T5 or MH for 75g tank?

Genin

Genin

New member
Hey guys,
I will be setting up my 75g tank when I get moved into my new home in about a month or so. I was wondering what lights I should go with, either T5 or MH?

I will have mixed corals, most likely just lps and softies. However, I do have a bta that I will be placing in there when my clowns go into the tank in a few months or so (after the tank is well established). My question is do you think a 4x 54w T5 set up would be sufficient (bigals has it for like $200) or would I need to go with MH? If I go with MH what wattage am I going to need? 250w, 400w, etc.?

Thanks everyone.
 
I dont know which unit you are looking at buying from big al's but if it doesnt have individual reflectors on the t5 bulbs i would say dont waste your money . The reflectors are what seem to make these bulbs rock . Dual 250's would be plenty for the 75 for MH's .
 
well, a 75 would need 2 mh, cost wise its hard to beat the t5ho.
it looks like i will be setting up a 90g soon. i am a little on the fence about using t5ho again, or mh/ t5. if i were to do mh/t5, it would be 2x54 supplementals (blue+ or the uri (UV lighting) super actinic, it should be out by then.

for mh i would try to do 2x150 de, but if 2x175 w SE mh or 150x2 SE mh whatever would be cheaper.

but if i were to do purely t5ho for it, i would go 6x54 becasue of the depth of the 90 vs the 75g. the 75 you probably could get away with 5x54, but i would definitely use icecap or aqualux reflectors since they are better than the tek reflectors. and since you want softies and lps, 4x54 would work, and a few sps, easier ones at least.

what unit is 200 at big als?
 
T5s are NOT a good light source for softies and LPS. I have 6x54 normal driven on my 75 and it is more than enough light for ANY sps/clam etc. My LPS are not a fan of it unless they are in an area that doesnt get as much light and softies take a long time to adapt as well. If you want to use T5s, only use 4 and do not use an icecap ballast and you will be fine.
 
horace, i dont know if i would go far as saying all lps and softies dont liek t5ho..

many softies love a lot of light. lps less so for the most part, but, 4x54 would be fine on that 75
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6956575#post6956575 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by horkn
horace, i dont know if i would go far as saying all lps and softies dont liek t5ho..

many softies love a lot of light. lps less so for the most part, but, 4x54 would be fine on that 75
Click to expand...

For the most part, what I said is true... and i did also say 4x54 normally driven would be just fine. 6 is not fine for everything for sure. I know that for a fact because I am dealing with it now.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6956952#post6956952 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Horace
For the most part, what I said is true... and i did also say 4x54 normally driven would be just fine. 6 is not fine for everything for sure. I know that for a fact because I am dealing with it now.
Click to expand...


I know.
i just want guys to know that xenia, gsp, toadstool, kenya tree and many others like the bright of t5ho. even my hydnopora (lps) likes it high in the tank, right at the same level as all my sps.

my micromussa do ok at the top, but the ones a little out of the direct t5ho seem to have better color than the ones in direct light of the t5ho.

now my euphylia, dont like it anywhere but at the bottom. the purple shrooms, watermelon shrooms, and hairy shrooms do well at the same level as the sps as well. zoos, well, they dont care where theya re in my tank. i have 6 kinds of zoo, and thgey are happy everywhere. well, everywhere out of the bryopsis...:p
 
well, you dont want to hear it, but that unit doesnt have what makes t5ho so good.
individual parabolic reflectors.
that nova has a single reflector for all bulbs. if you dont want sps, it may jsut work out fine, but if any sps or clams are in the plan, then you want individual reflectors.
 
Man I wish those single reflector units didnt exist...so many people buy them and dont realize they are missing out on probably 50% of the capability of the T5....its a real shame :(. Then those people come back and complain about T5 lol
 
you cant win horace.. you just cant win.;)

the more i think about it, the 90g i have in the works will be mh lit with t5ho supps.

i will leave my 35g to be the test t5ho tank....
 
T5s

T5s

If you must go with a lighthood, Sunlight Supply's T5 Tek Light is the way to go. Runs very cool compared to MH and uses a lot less electricity. No fans needed to reduce the heat, so runs quiet as well. Just be careful on the mushrooms that don't like inense lighting as they will need to be kept in the more shaded area of your tank.
 
horkn & horace,
is there any unit that comes with the parabolic reflectors for each individual bulb or would you have to buy a retrofit kit and just do it yourself?
 
Dont mean to hijack the thread

I have a 90 AGA RR tank and I plan on using t5 lighting either the Tek or Aquactinics hood. Would the 4x54 model be suffucient if I would only be keeping softies, shrooms, polyps or should I get 6x54??????

Could you keep a BTA under the 4x54????
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6958469#post6958469 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JRANG
Dont mean to hijack the thread

I have a 90 AGA RR tank and I plan on using t5 lighting either the Tek or Aquactinics hood. Would the 4x54 model be suffucient if I would only be keeping softies, shrooms, polyps or should I get 6x54??????

Could you keep a BTA under the 4x54????
Click to expand...

The Tek and aquatinics hoods both are good. I THINK Icecap may sell a hood as well but im not sure on that one. Either way I wouldnt get one of those because they are overdriven.

A 4x54 is more than enough light for any softy/LPS for a 75g/90g tank. 6x54 should only be used if you intend on running SPS dominated tank. Otherwise you will have too much light for quite a few diff softy/LPS species.
 
Genin... The Tek Light has individual reflectors...

JRANG... get the more light you might be surprised what you want to keep a year from now...

It's all about arranging the corals and getting the proper light frequencies...

I have 6 x80 (with 2 additional actinic suppliments) over my 180 and I have a number of softies that absolutely love the light...

Dave
 
check out seedsetc.com for Tek T5 fixtures. This is where I purchased mine. They have reasonable prices and they will sell you the bulbs really cheap of ordered when buying the fixture.

On another forum T5 came up last night... I was told that once (Acros)corals loose their color, they would never regain it back... so this is something to consider. Most of my SPS has come from people with MH and some things seem to discolor initially, but then recover. I just added a bunch of SPS this past weekend, I will be keeping an eye on them... they have started to fade now, hopefully they come back.

Rich
 
Stupid question...

Could I buy a 6x54 model and only use 4 bulbs in there? Reason I am asking is that Seedsetc.com sells the Tek 5 - 4x54 or 6X54 lighting fixture for $215 (no bulbs) No price difference between the two fixtures.

Aquactinics has the 5x54 for $290 but that has the acrylic shield and fans???

What to do...what to do : )
 
Sorry Rich didnt see your post about the "Seedsetc" before I posted.

Seems like a darn good price. Any issues when ordering from them?
 
I believe on the 6 x fictures the first and last light are on one ballast and the middle four are on the second ballast. So you could run four. I think this was done for the dawn / dusk effect.

And yeah, I should have said.. Seedsetc wasn't only competative, they were the cheapest I found, and were fast. They drop ship from the manufacturer (or did so in my case) which is why the prices are so low. The gentleman there was really nice too. He called with tracking and actuall delivery dates.

Don't forget to buy stands for the Tek though.. its an extra $55.00 or so... not sure what the price was...

Rich....
 
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