AquaticLife T5HO vs. Reefbreeders 24

Need help deciding between the two as I am stuck in the middle. My tank is a 40 gallon breeder and my plans are to have a mixed reef with majority SPS and LPS.

AquaticLife 36" T5HO 4x39watt with 3 LED moonlights for $275 shipped.
or
Reefbreeders Photon24 for $329 shipped.

I like that the T5HO will cover the entire 36 inches of the tank. I will also slowly upgrade the bulbs to ATI so the cost in the first year is about the same between the two. I like the look of LEDS but don't like that I will have darker sides and a brighter middle. Also from research I can't find that LEDS are proven post 1 year.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Hope to order tomorrow.

 

I personally would get the Reefbreeders fixture. There's a lot more control over it and and I love the shimmer. You also won't have to change the bulbs every 6 months.

If you're worried about coverage, you could always get 2 value fixtures for $30 more. It will definitely pay off to get LED's either way, but that's just my opinion.

 

Anymore opinions???

 

stick to led's. i have a diy 16" fixture over my 54g corner, which is 33" wide across the front, and have very good coverage.

if you remove the optics from the edges of the fixture you'd get better coverage for softies and such on edges.

at this point i wouldn't consider anything other than LED's. I also just ordered the ebay equivalent of the reef breeders 24 and have very high expectations for it.

 

I have the eBay equivalent to the photon 16s and I love them, I am going to upgrade to the 48in in less thAn month and will have two for sale if you can wait, 250 each

 

ive had my photon24 running over my 57g tank for 3 weeks and really like it. I replaced a 36" coralife single 150w mh and twin power compact fixture and everything in the tank mostly lps soft corals and an anemone has responded very well....I went with led for energy cost savings and a lower operating temperature. My MH would raise the tank temp to 82 (+4 degrees) on hot days.vs no increase with my led light, I figured a light fixture was cheaper then a chiller.....If I was in your boat I would be more inclined to go with LED...plus being able to control both channels and timing on the light itself is very cool...

 

I have personally been using T5 fixtures since I got my first tank and the growth is unreal. Its proven to grow corals and also proven for longevity. Much more color options and the entire tank lights up. I have many friends that jumped on the LED wagon and after 1-2 years there back to T5 and halide. Some corals grew but nothing worth noting. I'm going off my own personall experience with 6 friends of mine so I'm not knocking the people who have been successfull. Most stores try and sell led fixtures by saying they pull less power, no bulbs to replace. All I care about is the health and growth of my tank. My favorite store in orlando that sells all high end stuff is getting rid of all 105 radion pro fixtures because they can't keep corals healty for long periods. There going back to halide and T5. Again, its your decision but from what I've seen over the course of a year I would go T5. Blue led accents look great to add actinc effect but that's all the led I would use. As of right now I'm running a 6 bulb 39watt fixture on my 36 bowfront. It equals about 6.5 watts per gallon and the growth is amazing with no bleaching. HTH.

 

I've got the aquaticlife fixture listed in the marketplace for $200 shipped. It's only a few months old and the bulbs still have about 3-4 months on them. Fully working and still looks like it did when it came out of the box. Food for thought.

FYI I took it down in favor of a 27" razor fixture.

 

LED price has dropped low enough that I would never consider going back now.

 

IMO LEDs from 2 years ago are far less efficient then they are now, I've had amazing growth of all corals under LEDs