T5 vs. PC

Discussion in 'T5 Aquarium Lighting' started by yoshikuni, Feb 1, 2006.

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  1. Big Fish Brian

    Big Fish Brian Astrea Snail

    Joined:
    Feb 19, 2009
    Messages:
    38
    Location:
    Palmdale, Ca.
    I couldn't say.. I've been wanting to go to T5's from my P.C.'s/ There are a LOT more folks that prefer T5's.. I haven't really been able to compare side by side the visual difference between the two.. Hopefully one day!
     
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  3. shipbear

    shipbear Bubble Tip Anemone

    Joined:
    Mar 25, 2008
    Messages:
    650
    Location:
    Mobile, Alabama
    Has anyone used T5's WITH PC's .. On the same tank, at the same time..??
    I have 260 watts PC on a 60 gal.. A fellow reefer may give me a T5 216 Watt set-up..
    Would these work OK. Till I get the $$$ to do really good upgrade..

    Thanks, Larry
     
  4. lightningfront

    lightningfront Spaghetti Worm

    Joined:
    Dec 22, 2008
    Messages:
    181
    Location:
    Cincinnati, Oh
    I'm actually going to be adding some PCs to my T5 setup on the 125 this weekend, I will let you know. The 125 is a 6 foot long tank the the longest T5 they make is 5 feet. I set up a 6 x 80w T5 in the canopy but there is 6" of space left over on each end so I found some 16" 32w PCs that I am going to put on each end of the tank to fill in the space.
     
  5. DarthClownfish

    DarthClownfish Flamingo Tongue

    Joined:
    Feb 28, 2009
    Messages:
    105
    T5 is the equivalent of MH. PC is not competitive. PCs are long, curved, and thick bulbs. As a result reflectors do not help a lot with them, they direct the light back through the bulbs.

    T5s are narrow and straight. Reflectors can focus the light back into the tank and deeper into the tank than you can get with PC.

    I have a tank with a PC/MH combo fixture that's 342 watts total, and another with a TEK 6x39 watt T5 fixture, 234 watts, and the latter fixture is considerably brighter than the PC/T5 combo