I dropped one of my T5 fixtures and Russ and Jim had a good deal on a MH fixture so I switched over for no other reason than the fixture was a bargain. We have a million MH vs. T5 threads, so I thought I would post the changes to my tank under a different light source. The MH have been on for 30 minutes. Here are the differences I have noticed so far.
Was: 4 39w Aquablue Specials and 4 39w blue plus. No actinic (same as Ming
Now: 2 175w 10k ushio bulbs and 2 39w actinic bulbs
The reds in the tank used to look really red. Now many of them are brown, but the greens are popping and my blue ricordia's finally look really blue.
The tank looks much moodier under MH. The shadows have much more dimension and the shimmer is crazy. I'm not sure how I feel about that much shimmer as it makes me feel sea sick. Also, the tank is mostly softies and already had tons of movement. Don't look at the waves....don't look at the waves.....
I am still waiting for the cats to notice the shimmer pattern on the ceiling. They are going to go crazy.
The MH fixture is narrower than the eight bulbs across were so the spread of light is not quite reaching the sides of my rock work. Jer feels this looks more like a natural reef than the flatter overall lighting of the T5. I am going to have to rearrange some things to make sure everything is getting the amount of light it needs.
The fish are totally freaked out
My white rasta leather is looking less peachy colored. Hopefully it will turn back to white as it was kept under MH before it came to me.
I would like to post a before and after pic, but as I said, the other fixture was broken so it would not be a real comparison.
I will definitely keep you posted if I notice anymore dramatic changes.
Thanks to HOF for letting me know about the good deal on the fixture.
Was: 4 39w Aquablue Specials and 4 39w blue plus. No actinic (same as Ming
Now: 2 175w 10k ushio bulbs and 2 39w actinic bulbs
The reds in the tank used to look really red. Now many of them are brown, but the greens are popping and my blue ricordia's finally look really blue.
The tank looks much moodier under MH. The shadows have much more dimension and the shimmer is crazy. I'm not sure how I feel about that much shimmer as it makes me feel sea sick. Also, the tank is mostly softies and already had tons of movement. Don't look at the waves....don't look at the waves.....
I am still waiting for the cats to notice the shimmer pattern on the ceiling. They are going to go crazy.
The MH fixture is narrower than the eight bulbs across were so the spread of light is not quite reaching the sides of my rock work. Jer feels this looks more like a natural reef than the flatter overall lighting of the T5. I am going to have to rearrange some things to make sure everything is getting the amount of light it needs.
The fish are totally freaked out
My white rasta leather is looking less peachy colored. Hopefully it will turn back to white as it was kept under MH before it came to me.
I would like to post a before and after pic, but as I said, the other fixture was broken so it would not be a real comparison.
I will definitely keep you posted if I notice anymore dramatic changes.
Thanks to HOF for letting me know about the good deal on the fixture.
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