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View Full Version : PC or T-5??


mister crabs
02/19/2006, 12:06 PM
I was wondering what the significant difference between these two types of lighting is? I have a 25g tank that is 24 inches tall, 12 inches deep, and 24 inches wide. I was looking at either the Nova Extreme T-5 24" setup from fostersmith that has 96w of output or the orbit 24" 130w powercompact setup. Price isnt that much different between the two (like $20). Which should i get and why? thanks for your help:cool:

mister crabs
02/19/2006, 12:26 PM
help? anyone use either of these?

Ti
02/19/2006, 12:27 PM
Get T5 TEK, it has alot more output.

Drewpy
02/19/2006, 12:27 PM
start searching threads... depends on what you want to keep under them....

Zigzag Man
02/19/2006, 12:44 PM
I agree with Ti... you can put less T5HO's over your tank and get the same amount of output (= less electrical consumption), or put the same wattage over your tank as PC's and get a ton more light.

The difference is the T5 reflector combined with the 'non-bent' structure of the T5 bulb. This puts more light down into the tank rather than into stray reflections.

mildew
02/19/2006, 01:31 PM
I am running both PC and T5 on the same aquarium. The PC get a heck of a lot hotter. The T5 though of considerably lower wattage appear to put out a lot more light. If I was to start all over again, I'd go with all T5.

Jon Evans
02/19/2006, 02:11 PM
T5s all the way.

thefuture
02/19/2006, 03:51 PM
T5's bro. from the compact lighting T5 research i did on here. t5s stand up to halides if its a tek fixture or one with individual reflectors for each bulb

roader247
02/19/2006, 05:51 PM
T5 with individual reflectors all the way

bllfish
02/20/2006, 08:01 PM
Switched from 6 65W pc to 4 54W T5HO with ice cap reflectors. PC cannot touch the T5.

horkn
02/20/2006, 08:36 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6779401#post6779401 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by roader247
T5 with individual reflectors all the way

ditto

what do you want to keep?

if its lps and softies, then 2x24 will easily suffice, if its clams and sps, go with 3x24 or 4x24..

Drewpy
02/20/2006, 09:00 PM
Really depends on what you want to keep...

Nevermind which is brighter---
Softies, mushrooms, and LPS will grow great under PC's!!!

SPS will grow well under T5's but you WILL have to issues with some corals if they are placed high up...

Also go by which bulb combinations look better to you

mister crabs
02/21/2006, 07:28 AM
I want to be abl to grow it all.....So i was going to go with the 4x24 fixture. Is there anything special about tek other than the individual rflectors? B/C i was thinking of building my own canopy and retrofitting bulbs into it so they would each have thier own reflector anyhow. that way i could add as many lights as i want to. How many t5 bulbs would you guys suggest for a 24" wide and 24" deep tank? How many actinics? what temp for others? 10,000k? 14,000k? all help is appreciated

bllfish
02/21/2006, 09:08 AM
I have the regular tek 5 54 W ballasts and keeping softies, lps and some sps has been OK. If you are going to have more sps you should probably go with the ice cap ballasts. I am just repeating what I have heard but they overdrive the t5's so sps are no problem. At the same time the ice caps could affect lps corals so you have to put them under an overhang at the bottom of your tank.
I have tried different sps and some are ok with the regular t5s but others did not do too well.
horkn is a much better source of info than I am. Might want to pm him.
Also, I believe the length of the tank dictates what wattage you can use.

dwdenny
02/21/2006, 09:09 AM
If your are going to retro then look at aqualuxlighting.com and thier reflectors are just as good as IC but half the cost but they are wider at 3 1/8" compared to IC at 2 1/2" wide. HTH

ernordstrom
02/21/2006, 09:18 AM
I have the 4-24w T-5 fixture and everything seems to love the light. I had to place some of my zoanthids farthur down in the tank becasue it was too bright for em.. I have some bright orange/red Plate Montipora, some Hydnophora about 8 inches from the lights a gigas clam( I know I know...too big) on the substrate, and tons of other hard and soft corals. I had 130w PC on the tank b4 and these lights undoubtedly blow them away...They are bright!! I use the following light combination and get a nice white color with a hint of blue.

back
24W Actinic/Blue Plus T5 HO Fluorescent
24W 6500K Daylight T5 HO Fluorescent -this one is the brightest-more and has more par...
24W 11000K Aquablue Plus T5 HO Fluorescent
24W Actinic/Blue Plus T5 HO Fluorescent
got em all here /www.reefgeek.com/
Good luck and take care.

bllfish
02/21/2006, 09:22 AM
Wider reflectors mean less bulbs under the top.

horkn
02/21/2006, 05:13 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6792069#post6792069 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bllfish
Wider reflectors mean less bulbs under the top.

quite true.

and at some point, you might have too many bulbs to grow corals well other than sps, and clams, and anemones..

people have found that you really dont need to squeeze as many t5ho as you can under the canopy like most vho or pc users did.

and if you still have too much light, an actinic bulb or 2 will fix that, and maybe get it a little more blue in the process.


my recently aquited hydnopora frag has great polyp extension under the t5hos near the top, actually even a little higher in the tank than the sps i have. but i have to move my micromussa down lower, its not as colorful as it once was.


if i didnt have the phosphate or hard metal (yeah, i need a real rodi unit asap) issues, i gurantee the t5ho setup i have would have great growth on everything. i am ordering one this week yet...

mister crabs
02/21/2006, 08:21 PM
thanks for all the input guys. I want to go t5 as opposed to MH because it absolutely has to go under a wood hood. (wife insists) and I am worried about heat from MH. And from all that I have read T5 are much cooler than PH and give out comparable light to MH. I want to put as many reflectors/bulbs as ncessary so that I am not limited in future additions of livestock. To start with it will primarily contain SPS and softies but my wife is st on having a small clam in there sometime. And since the $$ is half hers i gotta giv in sometimes.

Catharsis70
02/21/2006, 08:41 PM
Anyone found a good source for cheaper T5 reflectors yet?

horkn
02/21/2006, 08:55 PM
yeah, www.aqualuxlighting.com

the computer designed reflectors are just as good for PAR numbers as the icecaps, at a cost near 2 times less.

so they are 10-20% better for PAR than tek reflectors, and way cheaper than those as well.. but they are wider.. just over 3",