Ok, I have used MH's for years on my past TOTM, and am currently using T5's. I have been using T5's for about 7 months now and I would like to share with you what I have found.

The one thing with T5's is that they operate much differently then the sun or MH, which are both single point sources of light. In nature corals only receive 2-3 hours of direct intense lighting to any one side of the coral. With MH, even though it is hitting the coral longer then it would in nature, it is not as intense and only a small portion of the coral is exposed to the full power. With T5, the corals are fully exposed to intense light all around as opposed to a single direction. This is good because you tend to get fuller, and more even growth pattern. The bad side of this is the coral has a hard time coping with so much light attacking it from many angles.

In my opinion, the growth and coloration I am having with T5's is better then what I had with MH. After my new tank settled in the growth was as good and in some cases better then when I was operating 400W MH's.



Now, two things that I believe T5's have MH's beat on, without a doubt, are:

-Color Options

T5's have given me the EXACT color I have always been after. I can add as many blue bulbs as i would like, and I don't have to worry about diminished PAR as Grim has already pointed out. If I think the tank looks too blue, I can swap out a bulb for a white one and vice versa.

and.....

-Coral Placement

This, I believe is the greatest thing about T5's. In the past, with MH, I had to constantly move corals around so that they were DIRECTLY under the MH bulb. This became tedious and many of the corals on the outside of the bulb were always darker in color and lacked proper growth. This gave some of the corals a funny and unnatural looking growth pattern. Now, with T5 I can place my corals ANYWHERE across the tank with no worries. It makes my life easier and my corals happier.

At the end of the day if you are happy with what you are using then stick with it. I wanted a better way of growing and coloring my corals so T5 was the natural choice. After looking at the MANY T5 tanks in Europe I knew I had to have them.

So, after using T5's for an extended period of time now I don't think I could ever go back to MH.

The shimmer is nice and all, but I can never give up the color and growth patterns found in T5's.

 


Comments

Ivan
04/21/2009 3:58pm

Hi, Sunny, I have a 75g 48x18x20 sps dom. tank. I am using right now two 250w reeflux 20k in lumen max elite refl. and two t5 actinic with a 660 ice cap.(to much watts and very hot)

My question is can i use only 4 54w t5 with 660 ice cap ballast or is better to have 6 t5.(maybe 4 overdriven (85w") and two ho(54w)

Your tank is amazing!
Thanks!

Reply
Sonny
04/22/2009 8:19am

Hello Ivan,

With your tank size five 54W T5's would work great. You could get away with four T5's although you will have to space the lights and corals accordingly.

Reply
Wilson Nacario
10/09/2009 2:42pm

I am contemplating the switch to T5. I currently have 2 - 250 watt hqi 20K bulbs over a three foot 50 watt breeder tank. Can I get awy with 4 39 watt T5's or should I use more. Tank is SPS dominated

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