MH or T5?

[JMurphy97]

I was once thinking of doing a 125 reef but thinking about it and the costs and everything I'm going to bring it down. The main reason for doing a 125 was for a blue tang or "Dory" so it's not really a big deal. I started looking at others and saw that many people do 40 breeder tanks. I tried getting one with a overflow but the lfs said that they can't do them on that size tank and suggests that I go with a 65. It's the same length and width but 8in taller.

I called another store and they guy there asked why I decided to do a 40 breeder and my main thing was because I was thinking I could light it better with T5 bulbs and have sps mainly acropora. Then the guy said that doing them with T5 bulbs still wont be enough light even though the tank is only 16 inches high. He said maybe with at least 6 bulbs. He kept talking about watts per gallon. He suggests that I do a MH with about 250 watts.

I'm trying to stay away from MH because of the heat and kinda don't want to have to buy a chiller. If I'm going with MH then I might just jump up to a 75 or 90 gallon. Those are my main issues right now in deciding a tank so any advice would be awesome.

[Palting]

Look up the winners of the Tank of the Month for the last several months. Check their tank depths, and check their lights. Then, go back to the lfs, and tell him you want T5's for a 16" tall tank. Period.

[Clams55]

I vote Metal Halides.

Pros: Better color temp. than t5s. you can get up to 20,000K as opposed to a t5, where the highest I have ever seen is 10,000K. Also, MH/HQIs give you BEAUTIFUL shimmer lines that nothing else can give you.

Cons: Have to be mounted at least 12 inches away from the tank, due to heat. Expense is higher than T5s, to buy and to operate.

[borderjo]

I have metal halides, and would switch to T5's in a second if I wasn't going to move to LEDs instead. The heat is astronomical, and the additional electricity costs are bringing me a lot of grief from my wife.

You may not be able to have serious SPS on the BOTTOM of your tank, but near the top or probably even middle you will be fine. Especially for 16"! Beside, I like the way the T5s make the tank look (unlike some who prefer the MH).

[zvonmonet]

T5 FOR SURE... i saw a post of a guy with T5 bulsb and only hard corals it looks amazing....

i got mine from aquatraders.com amazing price shitty quality but they will do if you wanna save some cash a 4x 48" 216w fixture with a brand name is around $400++ and there its $100 but you do need to do a light swap cus their bulbs are crap... i can send you some pics when i get mine in a week or so

[milhous3er]

I have a 40 breeder and a 250w MH system. I haven't ran across any difference in tank temp (has always ran 79) and my electricity bill went up around $3-5. My bulb is about 13" from the water surface, and the fixture is about 10" from glass to water line.

I had T5s before my MH, and I prefer the MH.

[Chris27]

The electricity cost between MH and T5 really only amounts to maybe a couple of bucks per month, I'm not sure why people use that as a determining factor. A watt is a watt after all...750W of MH for 8 hours is about $0.60/day vs. about $0.50/day for an equivalent T5 setup...depending on the KWH cost of course.

[saltymight]

Don't for get bulb replacement. MH can be about expensive, but so can t-5s if your running a lot. T-5 run about 15-=25 bucks a bulb depending on the inch of them. While MH can be $60-100 for a 250 watt

[RocketSurgeon]

I chose T5's so I wouldn't heat up the room.

[JMurphy97]

Well see they told me they can't get a 40 breeder with the overflow and suggested a 65 gallon. Well if I'm trying to light a deeper I'm going to just go with a 75 or 90 gallon. So from that point I'm thinking MH would work better but all the fixtures I see are only 150 watts. can you put a 250 watt bulb in them or would a 150 watt bulb be enough? I did a tank electrical calculation and it said that 300 watts is only about $13 a month to run.

[lordofthereef]

I am seeing a few common things come up here so I figured I would *** my two cents.

If you want a shimmer with T5s, you can easily supplement with some LED strips. Less heat, less electricity, looks great. It may not look 100% the same, but IMO it doesn't justify the cons of halide lighting just for the shimmer.

10,000k color temps are actually perfect for growth. As far as color, one can always supplement various bulbs with T5s to get the colors you want. Done right, I would argue that T5s give you a much nicer color than halides. As said above, look at all the TOTM. They are almost exclusively T5s, and i am betting those colors have more pop and color than most people touting MH as being the best.

[lordofthereef]

The electricity cost between MH and T5 really only amounts to maybe a couple of bucks per month, I'm not sure why people use that as a determining factor. A watt is a watt after all...750W of MH for 8 hours is about $0.60/day vs. about $0.50/day for an equivalent T5 setup...depending on the KWH cost of course.

Not ONLY about cost. At least not always. There is something to say about using less energy to begin with, although if we really want to go there we would be discussing LEDs :)

[JMurphy97]

I was looking at LEDs from I can't remember the site but the fixture for a 125 was $3,000.00! I was just wondering if they can light sps and clams and everything else.

[Canadian Reefer]

I vote Metal Halides.

Pros: Better color temp. than t5s. you can get up to 20,000K as opposed to a t5, where the highest I have ever seen is 10,000K. Also, MH/HQIs give you BEAUTIFUL shimmer lines that nothing else can give you.

Cons: Have to be mounted at least 12 inches away from the tank, due to heat. Expense is higher than T5s, to buy and to operate.

I dont think you have looked around at t5 bulbs. Try Reef Geeks or another good store for bulbs there are almost endless combinations of colour temps you can mix to get the colour you want in your tank.

[cveverly]

A 4 or 6 tube high quality T5 setup is perfect over a 40 breeder. Just don't skimp on the fixture or it may not be a successful reef tank.

If you decide to go with a 75 gallon tank you should consider a good 6 or 8 bulb T5 fixture or two 250 watt halides. Once again assuming you are considering light demanding inhabitants.

I am not sure what you are wanting to keep in the tank so my input is assuming most any coral.

I use halides and I like them better but my tank is a lot larger and deeper than a 40 breeder. The heat of a halide will cause problems on a smaller tank much more than a larger tank.

I am not talking up or down T5 or halides. In my personal experience halides perform better on my tank. I had 8 retro T5 lamps overdriven with good ballasts and I get better growth with halides. A lot of people get better results the other way around.

Just my opinion.

[cloak]

After using VHO's for nine years and then switching to metal halide, there's just nothing about T5's that would persuade me to go that route right now.

[JMurphy97]

Might just pony up and get this one.

http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/Metal_Halide/IceCap/Reef_Illuminations_MH_&_T5_Fixtures/48_inch__Reef_Illuminations_Fixture_w!_2x250W_MH_&_2x54W_T5_&_2_LED_LunarLites_w!_Bulbs_by_IceCap

[dwculp]

I think you will be fine with T-5's. I used to run a 40 breeder with 300 Watts of PC lightning and kept clams on the sand bed and SPS just fine.

40 breeder is an awesome small tank size by the way. I loved my 40 breeder!

[cveverly]

Might just pony up and get this one.

http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/Metal_Halide/IceCap/Reef_Illuminations_MH_&_T5_Fixtures/48_inch__Reef_Illuminations_Fixture_w!_2x250W_MH_&_2x54W_T5_&_2_LED_LunarLites_w!_Bulbs_by_IceCap

For the 40 or a 75? It is too long for a 40 breeder.

[samdaman]

My MH are about 5 inches from the water. And there is not a temperature increase, its always at 79 no matter how long their on. And im in AZ

[JMartin104]

My MH are about 5 inches from the water. And there is not a temperature increase, its always at 79 no matter how long their on. And im in AZ

Do you have anything extra for cooling? Mine are also about 5 inches and I get about a 4-5 degree jump by the end of the day. I live in central FL.

[SPotter]

I started with a 150w mh/t5/lunar combo and recently switched to a 4 bulb icecap reefilluminations fixture. I am using at ati bulb that is rated at 12k for the daylight bulb and I am noticing so much more growth in my tank and my corals look better now than they did before. I dont have to worry about the water temps climbing and the noise from the fans for the mh. I do miss the shimmering effect of the mh.

[JMurphy97]

That fixture would be for a 90 gallon.

[zvonmonet]

for those who doubt T5's here is a thread look at it!!!!!

http://web1.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1083336&highlight=t5+sps+only

[SPotter]

I would get a 6 or 8 bulb t5 fixture. Ati pm's are really good. Only reason I didn't get it is because I needed something I could mount on the tank.

[samdaman]

Do you have anything extra for cooling? Mine are also about 5 inches and I get about a 4-5 degree jump by the end of the day. I live in central FL.

Nope, I have it almost completely enclosed in a box. I didn't seal one side and or the bottom.

[philipchan]

i will go for MH plus some Blue T5 ....

[JoeRonda]

AquaticLife makes a nice 6 bulb fixture with integrated timers for lunars,blues, and daylights. I just worry what is the fixture going to be worth when that timer goes south on me one day? But for $395 I'll probably get my money's worth before it dies. BigAl's has the best price on it.

[JMurphy97]

The ATI fixtures say that the recommended tank depth is up to 30" with carefully planned placement of corals. The same thing it says for the MH. I guess the biggest question I have is can the t5 light a 25" tank like a MH can. I know the website says it but they are also just trying to sell it. Could a clip on LED add the shimmer?

I like the shimmer of the MH but not what I hear they do for heat. I like that people say that the t5's don't give off heat, but don't like that they don't give the shimmer. I really like the moon lights the MH fixture has.

So many things to think about. I pretty much have all the equipment picked off except the lights and do I wanna do a 75 or 90 or jump up to a 125 so I can one fish. That one fish is a blue hippo tang aka Dory.

[samdaman]

The ATI fixtures say that the recommended tank depth is up to 30" with carefully planned placement of corals. The same thing it says for the MH. I guess the biggest question I have is can the t5 light a 25" tank like a MH can. I know the website says it but they are also just trying to sell it. Could a clip on LED add the shimmer?

I like the shimmer of the MH but not what I hear they do for heat. I like that people say that the t5's don't give off heat, but don't like that they don't give the shimmer. I really like the moon lights the MH fixture has.

So many things to think about. I pretty much have all the equipment picked off except the lights and do I wanna do a 75 or 90 or jump up to a 125 so I can one fish. That one fish is a blue hippo tang aka Dory.

I have some MH, but i wanted more shimmer. What i did is i bought a white led strip, and pointed one of my koralias a little up to disturb the water on top. Boy does it look nice. So you can try that with the T-5's

[EdMan71]

Your pick especially if you have only fish. Though lumanbrite pendents can be hung higher from tank with less heat in tank. So its your pick.

[aleonn]

If I had money, I'd go with LEDs. But I ultimately went with the Tek Light T5s (8 x 80W) for my 180g. Better control over color, less heat/electricity, and not needing to buy a chiller. However, the con would be purchasing 8 bulbs every 9-12 months.

[Michael]

you can get up to 20,000K as opposed to a t5, where the highest I have ever seen is 10,000K. .

15000k tubes are easily available as are 14000k tubes as well.

[JoeRonda]

The ATI fixtures say that the recommended tank depth is up to 30" with carefully planned placement of corals. The same thing it says for the MH. I guess the biggest question I have is can the t5 light a 25" tank like a MH can. I know the website says it but they are also just trying to sell it. Could a clip on LED add the shimmer?

I like the shimmer of the MH but not what I hear they do for heat. I like that people say that the t5's don't give off heat, but don't like that they don't give the shimmer. I really like the moon lights the MH fixture has.

So many things to think about. I pretty much have all the equipment picked off except the lights and do I wanna do a 75 or 90 or jump up to a 125 so I can one fish. That one fish is a blue hippo tang aka Dory.

The moon lights in the AquaticLife 6x54 T5 HO are real nice. They produce a nice shimmer effect. I wonder how many led's would have to be supplemented to the T5's to get that shimmer. I might adjust the timer so that the led moonlights are on with the daylights and see what that looks like

[matt144]

I would go with LED's.. Or a combination of LED's and t-5's