whitch would be better for a 135 gallon reef tank

anyone have any advice? 6x80w would be 3.55 wpg 8x80w would be 4.74 wpg. also what is the recomended interval on t5 bulb changes? I have heard anywhere from 6 mounths to 2 years. they will not be over driven and it will only have fish for the first 6 months and soft corals for the first year. after the first year I am hoping to be confident to try some sps corals, and eventually hard corals.

 

8x80. Also, PC will never equal T5's.

Don't skimp on your initial lighting purchase or you will regret it later when you can't keep the corals you want alive. Wattage is not everything.

 

so what is the recomended bulb life on a t5 bulb?

 

I just setup a 120 gal 48x24 with a 48" x 12" 8x54w T5 retrofit and it is very bright. The 135 is 18" in depth right? What type of canopy do you have? Measure the available area you have to work with. I will say my corals are doing very well with my 8x54W T5 strip. I am looking into getting a different Kelvin amount as the 10,000K whites are super bright and could be the cause of the green algae that develops as the daylights stay on. My friend is getting 20,000K and he says it gives off a blue tinge. I got my retrofit on ebay from www.buildyouraquarium.com they are made in the USA with individual reflectors and three plugs for using a timer. One plug is for 2 T5 actinics, one plug is for the other 2 T5 actinics and 4 10,000K daylight T5's and the other plug is for the 8 LED moonlights. Nice system for a reasonable dollar. Remember you can always go more blue if you need to. The most important things are the bulbs LAST LONGER, are COOLER and are CHEAPER IN PRICE than PC's. Good luck!

 

For a tank that big I would go with metal halides without a doubt IMO

 

Anywhere from 12 to 24 months

 

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