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mj23forever
03/14/2011, 12:52 PM
i have both right now just wanting to know what do others think should use. i have rite now huge leather,pulsing zenia,kenya trees,zooanthaids,green star polyps. like the color of halides want the same color in t5. any suggestion would help.

snulma1
03/14/2011, 12:58 PM
If you don't need to use the MH then why use extra watts of power and add the additional heat? Might as well save energy and money

mj23forever
03/14/2011, 01:07 PM
what would be a good combo of bulbs to use.i have two 36inch t5 fixture with 4 bulbs each.

arentspowell
03/14/2011, 01:12 PM
What is the color of the MH setup you have now? What bulbs are you using and what Ballasts? Once we get that we can make a better suggestion. A 10K MH bulb looks a lot different than a 20K bulb. Also what wattage and are the bulbs SE or DE?

JustinM
03/14/2011, 01:19 PM
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...5#post15702595

keifer_unit
03/14/2011, 01:19 PM
I would definitely use the t5 over the mh.

davidtsx
03/14/2011, 01:40 PM
I have 2 250 mh and 4 48" T5's.

karsseboom
03/14/2011, 01:46 PM
all the people thats say to use t5 have t5 and most have never used mh. Mh will be the best lighting option if you want to keep anything in the tank. Now if you have a pretty deep tank and want to put a clam on the bottom you might have trouble with the t5. The reason mh is so nice is you will never have to question your self about if you have enough light. LED and mh is the best way to light a good reef tank.

mj23forever
03/14/2011, 02:02 PM
i have a single end 250 watt.rite now have 20k but tomorrow my 14k should be here. the ballasts are a do it yourself bought them both for 100 bucks from a friend.

JustinM
03/14/2011, 02:09 PM
all the people thats say to use t5 have t5 and most have never used mh. Mh will be the best lighting option if you want to keep anything in the tank. Now if you have a pretty deep tank and want to put a clam on the bottom you might have trouble with the t5. The reason mh is so nice is you will never have to question your self about if you have enough light. LED and mh is the best way to light a good reef tank.

I agree with you, but how many people have tanks that are deeper than 24"? A decent T5HO fixture will still have a decent amount of par at 24". Anything deeper than 24" I would choose MH, anything less I would choose T5. And whether you have a DE bulb or a mogul bulb makes a world of difference to when it comes to depth. Just my .02.

chimmike
03/14/2011, 02:19 PM
all the people thats say to use t5 have t5 and most have never used mh. Mh will be the best lighting option if you want to keep anything in the tank. Now if you have a pretty deep tank and want to put a clam on the bottom you might have trouble with the t5. The reason mh is so nice is you will never have to question your self about if you have enough light. LED and mh is the best way to light a good reef tank.

I disagree with you. I have had both, have t5's now, and have no problem keeping anything.

MH v. T5 is strictly subjective. Look at the Euro reef tanks. Many of them have T5's and look better than most of our tanks do with t5's, halides, or LED's.

meowzer
03/14/2011, 02:23 PM
I have both MH and T5's on my big tank....T5's on a smaller tank

I like them both...LOL....As far as T5's though....IMO it all depends on the bulb combinations you use...

mj23forever
03/14/2011, 02:23 PM
with t5 what bulb colors should i go with.an mh whats the nicest bulb

arentspowell
03/14/2011, 02:34 PM
If going with the T-5's I would get 2 BLue+ 1 purple+ and one aquablue special. I used to have that over my 75 and it looked great, not to blue but gave plenty of pop. I now am using two 250W DE Phoenix 14K bulbs. I couldn't be happier. My T-5's were a retrofit, and not I am using a Current Sunpod and it lets me do an open top which I like better.

JustinM
03/14/2011, 02:42 PM
Here is another link with just about every T5 question answered and pics of bulb combos, check it out

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=178954

chimmike
03/14/2011, 06:27 PM
+1.

Oh, and fwiw, there IS a difference in quality in T5 fixtures. Better fixtures have better par and are more efficient.

grigsy
03/14/2011, 08:32 PM
I have used both and personally prefer metal halides over T5s.

In addition, I prefer both Metal Halides and T5s both over LEDs.