t5 vs mh

S

shoey

New member
i am wondering if i should use t5. I have heird good things about them.
But the guy at the local fish store says that i should use mh. should i use t5 or mh?
 
Re: t5 vs mh

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9568581#post9568581 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by shoey
i am wondering if i should use t5. I have heird good things about them.
But the guy at the local fish store says that i should use mh. should i use t5 or mh?
Click to expand...

As a rule of thumb 9 out of 10 times we DONT LISTEN to the guy at the LFS :)
 
I would keep it simple and do a few DIY MH setups for about 100-150 dollars per setup complete with reflector. PM me if you want details.
 
I would use both, but if you must have one or the other go with halide(s). The glitter lines from a halide can't be beat. :)
 
Depends on the tank. 55g tanks are poster children for T5s, but a 60g cube is pretty much a halide-only tank. For tanks 100g and up, combos are the best.
 
I set up my 55g with new lights last week. I got two DE MH reflectors from hellolights for $30 each. Then two t-5 with ice cap reflectors, and it all fit into my canopy which is 13in wide. I get both. I think the whole thing cost me around $500. But I got ice cap ballast which are $115 each. You could do it cheaper with mag ballast. I got ushio 14k, which are a very nice white. I still like it better with the 2 t-5 uv super actinics. makes the corals pop. Plus u get the shimmer from the mh too.
 
I just got my 150w 14K MH lamp about a week ago. That's all I am using on my 29 gallon for my LPS's. Well worth it. I switched from 130w of PC lighting.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9570520#post9570520 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jobob
I set up my 55g with new lights last week. I got two DE MH reflectors from hellolights for $30 each. Then two t-5 with ice cap reflectors, and it all fit into my canopy which is 13in wide. I get both. I think the whole thing cost me around $500. But I got ice cap ballast which are $115 each. You could do it cheaper with mag ballast. I got ushio 14k, which are a very nice white. I still like it better with the 2 t-5 uv super actinics. makes the corals pop. Plus u get the shimmer from the mh too.
Click to expand...


cheaping out on reflectors and spending extra on ballasts is pretty much the opposite of what you should have done.

Running Icecaps on DEs is a bad idea. DEs dont run all that well on electronics. You get shorter bulb life, less efficiency, and poor color. you're running them under spec. The difference between cheap reflectors and good ones is absurd. You're getting almost double the light from a good $100 reflector as from a cheap $30 one.
 
I know I should have gotten good reflectors but I only have 13in wide to work with, and I wanted to have 2x54 t-5 for actinic. Which barely fit as it is. Im planning on getting a 90gal within the next 2 months so I will have 18in, and I plan on getting better reflectors then. Do you know any good reflectors that are small enough to fit in a 18in canopy with 2x2in t-5 reflectors?
 
I just dumped my T5's and went back to MH....just cant beat the look (sharpned, glitter lines, etc) of that MH......I swear that my corals like the change back to MH also.....
 
i go t5, i just switched from mh and love my t5's. the mh shimmer i really don't miss, my corals look better and healthier. but i would try one and if you don't like it try the other.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9635933#post9635933 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RichConley
Running Icecaps on DEs is a bad idea. DEs dont run all that well on electronics. You get shorter bulb life, less efficiency, and poor color. you're running them under spec.
Click to expand...

While I agree that reflectors are important do you have any sources of information covering why running DE bulbs on Icecaps is a bad idea?

Here is how it was explained to me:

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9644802#post9644802 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ASH
When we over-drive fluorescent lamps, the reaction is often you're killing the lamps. As we don't use the filaments the news has finally filtered down to most IceCap VHO owners that VHO or T5HO lamps last 18-24 months when run on our ballasts. (T5HO need active heat venting of lamp heat)

Now we are not only under-driving MH DE lamps, we're cutting into their useful life also. BS.

Here's what we do:
*Start a cold lamp with half the KV charge.
*Running MH lamps at 40KHz vs. 60Hz. or 120Hz.
*After three tries to light a lamp, the ballast shuts down, saving the electricity, the bulb and ballast from endless cycling.
*Operate lamps at specified wattage printed on the lamps.

Electronic ballasts, so it says above, also cause the MH lamp's color to shift and efficiency to drop by operating the lamp at the wattage printed on the lamp. Does that make sense to anyone? Has Sanjay ever suggested electronic ballasts degrade DE MH lamps? If they wanted to have the lamps run at 300-watts I would have thought they'd print that on the lamp.

Our experience is that using a lower starting voltage and higher operating frequency increase a lamp's useful life. If there's a color shift, it's when the MH lamp is over or under driven by 15% or more of the optimal wattage called for on the lamp.

Andy
Click to expand...
 
I run 2 MH pendants. One is a magnetic ballast, one has an Icecap. I have to replace the icecap's bulbs almost twice as often. It absolutely destroys DE bulbs.


You get a lot of splatter inside the arc tube because it doesnt burn as hot... basically the gas condenses in places its not supposed to, and then the ballast can't get the bulb to light again.


"f they wanted to have the lamps run at 300-watts I would have thought they'd print that on the lamp."

That statement right there tells me the guy has absolutely no idea what hes talking about. He should take a look at the HQI specifications at some point.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9645781#post9645781 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RichConley
I run 2 MH pendants. One is a magnetic ballast, one has an Icecap. I have to replace the icecap's bulbs almost twice as often. It absolutely destroys DE bulbs.
Click to expand...

Wow, so they actually fail to light? very interesting, I'm going to have to do some more research, thanks.
 
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