Lighting help..

[Playdope]

I decided that I'm gonna put either VHO or t5 on my 100 gallon acrylic tank for a couple of reasons. First, I don't really intend to keep SPS (gonna be mostly a softy/lps tank. Second, the canopy I have is 6 inches tall. Additionally - if by chance I ever do go halide in the future, I could use the VHO or t5's for supplemental actinic lighting. Anyway........

I have yet to see a tank with t5's on it, but I have seen VHO's. Before making a decision on which to go with, I thought it would be a good idea for those who have seen/had experience with both to make recommendations.

The options would be:

Icecap ballast(s)/caps(s) + URI bulbs
*do you recommend: 2 aquasuns + 2 actinic blues OR 2 actinic whites + 2 actinic blues? Preference? Able to keep different species with one, but not the other?


Sunlight Supply t5 setup
*what kind of setup do you recommend?

Of the two...

Which do you recommend, and why?

If only there were a local fish store around that had them on their tanks. All I see are those darn PC's.

Jon

 

[liquid]

The only real difference between VHO and T5 is that the T5's are a smaller diameter. If anything I'd recommend them over the VHO just because of that. IIRC, they put out more intense light due to the tube being a smaller diameter. For the life of me I can't recall where I read that tho. Sunlight Supply had a booth at IMAC and I was really impressed w/ what they could do. A mix of AquaSun's and Actinic would be what I'd go with.

Shane

 

[ReefMan75-20-15]

I personally have never had the T5's but a friend of mine does. He said he is still not sure which he likes better VHO or T5. From what I seen the T5 do have a bit more intensity with less wattage, and the look really good. As Shane said they are quite a bit smaller also.
Just my .02

 

[Mogo]

I voted VHO only because I am unfamiliar with the t5's

 

[Anonymous]

How much are the T-5 bulbs and how long do they last?

 

[liquid]

Check w/ some of our sponsors (link on top of the page). I do know that Inverts.com carries Sunlight Supply items.

Shane

 

[Playdope]

A few new issues... .

They only sell a 4 foot long setup now, and my tank is 5 ft. long. VHO comes in 5ft. The distribution is a little questionable with the t5. May look strange having .5 foot on eith side of the tank lookin more dim.

Other thing is - with the t5, the retros are more expensive than the full hood unit! This is because the waterproof endcaps are german on the retro setups, and they hike the price. So, I guess mounting the entire hood package to the top of my canopy would be the smartest option? Won't it be a bit heavy?

The other option is to just forget that whole hood mounting thing. Retrofit 4 VHOs with waterproof icecap endcaps, and make my own watershields.

Jon

 

[Len]

Having seen both, my hearty vote for T-5s. They are significantly brighter then VHOs, and from what is being marketed, T-5's last longer (VHOs should be replaced 6-8 months according to my PAR readings). If the latter is true, you'll save in the long run. I'm going to try out T-5s on my new nano this coming fall and I may switch my VHOs in my 120 gallon to T-5s if they work out in my smaller tank.

PD, I'm guessing a full hood system won't be too heavy. I have a 50lb Aquaspacelight MH pendant in my canopy being supported by my tank.

 

[Playdope]

Len,

I wasn't planning on letting the t5 hood rest on the tank. I was going to try to somehow mount it to the top of the canopy so that I could still have the top of the tank open. If mounting it doesn't work, I suppose I could always somehow rest the hood on 4 blocks - one on each end of the tank.

It would really be a disappointment if I got the 4 ft. t5 setup, and it was noticeably much dimmer on either side of the tank. Think it will be unnoticeable unless you really look for it?

Jon