeks or months because of the brighness of these things. Lets put it this way, I work for a warehouse type retailer...big box style and we light our store with t5s/

 

[a.browning]

T5s are the the best lighting for SPS IMO. Just make sure you get a good fixture with good bulbs. I use an ATI fixture on my sps tank with great results.

 

[karsseboom]

T5s are the the best lighting for SPS IMO. Just make sure you get a good fixture with good bulbs. I use an ATI fixture on my sps tank with great results.

I agree. I probably wouldn't use any other lifting unless the tank was fairly large.

 

[pwoller]

I've been successfull with SPS using T5's and MH so far. Trying with LEDs right now. It took a while for my corals to get used to the T5's but as soon as they did my colors were better then with MH's.

 

[Guss]

This is encouraging for my current T5 set up! The pics above are awesome, Thanks for the input. Now to tweak me bulb selection and lay-out!

 

[Big E]

T5's here also........2 coral+ and 2 Blue+ over my 75g

[/IMG]

More pics here---
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2197142

 

[ggrillo]

I think part of the reason t5s work so great with SPS is because they are not as direct as halides and the light can reach different sides and angles of the coral that would be shadowed with other lighting types.

 

[Guss]

Thanks for the input everyone!

 

[mhucasey]

I think part of the reason t5s work so great with SPS is because they are not as direct as halides and the light can reach different sides and angles of the coral that would be shadowed with other lighting types.

I think this is the most important aspect of T5s that many overlook! The Metal halide reflectors spread out the light a good bit and provide light coming in at somewhat of an angle, but its still way too direct. LEDs are even more direct - my corals looked great from above with LED but the shading was pretty bad and the sides of the corals were drab.

In nature, the coral receives light from all angles throughout the day - only for a short period of time is the sun directly overhead.