dippin61 Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 So I think my wifes 4x39w T5's are brighter then my 250w 14k + 220w VHO. The reason I say this, is because for starters her tank looks much much brighter then mine, and second, when my tank had its little problem, I moved some of my zoas over to her tank, "just in case". Well, the zoas in her tank, are doing WAY better then mine are. Mine always look soo stretched out, like they are reaching for the light, and the orange in my tank, has kinda faded to a dull brown. However in her tank, they are bright orange, and nice and compact down towards the rock they are on. No stretching at all. They look nice and plump, and seem to be doing better in her tank. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JManrow Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 What combination of T5's is she using? Do you have any pictures? Yeah, I'm impressed with T5's too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nu2reef-n Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 How old is your bulb? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefgeek84 Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 They only seem brighter do to the fact that they are not point source light...But brighter is all relative...if you are talking par (which is what we use in the hobby as a measure of light), then metal halide has the game won. The way I look at it, is if you like it and are getting the results you want, then it does not matter what you use... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JManrow Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 According to this graph, the T5 lighting produces more lumens per watt, and seems very energy efficient, even when eight 54W T5's (432W) are compared against one 400W MH. Using the figures on the chart, 400W of T5 produces (approximately) 37,000 Lumens, while the 400W MH produces 32,000 Lumens. http://www.specialty-lights.com/aquarium-lights-faq-intro.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefgeek84 Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 According to this graph, the T5 lighting produces more lumens per watt, and seems very energy efficient, even when eight 54W T5's (432W) are compared against one 400W MH. Using the figures on the chart, 400W of T5 produces (approximately) 37,000 Lumens, while the 400W MH produces 32,000 Lumens. http://www.specialty-lights.com/aquarium-lights-faq-intro.html The problem with that info. is that it is not very scientific...there is not depth comparison between the two...and the is what is really important. I can assure you that MH have way beter par at deeper parts of a tank then t-5's...From using both MH look is way more intense. I am not saying that t-5's can not grow SPS, I am simply saying that MH and T-5's have their advantages and disadvantages over each other. their costs are way off....for good quilty bulbs for t-5's is roughly 23 bucks and 70-80 for halide... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dippin61 Posted January 31, 2007 Author Share Posted January 31, 2007 Yup got pics.. the first one is mine, the second is hers.. now remember, i fragged hers off of my rock, so they are the same zoas. mine hers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 I absolutely agree on T5s being brighter than MH. The only spot that MH would be brighter is directly under the bulb. With T5s the brightness is throughout the tank. I'm astonished how freaking bright they are. Now if i could just get the perfect color combo.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H20cooled Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 The problem with that info. is that it is not very scientific...there is not depth comparison between the two...and the is what is really important. I can assure you that MH have way beter par at deeper parts of a tank then t-5's...From using both MH look is way more intense. I am not saying that t-5's can not grow SPS, I am simply saying that MH and T-5's have their advantages and disadvantages over each other. their costs are way off....for good quilty bulbs for t-5's is roughly 23 bucks and 70-80 for halide... I disagree with you, I've used both and I can tell you and good T5's can stand up right along side any good MH setup. My tank is 26" deep and I have my oregon tort about 6" off of the bottom, my tanks is completely T5 and that Oregon tort is grow great and is very blue. With my 250W setup in my old tank I had sell growth and color and the Oregon Tort was around 6 " from the top. What does that say about T5's? I have not seen one single test that showed what you are saying, and I seen tests that show that T5 do as good if not better then MH setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nu2reef-n Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 And the great metal halide vs. T-5 lighting debate rages on. Nothing beats the shimmer of metal halides. =) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyles Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 Im not getting into a pissing match but I have seen some bright t-5 setups, I run 640 watts of t-5 over mine and wish I went with less. Its simply overkill. http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n184/nyleswright/Reef%20Tank/tank0071.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JManrow Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 And the great metal halide vs. T-5 lighting debate rages on. Nothing beats the shimmer of metal halides. =) I agree that the comparison needs to be more scientific. Two very knowledgeable people in the area of lighting studies are Sanjay Joshi and Dana Riddle. I'm sure there must be some unbiased MH vs. T5 comparisons by either one of them if we look. What we need is a specialty bulb that could be used in conjunction with other bulbs to add the "glitter line" effect that MH bulbs produce. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 I do miss the shimmer lines!!!! I notice i get them ever so slightly at the upper part of the tank though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dippin61 Posted February 1, 2007 Author Share Posted February 1, 2007 I agree that the comparison needs to be more scientific. Two very knowledgeable people in the area of lighting studies are Sanjay Joshi and Dana Riddle. I'm sure there must be some unbiased MH vs. T5 comparisons by either one of them if we look. What we need is a specialty bulb that could be used in conjunction with other bulbs to add the "glitter line" effect that MH bulbs produce. sanjay has a thread over at RC right now in the lighting section, where he is gathering info on which setups most people use, for his study that he is going to do on T5's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyles Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 If I had the money at startup I would have went MH, I like the shimmer, but I was not about to fork out money for chiller. That was and is still my only setback Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palani Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 I've seen coker's tank from when he has his 2 250's and a couple 2 ft. t-5's. Now that he has the 8 bulb t-5 lighting from sunlight, I'll have to say it has seemed brighter. Not to mention less heat and wattage. Are there any 20" fixtures out there with 8 bulbs? I guess I'll have to make my own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mister crabs Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 there is a 6 bulb 24" tek if you look around....i dunno about a 20" T-5 bulb though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R-3 Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 There is no HO 20" setups. Yeah that 6 bulb 2' would be a good find. You can always retro! Later Ryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R2R2 Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 Has anybody seen the new URI/UV lighting T-5 lamps in action? They are making the good old VHO style lamps in T-5(without the internal reflector of course) I'd really like to see them, guess I'll just have to buy some and find out. R2R2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R-3 Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 Yes you will Ryan because I wanna see some too! Later Ryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefgeek84 Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 Has anybody seen the new URI/UV lighting T-5 lamps in action? They are making the good old VHO style lamps in T-5(without the internal reflector of course) I'd really like to see them' date=' guess I'll just have to buy some and find out. R2R2[/quote'] My t-5 set up, that I had used them... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefgeek84 Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 I disagree with you, I've used both and I can tell you and good T5's can stand up right along side any good MH setup. My tank is 26" deep and I have my oregon tort about 6" off of the bottom, my tanks is completely T5 and that Oregon tort is grow great and is very blue. With my 250W setup in my old tank I had sell growth and color and the Oregon Tort was around 6 " from the top. What does that say about T5's? I have not seen one single test that showed what you are saying, and I seen tests that show that T5 do as good if not better then MH setup. Truly I think it is all relative...I switched to halides and the 3 people who have been over, say my tank is way brighter then with the t-5's and looks better, that includes the girl friend who was angry about the money spent to go halides. Here is my story... I debated over the t-5 vs. MH for my tank...trust me I bothered Nyles and Rich, who were nice enough to answer all my questions. I ended up going t-5's for a couple of reasons less heat, longer life of the bulbs and less expensive to buy bulbs, being able to change color combos, and less energy use... My T-5 set up... Tek 8 lamp 54w fixture 2-6500k GE 2-URI/UV super actinics 2-URI/UV Actinic White (12k) 2-URI/UV White (10k) What I noticed... Growth was great, colors fine...just did not pop (still not happy, not alot of blue), and there was considerable heat added to the tank because of how close they were to the top of the water (2-3" above the water), bulbs are roughly 23 bucks each (online and with out shipping)...that is 184 bucks to replace them...not that great of a price... I live in an apartment and the t-5's still gave off enough heat; to not only heat up the tank but also the apartment, so I had heat issues with my tank still...Had to invest in a chiller anyways... I have since gone to halides...dual 400w's 20k's and I like the overall look of the corals better, granted it is way more blue...but I also get great par w/the blue...(If I wanted to get this sort of color I would have had to replace a few bulbs with blue ones and the blues ones have way less par)...The color in the corals are just more intense and brighter. Do not have heat issues...chiller. As for cost of bulbs, you can get two bulbs for roughly 140 bucks...cheaper then the t-5s (people argue lifetime is much better with t-5's, but again, that all depends on who you ask). Electricity should only be an extra 10 bucks a month or so...nothing to lose sleep over. Over all, I like the halides better...I really think that no one can be fair on this subject. I think everyone wants to defend what they have and not admit that they are wrong in their choice. I am not saying that one or the other can or can not grow corals...they both do and do a good job at it. Ultimately I came to the choice of halides after talking with Travis at Upscales and really looking at his tanks...and he said he would never run t-5's over his tank... There is nothing that will end this debate...it is a biased and opinion driven debate...it's exactly like politics. (needless to say I have a tek fixture for sale in the classifieds) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pledosophy Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 I have T5's and MH (HQI) over different tanks. I love them both. I like how the T5'S light is more spread out where the MH varies depending on how far from the bulb it is, a definte upsidedown V pattern. Then again I love the shimmer from the MH. I have moved corals from one tank to the other without noticing a difference in growth patterns. My T5's put out less heat then the MH's but with the canopy fans neither puts out to muchfor the tank. My seahorse tanks uses T5's and the temp runs around 74. JME for what it's worth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyles Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 I had to DIY my lights as well, 8 bulb 5 footer. Sunlight makes the size your looking for Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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