T5s instead of Halides?

[Gillundr]

Hey guys. I'm looking at setting up a 120g reef. It will be mostly SPS but will have the obligatory LPS in there as well. The 120 is standard 48x24x24. I have pretty much always lit my reef tanks with MHs. I was thinking about doing something different and going with a T5 fixture. I asked some of my friends about it but they so no way will I be able to get the growth and color I'm looking for with a straight T5 fixture. I usually run the standard MH lights with T5 supplements for some nice Actinic colors. I have seen sps reefs lit by T5s and they looked very nice with great colors so I know it can be done. Just nobody I personally know does it. Can it be done with a standard T5 fixture (not overdriven)? Can it be done with something like a Tek 6 or 8 light fixture or would I need to use more bulbs like an Aquatinics 10-14 bulb fixture or a combo of two Tek fixtures to get 10 or more bulbs? Also if you use a fixture with 10 or more bulbs don't you end up spending more money than the halide setup? The halides I would use in the tank would be 2x 250watt halides with either 2 or 4 T5 supplement bulbs. Do T5s get enough light to the lower reaches of the tank for sps and clams? Or would I be limited to sps in only the top half of the tank? The sps will not be the easier stuff but rather the light loving ones that do require lots of light and flow. I probably will not have a giant rock wall climbing to the top of the tank. Will only have a few piles of rock in there to leave room for the sps to grow up so the corals will be starting at the bottom of the tank so if there isn't enough penetration to grow the corals well on the bottom then maybe it's not a great idea. I was thinking of going the T5 route because it's a bit easier to play with colors and thought I might be able to save some money on the power bill, but if I had to go with a big 10 bulb fixture that probably would not be the case. I was hoping I could count on my fellow RCers to help give me some insight or possibly point me in the right direction or maybe find a few people who may have made the switch from halides to T5s and what their thoughts were.

[paul_111]

I'm in the process right now of switching. I have the same size tank.

I don't have any sps in the sand (they're on the rocks), but I do have a clam. Have you read through the GrimReefer's T5 thread? There's A LOT of info over there. I have read of people who claim successfully keeping the light-loving corals under T5's, so it shouldn't be a problem.

It's still a tough decision. I really like the MH, and the trade-offs of using (2) 250W over 8-14 T5s is still unclear. I will be using an 8-bulb retro with individual reflectors, and I don't think you should use any fewer bulbs.

There were 2 things that made me decide to give it a try. First, I really don't like the heat that the MH put out, and second, I will have more color tweaking ability with a bank of 8 bulbs. If the color isn't blue enough, I'll buy another $20 bulb and swap.

Good luck,
Paul