t5 or mh

As i mentioned in another thread i started im starting a 15gallon tank. i want to grow sps and prob. put a clam in their(placed on the sand bed)(tank is 12inches deep).. I was thinking about going with the 24 inch 4 bulb tech lights which is a total of 96watts..But im kinda wondering about an hqi mh system.. Would this over head my tank and i will have to buy a chiller or no? what would u go with

 

I would go with the T5. Cost less all around, generates less heat and about as powerful as most MH.

 

on a tank this small and shallow I would be worried about heat. Temp swings can kill a coral as fast as anything. T5 should be more than enough since its only 12in deep

 

I would probably go with a t5ho light, 4x24 will be more than enough, but a 150w pendant would work too. Heck, a 70w MH would work well, and supplement that with some LEDs.

There a re a lot of ways to go with this.

 

ok,yea i was worried about the head issues so al prolly have to go with the t5s but i like the shimmer effect myself thats why i wanted halides but i can do without.never thought about the 70watts how bad do them overhead your tank?

 

Well, 70w is less than 96 watts, so the 70w MH will heat the water LESS than the t5s will. Also, it will use less watts, even when combined with LEDS.

One other thing to consider is that 4 t5s will run about 100 dollars to replace when they need that, Most replace them in 12-18 months. A 70w halide will run less like maybe 50 dollars 1x a year.
If it were me, I would do the 70w DE halide and LEDS.

I am a huge proponent of t5ho, and have been running them for around 6-7 years now.

 

The more I look into it the more people are moving towards T5 over MH. My Sps are halfway down under 4X54 lights (individual reflectors, stock bulbs cept a ATI Blue+) and are loving it, i think I cooked my LPS fargs a bit though, they are currently further down.

 

yes,100$ every year is quit expensive for just bulbs..also those of u that keep sps is it easier just to dose calium yourself or spend the money and get a calcium reactor. cuase i usually only does once a week but a lot of ppl say they dose calium every day just in littler doses so they cal. lvls do not swing as much.

 

also were can i get a 70w mh de fixture at?

 

True, but not solely because of wattage rating. Watts describes a total energy dissipation, so the ratio of light to heat created on the bulb comes into play, along with the amount of light that turns into heat when it hits the water, and the distance between the fixture and the water all play factors in the temperature issue.

You can say it in the general, where everything else is the same besides wattage, that it will be the same, but it's a bit more complex than wattage = heat.