T5 vs. PC

I have ran Both and to hell with Powercompacts. My T5s blow them out of the water and they last up to two years and run cooler to. More durable and Run the Entire length of most tanks.

 

Not all T5's are created equal. If you are looking for a complete hood Sunlight Supply's Tek light or a company called Aquactinics are the way to go because they are the only one's (at least that I know of) that use the individual reflectors for each lamp. That is really important. I have ran PC's,
T5's and halides. I went from overdriven T5 to halides and went back to T5's because they looked better to me and produced a lot more light than the 250 watt halides

 

Reflectors aside T-5HO blows PC out of the water. My very first T-5 rig I mixed 2x39W T-5 with a 65W PC bulb. I was on the fence until I turned them on the first time. I wish I had the Creep's PAR meter but the 39W t-5 was way brighter than the 65W PC. PC vs T-5, there not even in the same ball park.

 

You can get the TEK reflectors alone atPremiumAquatics They clip right onto the bulbs. I put them on my Oddysea T5HO light and what a difference!

Great upgrade for $20 per bulb

Mike

 

T5 standards and HO's are two different class of T5's. Of course, if you run HO's, they are gonna give you more lumens and such, but not standards... that's what I run. :-/

 

T5HO lights are the way to go. pc's just do not compare. If you are looking for individual reflectors then try a Sundial. I believe it is made by current. It has two built in timers for the lights and the moon lights are hooked to a photo cell so the only come on when the others go off.
Anyway great light.

 

the pc made the corals in my tank healthier but the t5's last twice as long and way brighter.it took a long time for my corals to adjust,i had to shade alot of them as best as i could.

 

t5 has better light penetration i think, i have a 6x39w tek lite array on a 58 gallon tank and it works wonders, can pretty much keep anything in it under those

I have pc's in my nano and they do find but it's not a very deep tank, the big thing PC's lack it the ability to light effectivly under more than 18" of water
T5's are pretty effective till about 30" i beleive as long as you use indiviual reflectors

Mh's alot of people swear by but cost is a big factor, VHO is never a bad bet either if you dont mind building them into the canopy

 

I've been seriously considering upgrading my lighting. Does anyone have any experience with 24" Nova Extreme 4x24 watt T5HO w/ 2 Lunar Lights: Premium Aquatics?

 

Or if no one knows anything about the above fixture, can you recommend a reliable T5 set-up?