T5 or not to T5

[Buganddoug]

Hi all I have a 180 gallon reef with Mix Coral. My lighting right now is 3 175 watt M/H and 2 VHO actinics. I was thinking of upgrading to 3 250 watt M/H.
But I have been thinking of switching to T5 lighting. (Current USA 72" 12x39w Nova Extreme Pro).
Any and All info would help.
Thank you.

 

[1DeR9_3Hy]

I am a T5 guy solely because of the colors you can get with them as compared to any other form of lighting.

My vote is T5.

 

[Mr. Thingdoer]

I went from MH to T5. I found what I was looking for, so I'll stay with T5.

I also went with the Nova Extreme Pro, but swapped out the bulbs to get more of a 20k look

 

[addicted2reefin]

me too, i went from t5 to mh to t5 again. my button polyps were brown under 20k halide, and they got there green under stock nova extreme bulbs.
the nova extreme is a great light. as long as u get the slrs with it

 

[Mr. Thingdoer]

I agree. I couldn't get color under my MH no matter what I did, at least not color like I see in some of these pictures.

I switched to T5's and I'm so proud of how everything has colored up I just want to have a party to show off my tank.

 

[Buganddoug]

Thanks for your input but what is slrs?

 

[James77]

SLRs are single lamp reflectors.

I went from halides to T5's for about 1 year, and I switched back to halides again.

My biggest reason to switch back to halides was the look of them, mainly the shimmer. T5s look flat, like every freshwater aquarium I had for years. Every time I went to the LFS or another reefers house who used halides, I missed having them.

 

[pmrossetti]

I just can't do without that shimmer.

 

[dgunn]

I switched to T-5's from halides to cut energy costs.
I ended up saving only about 125 watts.
But I do like the colors that I'm now seeing in the corals.

 

[Buganddoug]

I have seen tanks with T5 and they use LED moon lighting 24hrs a day to get the Shimmer.

 

[frysRC]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15576456#post15576456 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 1DeR9_3Hy
I am a T5 guy solely because of the colors you can get with them as compared to any other form of lighting.

My vote is T5.

I'll be going over to t5 for this reason.

 

[Mr. Thingdoer]

As stated above, the shimmer effect can be added with a few high power LEDs. Depending on how fancy you want to get, you can add more shimmer than Halides produce with LEDs

 

[augustasalty]

a mix

a mix

I would suggest a mix, I would go with the 250 mh's and switch to t5's as your actinics, that will give you both the intensity and the colors you want

 

[James77]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15577361#post15577361 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Buganddoug
I have seen tanks with T5 and they use LED moon lighting 24hrs a day to get the Shimmer.

Yes, but any shimmer I have seen from the LEDs is drowned out when the T5s are on.

 

[James77]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVUfIatAXoE

That is qfrisco's tank. He added a couple DIY LED spotlights.

 

[200mfromocean]

Tagging along. Was thinking of doing a MH + 2 X t5 mix for my 120G. Any compboi really worth looking at?

 

[Buganddoug]

I do like the color of T5s and If I put some LED strips in I can get the shimmer look.
I can save some good money in going with Current USA 72" 12x39w Nova Extreme Pro. Than upgrading my 175watt M/H system to a 250 watt M/H.
I would all so like to know if any one has used or seen the Current USA 72" 12x39w Nova Extreme Pro in action?
Thanks for your input into this.

 

[Johnny C]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15578279#post15578279 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by James77
Yes, but any shimmer I have seen from the LEDs is drowned out when the T5s are on.

Not to insult you, but that is completely incorrect. I have a six-bulb configuration on my 30G tank, and with two of the 460nm PowerBrite LEDs, I have a constant shimmer... even with the daylights on. T5s are awesome... GL!

PS- If you guys want, lmk and I'll upload a quick video of my tank with the shimmer!

 

[James77]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15621289#post15621289 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by CaliDreaminjC
Not to insult you, but that is completely incorrect. I have a six-bulb configuration on my 30G tank, and with two of the 460nm PowerBrite LEDs, I have a constant shimmer... even with the daylights on. T5s are awesome... GL!

PS- If you guys want, lmk and I'll upload a quick video of my tank with the shimmer!

It is not incorrect that I have not seen any- I haven't. Please show us the video, Id love to see how it looks.

Look at the link yo youtube I provided- that is the results I usually see when LEDs are used to get shimmer. I'd love to see otherwise, because that is my biggest complaint of T5s is the lack of shimmer.

 

[redfishsc]

please do!