SPS under T-5's.

jhawkor

New member
Hello, I recently downgraded to a 30 gallon long and I'm still debating lighting options. I had halides over my previous reef and my SPS loved them. However, I'm looking at T-5's for my new tank. Is it possible to house SPS under a 4 bulb T-5 fixture, or will I need to go with a 6 bulb? Thanks in advance.
 
I keep a green slimmer and a pink birds nest under a 4 bulb T5 ho's. Growth is very good, but then again they are the easiest SPS corals to keep.
 
What are the dimensions of your 30g? If you kept halides, how many watt bulb would you go with? I was just thinking about the cost of changing out 6 bulbs versus 1 halide bulb.
 
It really depends on the fixture and bulb combo I think.

I have an 18" depth tank with a 4 bulb PM fixture, and I have to be careful acclimating new frags because they get fried. I can leave my frags on the sandbed for months and they have good growth and colour.
 
I miss the complete coverage offered by T5's vs MH. On the otherhand i like using my cheap plusrite 20k bulbs over having to replace 6 T5 bulbs at $20+ each. Why not just stick to a single pendant?
 
i have a 38 gallon tall mixed reef and i have 6 24 watt t5 ho with 60 watts of led 10000k suppliment strips 20 watts of led attinic and 18watts of uv stunner for color.the t5 ho has guissimen powercrome 3 tubes and 3 tubes of guissemenn pure attinic.sorry about spelling. i get a verry high par reading on my dsb .so i can keep any coral just acclimate slowly people under estamate the t5 bulbs.i will put my light settup for my tank up against any metal halide for coverage and par on a 38 tall.the addition of the led gives me that shimmer and extra boost of strong 10000k light.i get amazing color and growth on my sps with this settup.t5 are topps for smaller tanks cause halides dont have as good of coverage unless raised very high over the tank and they become less affective.led is also a good choice for you to try get the screw in spotlight ones and just get the clip on ballists you can use four of them just a thought
 
Yeah, the length of your tank makes a big difference in what you chose. If its a 30"L then a single pendant halide wont cut it on the outer edges but then again a t5 24" has the same issues. That tank size like the 29 is just plain tough to light with any fixture cause of its uncommon size. DIY canopy works best. You can stagger the T5's for better coverage. Also, Id reccomend getting 6 bulbs. Just get 3) 2 lamp ballasts so you can stagger their on/off times along with helping acclimate corals. If you diy do like squat did with some white LED's to provide the shimmer if thats important to you. Cant go wrong with T5's imo. Although a couple 150w de or 175w se would work just as well but the cost may be the deciding factor with heat being a close second.
 
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