Lighting question

[dzones]

I have not yet tried t5's but was just curious as to the amount needed to be considered equal to the following..
If I have a 72" 125 gallon tank (about 24" deep) and currently have 3x 250w metal halides over it, What would I need to be considered the equivalent or better in a t5 setup?

Essentially what I am trying to find out is if the electricity amount would be enough below the current usage to warrant a change.

With the heat of this summer I saw my utility bill hitting $600+ and with my latest expansion of goodies I thought I might need to look into this. It is either this or solar power cause something has to change.

From what I have seen both lighting types seem to have good coral growing values. Chime in if you personally feel one is better than the other and why.

[SNAKEMANVET]

Hey Dave,my 6x54 t5s are equal to my 250 watt halides.The 48'' 54 watt t5s can be overdriven to 80 watts each,but cuts the life of the bulb by almost half.T5s spread out more light over the tank.

[techdiver]

If you don't mind paying more upfront to get your electrical savings from here on out, then you may want to also look at the cost of putting an LED canopy together. You have to figure the cost of not replacing bulbs and lower energy costs. There is also the savings of not needing a chiller. They transfer very little heat to the water. A tank that size would be expensive initially though. Just another option to consider.

[dzones]

David you mentioned 6x54w (48") bulbs to equal a 250 which is essentially a watt per watt comparison as far as energy is concerned. This would light up the tank a little more overall but on a 72" I would be going with sets of 36's or would I just do an overlap pattern of 48's to reach each end. (hope that makes sense). Currently the setup uses 750w of mh


Marcus: I have looked into the LED option but still a little high for me and considering the 72" to cover, yikes! might need a 2nd mortgage to buy the setup lol.

[techdiver]

Marcus: I have looked into the LED option but still a little high for me and considering the 72" to cover, yikes! might need a 2nd mortgage to buy the setup lol.

Dave, didn't you know a reef setup trumps a mortgage payment. :D
I am waiting for pricing to come down a bit myself. I haven't priced a 72" LED setup, but I can imagine it would be around the cost of a used car. :eek2:

Nice to see you getting back in to reefing.

[dzones]

Dave, didn't you know a reef setup trumps a mortgage payment. :eek2:

1) Mortgage
2) Food
3) Fish
in that order. and if the utility bills stays high the 3rd one becomes number 2 to solve the problem. :P

[SNAKEMANVET]

You can stagger them,I believe a 125 is 18 wide and might be able to get 12 4 foot bulbs in there for a total of 648 watts..