Need Some Idea's/ Advice For Lighting

[bueller]

Hey,

right now I have a nova extreme [216 watt] on my 90 gallon. I have a frogspawn, colt coral, mushrooms, some zoo's , a couple of Anemone's. I know there isn't enough light in there as of now, my other t5 light I had over the tank with the nova Krap'ed out. I am unsure which way to go...buy a all in one light or build a set-up from scratch. MH or T5 ???
would like to put some sps / clams in the tank. ANY advice would help me out alot.

Thanks
BUELLER

 

[drunktank]

a single 250w MH should be good, from my understanding-

 

[fritz]

MH lamps have a 2 foot by 2 foot spread. For a 90 gallon I would go with 2 MH lamps (only because of your anemones, your LPS would be fine with T5s.) If you went with a single MH lamp you would only be able to light 2 of the 4 feet in your tank. Also if you go MH you don't need to upgrade if you decide you want to try other more light demanding corals. I just switched from T5s to MH and I wouldn't use T5s again, just my opinion.

 

[kimoyo]

fritz, how many t5 bulbs did you have over your tank?

 

[bueller]

SO, if I get either 2- 175 mh or 250 mh it should be plenty right. right now I have that dawn to dusk thing going in the tank [timer] . If I go with the MH then just keep them on for [ how many hours ] and how much better do they look then t5's [water]


Another Question...Do you attach them right to your canopy or make a seperate housing for them inside your canopy...just afraid of that fire thing, heard some horror stories.
Bueller

 

[drunktank]

not to jack a thraed, but fritz, do u think 1 250w MH is good enough for a 40g breeder, i figured the dark spaces would be good for corals that dont prefer that much light

 

[kimoyo]

Bueller,

I switched to t5's from MH's and really like them. But my t5 experience with corals is just beginning.

 

[reefman]

rememeber MH will generate a lot more heat than t5s.

 

[bueller]

SO...WHICH IS BETTER T5'S OR MH ???

ALSO,

SO, if I get either 2- 175 mh or 250 mh it should be plenty right. right now I have that dawn to dusk thing going in the tank [timer] . If I go with the MH then just keep them on for [ how many hours ] and how much better do they look then t5's [water]


Another Question...Do you attach them right to your canopy or make a seperate housing for them inside your canopy...just afraid of that fire thing, heard some horror stories.
Bueller

 

[nanoreefer22]

not to jack a thraed, but fritz, do u think 1 250w MH is good enough for a 40g breeder, i figured the dark spaces would be good for corals that dont prefer that much light

Got a single 250 over my 40 breeder looks pretty damn good too me.

 

[nanoreefer22]

Go with 2 x 250watts as its only a little price differnece btwn the two and you'll be happier in the end.

Dont know about T-5's i never used them

 

[loismustdie]

Are you able to drive around and check out a couple of tanks who run MH and or T-5? How it looks is an eye of the beholder type of thing. I will say that I agree with Kris (nanoreefer), go with 2 250 watt MH and you can supplement with actinic T-5's if you would like.
Photoperiod... subjective, but if you hover around 8 hours, you should be good.
Proper set up will prevent many hazards. Members here can help if you need it.

 

[Quang]

I would recommend you going with MH, although I own Tek's myself.
T-5 is a relatively new lighting alternative, in the U.S. at least and haven't really established a good track record. Whereas, MH have developed a fairly dependable history. There is sooooo much to talk about concerning these lights. The best thing for you to do is read up on it....try searching this site and other reef related sites.
I also think it's cheaper to replace 1 or 2 MH bulbs than 4-8 T-5 bulbs every now and then. However it's easier to mix and match with bulb colors with T-5s to get your desired color, which is a lil harder to do with MH without the need of supplement lights. So if you use MHs with supplement VHO actinics, lets say, the maintanence cost of running MHs with supplements (bulb-wise)would be similar T-5s bulb replacement costs.....this is one example of the many comparisons you must make.

Anther thing to remember with T-5s are the individual parabolic reflectors. These make or break the reputation of the T-5 fixtures!

 

[fritz]

I ran 4 overdriven T5s which was WAY too much light over a 55 gallon. I cut the photoperiod back, then dropped to a two bulb setup with actinic supp. I was also overdriving my bulbs so your experience may be different. I also have icecap reflectors which from what I can tell is a different reflector then Tek uses (although I've only seen one Tek setup and it was for about 15 seconds.)

I've heard that with Lumenarc reflectors you can get a nice spread on a 40 breeder sized tank but Chris288 could attest better then I.

 

[tomzpc]

SO...WHICH IS BETTER T5'S OR MH ???

That's a pretty broad question which really can't be answered without lots more information. Your current lighting IS sufficient for what you are now keeping. Going to 175 watt halides won't make THAT much difference IMO other than give you glitter lines, if that is part of what you're looking for. Going to lots more light may make it harder to keep some of the corals that you currently have so that is something else to consider. You need to decide on your goals for the tank before you can know what the best lighting for your needs will be.

 

[tomzpc]

I would recommend you going with MH, although I own Tek's myself.
T-5 is a relatively new lighting alternative, in the U.S. at least and haven't really established a good track record. Whereas, MH have developed a fairly dependable history. !

Not sure I agree with this at all. T-5's have established a very good track record even though it may not be as long as the metal halide track record.
I've seen some pretty amazing T-5 lit tanks that have been running for quite some time.

There is sooooo much to talk about concerning these lights. The best thing for you to do is read up on it....try searching this site and other reef related sites.
........................................
Anther thing to remember with T-5s are the individual parabolic reflectors. These make or break the reputation of the T-5 fixtures

I agree wholeheartedly with these though.

 

[Quang]

Not sure I agree with this at all. T-5's have established a very good track record even though it may not be as long as the metal halide track record.
I've seen some pretty amazing T-5 lit tanks that have been running for quite some time.

Tom, I agree that there are great tanks out there, running for a long time with T-5s lighting. I am a T-5 user myself. However, they are far and few compared to the many many many tanks with MHs. Hence, I still feel that the T-5 technology on our tanks are not as "provened" as the MHs. To clarify, what I'm trying to say is that T-5s have not been on enough systems and have not been as popular on the market as MHs to prove its effect on our reef community.

Hence, I'm hesitant to recommend it to beginning reefers.

 

[fritz]

Agreed 100% the nice T5 setups that I've seen haven't been on newbie tanks. They're usually maintained by very experienced people with excellent husbandry practices.

Also keeping anemones under CF lights is not going to work long term. If you want to keep your anemones alive I'd get some MH lights. Anemones need LOTS of light.

 

[cali_reef]

Go with what ever you want, you will see some people like the T5, some like the MH, some crazy people even tell you their PC lit tanks are awesome.

I know someone that has two tanks in the same system, one lit by two 250W XM10k, the other with a 6 bulb tek light. I take the SPS corals in the MH lit tank over the T5 tank any day. Same water conditions, similar flow, same photo period, different lights. You can't get any more scientific than that. Some of you have seen his tank pictures on this board.

Fritz, I just ordered some Icecap T5 reflectors, they are now pretty identical to the SLS reflectors. Let me know if you want to sell your extra T5 stuff, I am looking for more stuff for my Zoa tank.

 

[fritz]

Thanks Cali but Jenniebutterfly is taking them with my home made canopy for her new 55.