lighting thoughts..

[burning2nd]

so... when i started years ago.. i had 4x39w t5 over a 36" 30g.... i replaced that with 2x150hqi and the t5 fixture went in to storage... .

over the years ive bin builidng this 75 which is already on its way... and that had the old nova 36" fixture over it..

i just swaped my hqi's and y t5's from the 30 to the 75...

now im runing the 2x150 hqi's over the 75 anthe 4x39t5's over the 30 (ageain)

my thoughts are.... and im leaning hard that i should get a nice t5 fixture over the 48" 75g i saw some 8x39w t5's fixtures and put that over the 75......

and then sell the 2x150... even tho i like the look of the Hids's over the tank i think they are less efficient (well i know they are)

so insted of buying a 800 dollare 48" hqi fixture (maybe 2x250) im thinking i should just get 48" t5 fixture...

what do you guys think?

t5 of hqi?

 

[lvsuckerfish]

i think it is a personal choice I love my m/h both will do the same pending how deep the 75 is over 24 inches go m/h t 5s will work less then 24 inches with the right bulb config.

 

[burning2nd]

i have used both.. and the only diffrence i see is the electricity bill... even tho i know scientifically the mh are doing more....

hard for me... I guess it will come to me when im ready to buy...... let me see what changes come with this light swap...

 

[apollothesun]

i think it is a personal choice I love my m/h both will do the same pending how deep the 75 is over 24 inches go m/h t 5s will work less then 24 inches with the right bulb config.

yeah, i agree with lvsuckerfish, depends what your keeping at the bottom of the 75 gallon tank. if your gonna keep clams at the bottom, maybe go halides. maybe returnofsid can help with t5 depth issue, i think he runs t5 on his tank

 

[OurReef]

I have gone the full run of lights for my 75g. Started with PC lighting, upgraded to a VHO set up. Then I went to a VHO actinic/halide mix, like everyone is saying depends on what you have in it and what you plan on putting in there. (Never know what you'll want.)

75g Oceanic with overflow (working on getting a RR 180)
Octopus skimmer
18g sump
9.5 magdrive
2 Korala 4 and one Nano (helps with area of low flow)
2 400w Ushio 14k
2 54w actinic
4 moonlight led

 

[burning2nd]

I use to beleive the what ur gonna keep theory but with exspermention of my own with high demaning coarls ive found this to be over exsagerated.

Ive keep nems and clams under t5s at 20" (4x39w) and the smae clam and nem under mh's and they loom so much better under t5's i really think i should get '8x39w t5 fixture

Maybe years ago i would bought the lighting satus quo but with my own eyes ive seen this not be as true as we all think. Anyway its no matter now cause im not running out to buy new lighgs now, the first order of biz is to get nemo and his nem outta the tank and in to the other. The clam still has a lil single strand of bryopsis and is not ready cor the move. On the other hand im going to have some coarls to give away so when im ready Anyone who want free coral can have it. Id really rather in person hand off cause it would upset me to see something die in the mail. Ill be around


At anything the 30 g will be broke down this summer

 

[jrgilles]

I just picked up a used light fixture for my 75 for $280, it has 2X150W MH, 4X96W CF and moonlights. I love it. Have the actenic blue CF bulbs on for 11 hours or so a day, then the MH on for 7-8H/day, and the moonlights on for an hour or 2 after lights out while I feed nocturnal corals.

I like the mix. All my corals seem pretty happy.

rob

 

[sandswhitson]

You can grow just about anything you want with the T5 fixture but if your like me and don't like the look of a T5 only tank then go with halides. The T5 tanks remind me of a freswater tank with the look of the water (no shimmering) etc... Maybe get a fixture with a bunch of LED's to add the shimmer effect. If you don't care about that then T5's would work great.

 

[burning2nd]

true true... i do like that shimmering effect but i cant look pass the new electric bill... ...

I dont know i dont know... for years i said i was gonna get a 2x250 sunpod... cause i really like my sun pod that i have now.. (its a 2x150)

i dont know i dont know... the led's fixtures suck right?

 

[sandswhitson]

Lets compare this a T5 fixture with 8x54W equals 432W while a 2x250W MH fixture with 2x54@ T5's for actinic supplement equals 608W. Meaning it will only cost you about $92 extra per year than the T5 fixture. That is $7 more per month. I don't know if you would have to run a chiller or not but I run 400W halides on a 75G and haven't had to get a chiller yet and where I am at it gets HOT in the summer I mean 105+.

 

[burning2nd]

ya im in a bassment 2... heat is eazly controlled with a fan

i think i might just stay with what i wanted to do in the first place...

Ill sell the sunpod 2x150 place the 36" t5's over the sump... and be done with it...


i just need to talk back and forth about this.. thanks a lot guys...

the 75 is doing real good... ill be updateing my stuff soon.. as my sig is outta date.. and everything is diffrent then when i updated my build thread years ago..

 

[BCT182]

run a shorter photo period. I am currently down to 4.5hrs a day of three 250w SE 20K XM's over a 210 which is 30" tall. Corals are jammin!

 

[burning2nd]

Ive bin cutting 15 min here and there im at 7.5 hrs

 

[vinny2261]

You might look a little more into your light as far as power bill. If the new lights have a magnitic ballast would the electricity bills be lower than compared to a tar ballast?

 

[TotalVapor]

Over a standard 75 gallon an 8 bulb will hang over and would be wasted. In the past most people run a 6 bulb, I believe sunlight supply makes a nice one.

You should be able to grow anything you wish with that light and it could save up to $20.00 a month on your power bill over MH.

 

[sandswhitson]

TotalVapor I think your math is a little off on the $20 a month more figure. Even if you drop down to the 6 bulb fixture that is still 324W. Compare that to the same MH fixture of 608W and the difference is only $8.63 per month more. That is using the national average of .12 per KWH. I looked up the rate for Pennsylvia and the rate is around .12 per KWH.

 

[apollothesun]

run a shorter photo period. I am currently down to 4.5hrs a day of three 250w SE 20K XM's over a 210 which is 30" tall. Corals are jammin!

yep, shorter photo period with halides then supplement with actinics so you can watch your corals longer.
i feel you on the power bill though.
my dec-jan bill was 5 bills. my old house is very inefficient when it comes to heating.

the cool part about t-5 is that you can mix and match the color to get the best color out of your tank
but 20k radiums on halide galaxy ballasts is where its at! booya!

 

[TotalVapor]

TotalVapor I think your math is a little off on the $20 a month more figure. Even if you drop down to the 6 bulb fixture that is still 324W. Compare that to the same MH fixture of 608W and the difference is only $8.63 per month more. That is using the national average of .12 per KWH. I looked up the rate for Pennsylvia and the rate is around .12 per KWH.

I am just going off my personal experience. I went from T-5's to MH and my bill went up about $20.00 a month.

I still do not see how a MH that is almost double the wattage is going to only cost $8.63 more a month. Another thing is just because it says 150W on a MH does not a for sure thing you will only use 150W. It actually cost more to run 10K bulbs over 20K bulbs MH. The T-5's more more consistent when it comes to power consumption than the MH. The power consumption really varies between ballast manufactures and bulb manufactures.

This can be supported by Sanjay's website and the test he has ran.

 

[returnofsid]

Electrical consumption between T5 and MH can be pretty much offset because with MH lighting, you can usually run a shorter photo period. Meaning less hours of consumption per day. Unless you need to run a chiller. If you're running the same photo period, then T5HO will be slightly cheaper to run. However, the electrical expense is negligible.

Over a 75, a 6 bulb Tek5 T5HO fixture will allow you to grow anything you want. An 8 bulb fixture will be too wide and you'll be wasting light. T5HO contributes almost no heat to your tank. I can place my hand on my bulbs, after they've been on all day, and they're only slightly warm. Even less heat than PC bulbs.

Another thing to consider, if it's important to you is "glitter effect." It can be had with fluorescent lighting, but isn't near as dramatic as with point source lighting, such as MH. If glitter effect is important to you, I'd suggest going with MH. One of the huge advantages, with T5s, is the color variation. There's so many bulbs and bulb combinations to choose from, to get the exact color that you're wanting.

IMO, T5HO are every bit as "productive" as 250 MH. The key is having enough bulbs over your tank AND the most important aspect is having each bulb individually reflected.

 

[Scooterman]

Just a thought, a single pump running 24/7 will most likely consume more power than running either of the lights. I'd say the cost of either one when comparing a bunch of T5's over two MH's is almost a wash but then add the heat & you gain a winner because less cooling. JMO If your trying to save some cash!

I do think a bunch of T5's will also add some heat but probably not as much, It all depends on height off water, fans used etc.