Lost when working With T5's

[InADream]

Ok, here is my situtation... I currently have a 46g Bowfront with a custom canopy... I have 2x175 MH's, I was told by my LFS That i need some aticnics (spelling) for better coral growth... I only have 32" x 10" to work with... Now on to the questions...

1. Do I really need the t5s?

2. Will the metal halides in the canopy supply too much heat for the t5s since they will be close together....

3.What watts do i need?

I was thinking about doing (2) 30" bulbs the Coralife T-5 True Actinic... I saw a ballast the E-Ballast DXE2HO5U over at ballastwise for 29.99... Would that be ok for those bulbs... Any help would be appreciated T5s are outside of my knowledge area...

Dream

[RichConley]

1. Absolutely not.

2. If you dont have fans running on the T5 bulbs, definitely, although if you dont have fans and a well vented hood, the MH are gonna be too hot anyways.

3. If you only have 32" to work with, you need 24" T5s, which I believe are 24ish watts?

[InADream]

I was able to find 30" 18 watt true actinic bulbs... I dont have fans blowing on my bulbs just on the surface of my water...

So what are the advantages of running T5`s and Mh?

Dream

[InADream]

bump