- Location
- Copiague, NY
what's your preference?
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T5/mh/led
- Thread starter FaviaFreak
- Start date
- Location
- Miami
Had all 3. Love mh but hate the bill & heat that came with it, had t5 good but missing the shimmering effect, even after adding a led strip.. Got A.I now love them
- Location
- Copiague, NY
- Location
- Bay ridge, Brooklyn
I used to have T5's (an still have them above my FW tank) and absolutely loved them. I think they still give the most flexibility and when using quality bulbs like Giesseman corals look great. What I couldn't swallow is the cost of replacing bulbs every year or so so I switched to DIY LEDs. They can't replicate the spectrum of light T5's offer, but they are way more efficient and create less heat which is very important in an overheated NYC apartment I'm live in.
- Location
- Garden city
LEDs I'm still not sure about sps growth with them yet I feel mh might be better but not so much better to justify the extra heat and huge electric cost ! I have a ton of sps in my tank now under 72 3w LEDs so I'll really know in about a yr
T5 Now what do I get as my price?:lol_large
free frags of whatever you want lol
- Location
- Mt Sinai, NY
Love the t5's I got, especially with the Jerl77 bulb combo. Just need to add a Reefbrite at some point.
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Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk
- Location
- East Northport 11731
I prefer halides, with LED's a close 2nd. I love the color with T5's but never really got into them on my tanks.
What bulb(s)/ballasts/reflectors are you guy using? And if your planning to try a different one, why and which one?
What bulb(s)/ballasts/reflectors are you guy using? And if your planning to try a different one, why and which one?
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- Location
- Copiague, NY
yeah I still don't see MH and LED matching the colors that T5 produce and Jeremy's tank is the litmus test
Thanks boys but it took me 30 t5 bulbs to get that combo but not did I nail it ha ha ha
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Sent from my DROIDX using Reefs
Nice what figure you get you will b happy just find the right bulb combo let me know if I can help
Sent from my DROIDX using Reefs
Sent from my DROIDX using Reefs
- Location
- Staten Island
The debate will go on forever but they all have their benefits and disadvantages. MH you get the best growth hands down but then you get the heat and electricity issues. T5 has the best mix of color and pretty good growth as well as not using as much electric as MH and much less heat. LED's make colors on certain corals pop like crazy and use less electric but you will not get as much growth. It's really personal preference on what is most important. Personally I like a setup like RKaragozler he has MH for growth and a bunch of reef brites for moonlighting. However I am currently using T5's w/ a blue, a purple and 2 daylight with LEDs for moonlights. When my actinics are on everything looks really awesome. Adding that purple really makes a difference it adds that little something extra to the spectrum that you don't get with anything else. I have acans that were under LEDs and looked ok but under this T5 set up they totally changed colors and look nicer now. Went from blue and orange to pink,red and purple, another one went from red, dark blue and baby blue to a orangey/pink crazy combo.
Different corals will always react to different lighting in different ways.
Different corals will always react to different lighting in different ways.
Thanks - starting to experiment with bulb combos - not so easy to keep taking the fixture down, changing a bulb, then putting it back up to try an notice any differences - not to mention ordering the various bulbs i want to try out. Gotta pick the combo, then even the positioning which may have an effect. In any event, dont want to derail this thread, you can view my thread on T5 bulbs and share your most valuable input there.
But on the topic, that is mostly what led me to T5 - a very practical flexibility in customizing the color output using the different bulb combinations (with LED you are pretty much limited to different intensities of the colors available in the fixture, with MH as well you a limited to coloration of the bulb you choose.) I had 3x 400W 20k MH which I replaced now with a 48" 8x54w T5 fixture (saving about 800W, and a lot of heat).
- Location
- Copiague, NY
I'm personally not sold on LED lighting as of yet (a lot of experience on the retail end during the initial wave of LED light coming into the hobby and thought it was just OK) I have personally run MH w/supplemental blue LED and was happy but not until I put T5 over my tank did things really pop with color and I get great growth as well. I still haven't seen a LED lit tank that made me say "I gotta have LEDs" I'm waiting though 
- Location
- massapequa long island
right now loving the 6 bulb t5 with reefbrite really getting great color out of my sps?
soo what is this jerl77 bulb combo gotta replace my bulbs soon.. might have to try it
soo what is this jerl77 bulb combo gotta replace my bulbs soon.. might have to try it
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