T5 NO vs. PC Lighting?

[Malenurse]

I feel a bit stupid for asking such a basic question, but what is the difference between T5 and PC lighting?
I just ordered a Cadlights 5 gal nano set-up that comes with 24 total watts of T5 NO lighting (two 10,000K and two actinic bulbs). Since the T5 lighting is "normal output," is this any different than PC lighting in this case? I plan to have mostly Zoanthids and now I'm wondering if I'll have enough light.
Thank you!
Chris
:)

[der_wille_zur_macht]

PC is technically a HO bulb, bent back on itself. It loses efficiency because it gets a LOT of restrike, i.e. light hits the bulb several times before it bounces around enough to get to the tank.

Are you sure those are NO and not HO bulbs? T5NO is pretty rare in the hobby. How are the reflectors in that hood? The big advantage of T5 is that the bulbs are so small, it's easy to fit a good reflector around them. If the reflectors are crap, you're not going to be in luck. If it has good reflectors, you might be OK with zoas placed high on the rockwork.

If the hood has good reflectors, it might be worth it to upgrade the ballast and bulbs to HO.

[Malenurse]

Someone on another site said that the T5 lighting on these Cadlights nanos were normal output. Here's the link to the actual tank I'm getting where the specs are listed (just says "high intensity T5 lighting").

http://www.fishtanksdirect.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=789

Since my last posting, I was told that the 5 gallons were out of stock, so now I'm getting a 9 gallon set-up for the same price ($119 including shipping). This one has 32 watts T5 lighting - 4 more gallons of water with only 8 more watts of light - not sure this is a good thing.:)

[WaterKeeper]

Hi Chris,

Not great is all I can say but you can always change out the ballasts and upgrade to HO at a reasonable price.

[Malenurse]

Since the bulbs in the hood are only 11" (8 watts each), wouldn't upgrading to HO be difficult?