t5 351 watts compared to 1 175 hqi?

[instrance]

Which would be best for my prop tank? If you have not read my thread. Its a 30 gallon 24lx 24wx 12h

 

[jeffbrig]

Save power with the MH. In a pendant with good spread, it would easily cover 24x24.

What bulb combo gets you 351w with t5? That sounds VERY high to me. You could run 4 of the 24W bulbs (22.5") and cover the entire tank with good intensity. At ~100W, it may be more efficient to operate, but you'll have to look at startup costs. 4x24W kits from reefgeek are $270. I don't know what you're looking to spend on the MH kit.

 

[instrance]

Have all the parts I need except the bulbs.. Still waiting on someone to order them for me.

5 39W T5 Aquablue Plus 11K
3 39w T5 Pure Actinic Giesemann PowerChrome
1 39W T5 High Output Fluorescent Bulb 4ft. 6500K

 

[jeffbrig]

T5 39W bulbs are 34" long...much bigger than your tank? With single lamp reflectors, you don't need anything close to 9. You can probably run 4 aquablues and call it a day, or throw on a pair of blue+ if you want to run heavy lighting.

9 T5 bulbs over a tank that shallow would probably burn things. If it were my tank, I'd place a rack 4-5" under the surface of the water, and run the lowest wattage lighting as close to the water's surface as possible.

FWIW, I ran my 250g reef with just 4 T5s for several months. Kept sps and even acros in there, and they grew the entire time. It's a lot deeper than 12", lol. Keeping the water clean & clear can make a HUGE difference in light penetration though.

 

[Ding2daDong]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9398859#post9398859 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by instrance
Have all the parts I need except the bulbs.. Still waiting on someone to order them for me.

5 39W T5 Aquablue Plus 11K
3 39w T5 Pure Actinic Giesemann PowerChrome
1 39W T5 High Output Fluorescent Bulb 4ft. 6500K

I think you would bleach out most sps with that much lighting and such a shallow tank.

-Matt

 

[instrance]

What are you running now? NM i see