T-5 lighting

i am building a 125g reef tank i am looking at growing hard corals. i was going to do mh's but i was told that the T-5's were better. do to they are not as hot so you don't need fans. and the cost is less. and the light intensity is the same. someone help me make a decision.

thanks
rob

 

I can't say that I agree.
T5s are all the rage right now and a lot of people are having great success with them. I am a die hard MH fan and would supplement with T5s but keep MH as my main lights.

It's a big debate right now and I'm sure your going to get a lot of different opinions

J

 

No one, no how will ever convince me that T-5's are as good as MH... ;D

I love the halides, the rippling effect they give, the rays of light penetrating to the depths of my tank!

Peep this....

 

I am new to the hobby, but decided to go for T-5's due to the fact that they are significantly cooler and cheaper to run and the bulbs only need to be replaced every 16-18 months! Haven't got any pics yet since I don't have any water in the tank yet...but once I get pics they will definately be posted!

So far so good...I really like the lights, they give off an enormous amount of light and should suffice in maintaining softies (which is what I am interested in).

I was not disappointed with reefgeek.com Sunlight Supply t-5 retrofit kit...easy to install and GREAT results!

Hope this helps...

-Mike

 

wow birdlady that is a cool shot...

 

T5 isn't "better" but more usable. They can be placed in a standard canopy without having to run a chiller. The problem is that on a 125 you are talking 6 foot of length (72x18 footprint I assume). You will either have to run 2 sets of 36" lamps side by side or 5 foot lamps staggered a few inches side to side. Either way it ain't gonna be cheap. reefgeek.com sells the 5 foot retrokits with Ice Cap ballasts. That is the system I would get, in fact I have one I used to run on my 125. The Ice Cap ballasts overdrive T5 lamps so they run brighter than normal which ain't bad. My 6 lamp system produced a little more than 50% more PAR (145 vs, 92) in the bottom of the tank than 150 watt halides do. You would be looking at over 700 bucks for a six lamp kit which is what you would need for SPS corals.

If you need a complete hood I would get a good 250 watt metal halide/t5 or VHO unit. Nobody makes a good 72" T5 hood.

 

T5s also free you up to place coral anywere under the light. No bright spots or DARK spots. MH is a point source you get a cone of light coming off of it like in BL pic. T-5s you get far more uniform light coverage.

 

Also if you want to know what is possibly check out this guys tank. A tank of the Month winner on RC. 100G SPS heaven all with T-5HOs.
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-03/totm/index.php

 

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Great looking Tank....

In the next few weeks I'll be setting up 215 gallon tank. 72x24x30. I have not bought my lighting system yet. What might you suggest what sight's might I look at? :-/

 

What kind of corals doyou want to have. Do you have or want a canopy or would a hanging fixture or pendants be better? Is heat an issue, if so are you willing to get a chiller?

I'd say at least 3 good 250 watt HQI halides would be a good starting point but maybe too much, not enough depending on what you want to have in the tank and the type of set up you want to have.