T5s or Halides?

[sal-t-dawg]

I have been going back and fourth and weighing the pros and cons between my T5 setup and going with halides. Id keep my T5's if I could find the right combination for maximum coral growth, color and halide'ish shimmer. If any of you T5'rs have ideas for the ultimate 4 light combo then by all means tell me what it is. I have also cosidered adding a two bulb retro for a total of six T5s. Id hate to go through the expense of buying and running halides if I can achieve the same or very similar results with T5s. I would like for anyone to chime in here with their opinions.

 

[poolkeeper1]

There Is no such thing as Shimmer with T5's, To get the Shimmer you must M/H. But you already should know this Carl!
Bill

 

[nightfire]

i would say if ya still want a shimmer with t5s then try leds with them,i would think if ya had enough WHITE led lights in a bluish colored tank it will shimmer,take leds and place them in your tank at night and you see the shimmer,place enough of em in the tank with the t5s and you'll get the shimmer effect,i just bought led lights from walmart after xmas sale and they arent as strong as i was hopping but i wanted them for night time lighting,i have a cool little flash light with 48 leds and it lights more then anything and if i can figure out how to wire those up i'll use it...so try leds,it might work for ya....as far as the amout of par you'll need for max groth,beats me i never had t5s before but will have my set up done soon,just need four bulbs and 2 reflectors

 

[sal-t-dawg]

There Is no such thing as Shimmer with T5's, To get the Shimmer you must M/H. But you already should know this Carl!
Bill

I know Bill, but in many ways Im still a newbie. There are many people out there who know far more than I do and maybe, just maybe, somebody has an idea that I can work with. I think I should just sell everything and buy a killer LED setup! I wont have anything else but the light set but at least it'll be very efficient and I wont have to do any more water changes!:idea:

 

[nightfire]

lol true on the water changes...me,id stay away from the halides just cause of the electric bill itll cause,but thats me

 

[rbond007]

Man I love my halide and would never go back to t5s to me it is just a real natural looking light and that is what I love bout it but the down side is more evaporation and you may pay a lil more a month but so what to me its worth it

 

[nightfire]

lol i think i double posted...sorry

 

[poolkeeper1]

I know Bill, but in many ways Im still a newbie. There are many people out there who know far more than I do and maybe, just maybe, somebody has an idea that I can work with. I think I should just sell everything and buy a killer LED setup! I wont have anything else but the light set but at least it'll be very efficient and I wont have to do any more water changes!:idea:

You could buy a hanging kit and hang It under your car, That would look real cool seeing you come down the road from afar....:wildone::hammer:
But you would need a converter to get It running, But no water changes other than a wash once In a while LOL:wave:

 

[ZachB]

MH for me. If you're going to do it, do it right.

 

[AdrianBryce]

You can add LED's to T5's to get shimmer, similar to the ones you just sold. Growth will be the virtually same with MH or T5, maybe a difference of a millimeter. T5's isn't doing it wrong. It is just simply another method for lighting. you may not be able to have SPS as low in the tank as with High wattage MH. A plus I like is that you can get any combo of bulbs to get the look you want and make the colors pop that you want to pop. i would have more than four bulbs, six would be good, 8 would be best.

 

[ai-reefer]

yep adding LEDs to T5s will give you shimmer if your leds are bright enough

 

[nightfire]

with 4 bulbs on my 55g ill get 340 watts....so ya saying that wouldnt be good for my tank either?

 

[supertech99]

i have 8 t5s on my 75 and have found that with the proper reflectors and high par lamps a four lamp fixture can be done, I have been suggested that replace any blue bulbs with the aquablue by ati which has the highest par value. I also have heard of people running 3 75/25s from uvl of even 2 75/25s with a 10k or a 6500k ge with a blue plus should give you good t5 par but you would still have to keep your sps high, a lot of folks with 75s and 90s run 6 bulbs plus this would allow you to include a fiji purple lamp which really makes the reds pop well. I think adding a 2 lamp retrofit to your current setup would provide you with a good amount of light. I have 2 aqua blue plus specials and I would stay away from them as they give a good color but poor par. if you need shimmer you can get it from some well located leds to add, try superbrite leds .com as they sel affordable waterproof flexable stips to mount anywhere. I would try a combo like this and then if you still felt you needed more you could add a 2 lamp retrofit and add a few more blue plusses:
Front
UVL 75/25
any 10k lamp
ati blue plus
uvl 75/25

You will be suprised what good lamps can do with clean reflectors

Forgot to ask what fixture are you using?...also if you did decide to go halides your t5 unit(s) will not have a hard time finding a buyer I suspect
Hope this helps and I hope you find your perfect lamp combo

 

[sal-t-dawg]

i have 8 t5s on my 75 and have found that with the proper reflectors and high par lamps a four lamp fixture can be done, I have been suggested that replace any blue bulbs with the aquablue by ati which has the highest par value. I also have heard of people running 3 75/25s from uvl of even 2 75/25s with a 10k or a 6500k ge with a blue plus should give you good t5 par but you would still have to keep your sps high, a lot of folks with 75s and 90s run 6 bulbs plus this would allow you to include a fiji purple lamp which really makes the reds pop well. I think adding a 2 lamp retrofit to your current setup would provide you with a good amount of light. I have 2 aqua blue plus specials and I would stay away from them as they give a good color but poor par. if you need shimmer you can get it from some well located leds to add, try superbrite leds .com as they sel affordable waterproof flexable stips to mount anywhere. I would try a combo like this and then if you still felt you needed more you could add a 2 lamp retrofit and add a few more blue plusses:
Front
UVL 75/25
any 10k lamp
ati blue plus
uvl 75/25

You will be suprised what good lamps can do with clean reflectors

Forgot to ask what fixture are you using?...also if you did decide to go halides your t5 unit(s) will not have a hard time finding a buyer I suspect
Hope this helps and I hope you find your perfect lamp combo

I have an Icecap 660-009 4 light retro.

 

[ZachB]

By the time you go through the trouble of adding LED's, bulb combination, etc. I just don't see the point. My halides use 500 watts. So a 8x54 fixture uses 432. That's not much energy savings there. When it comes time to replace bulbs yea, the T5's may last a few months longer but not by a lot. And they're just as expensive to replace 8 T5's as 2 MH. Next people will say heat. With a couple well placed fans you don't need a chiller on your tank. I ghetto rigged a standard fan to my wall which kicks in when the temp reaches a certain point. You can get very quiet computer fans such as what ai-reefer put on his tank that are barely audible. The color that MH puts out is excellent. So is T5 if you go through different bulbs. Apples, oranges. Which do you prefer. MH has it all right out of the box.

 

[nightfire]

By the time you go through the trouble of adding LED's, bulb combination, etc. I just don't see the point. My halides use 500 watts. So a 8x54 fixture uses 432. That's not much energy savings there. When it comes time to replace bulbs yea, the T5's may last a few months longer but not by a lot. And they're just as expensive to replace 8 T5's as 2 MH. Next people will say heat. With a couple well placed fans you don't need a chiller on your tank. I ghetto rigged a standard fan to my wall which kicks in when the temp reaches a certain point. You can get very quiet computer fans such as what ai-reefer put on his tank that are barely audible. The color that MH puts out is excellent. So is T5 if you go through different bulbs. Apples, oranges. Which do you prefer. MH has it all right out of the box.

all that said seems very true though you have to say t5s do use less electricity,do turn less heat which also means less water evap,also means depending where your tank is located...less heat in that room.....if i put halides on my tank which is in mine and my wifes bedroom that would turn this room into a heater which also would mean turning the air on more and such,things need to be all weighted in when wanting things and such

 

[supertech99]

By the time you go through the trouble of adding LED's, bulb combination, etc. I just don't see the point. My halides use 500 watts. So a 8x54 fixture uses 432. That's not much energy savings there. When it comes time to replace bulbs yea, the T5's may last a few months longer but not by a lot. And they're just as expensive to replace 8 T5's as 2 MH. Next people will say heat. With a couple well placed fans you don't need a chiller on your tank. I ghetto rigged a standard fan to my wall which kicks in when the temp reaches a certain point. You can get very quiet computer fans such as what ai-reefer put on his tank that are barely audible. The color that MH puts out is excellent. So is T5 if you go through different bulbs. Apples, oranges. Which do you prefer. MH has it all right out of the box.

These things you have said are correct, however I was referencing his particular situation as he already has 4 t-5s and since each bulb has individual reflectors he could possibally get the output he is looking for with a well selected bulb combination. otherwise it may be more cost effective for him to get add a 2 bulb retro. I run 8 t5's but personally I think a halide/t-5 combination looks the best. BTW salty dog, I just checked and hello lights has a 48 inch 4 bulb retro kit includes everything reflectors, ballast, and even bulbs for 199.99 .........or roughly the cost of 2 250w radium lamps...just sayin.

Edit: they also have a 2 bulb complete retrofit, with lamps...$125

 

[nightfire]

and 4 icecap bulbs off a 660 runs at 340....i thought that would be enough for lots of things

 

[sandalscout]

and 4 icecap bulbs off a 660 runs at 340....i thought that would be enough for lots of things

In a 55gallon, it will work fine for plenty, even without fancy reflectors. I ran 4 t5s over a 55 for over a year and had plenty of growth.

Two nice advantages of T5s over MH is that if I blow a bulb on my 90, I'm only down on light by 16% (I only run 6 bulbs over a 90 with a crappy sheet reflector and still have plenty of growth). And when it comes time to replace bulbs, I can and do spread the cost over 2-3 months, ordering $60 a month worth of bulbs and I can buy 9 bulbs to play with the color spectrum and have spares on hand.

 

[commonstranger]

There are advatages to both bulbs. I have seen beautiful tanks with both bulbs. What it comes down to is what "your" prefrence is. I go with MH but thats my choice I wouldnt ever say I wouldnt use T5's I do use them but for supllementation only with the way my system is set up. Sit down write out the pros and cons to both and go from there.