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vwmoneypit

vwmoneypit

one larg lps
Joined
Dec 20, 2005
Messages
430
Location
spokane w.a
So after a talk with returnofsid I am going to switch to T5's I am just keeping lps anyways so I dont need the m.h.400 watts anymore..I have 2 of them and 6ft dual vho's..I am wondering if anyone want them as a package..And what the noticable difference is in the swap..DO u lose the god awfull heat and power draw deals?????thanks ,will
 
yes you will lose all the cons of having an mh. Unless your house naturally gets pretty hot during the summer, you shouldn't need that chiller at all anymore. Get rid of the vho's/mh/chiller and you can pay for your fixture with the proceeds.
 
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YEP IT IS SO i WILL NEEED TO GET TWO SETS OF LIGHT'S ERRHH MY TANK HAS A GLUED IN 12 INCH OR CLOSE TOOO GLASS MIDDLE !bUT I WOULD LOVE TO GET THOSE OFF AND THE OTHERS ON THIS TANK IS ON MY BEDROOM LOOKING INTO MY FRONTROOM SO IT GETS 89 ISH IN THE BEDROOM IN SUMMER YEAH IT SUCK'S BUT THESE WOULD FIX THAT I HOPE
 
If you just want to keep lps, this fixture will definitely do what you want. http://www.petmountain.com/product/aquariuim-light-fixtures/514050/72-inch-12-x-39-watt-1082-.html I'm sure Sid will say get the Tek lights, but if you take a look at reefcentral.com you'll find plenty of people with the same fixture growing sps/clams.

I've got the 48" fixture over my 75g which is nearly as deep as your tank with lps on the sand and sps about an 1.5" above the level of the sand. The good thing about it is, it's got a built in fan and although the reflectors aren't as good as the Tek ones, they are pretty darn close and with the fan, the 2 fixtures both put out about the same PAR.

The other good thing for you is the 72" fixture fits your tank without having to order 2 sets of lights. For the price, it can't be beat IMO. If you take a look at this site, the different quality fixtures are compared. You'll see the Tek and Nova extreme pro are listed to be very close. http://tfivetesting.googlepages.com/fixtures
 
You will have to use ALOT! of t-5's to simulate just one of your MH's. The heat will be pretty darn close. I have both a tec 6 bulb t-5 setup, and i run MH's on my big tank with t-5's for suplimental lighting, your going to loose the intense rays... Simulate the son, Son... lol JMHO

What do you want for the setup? chiller ect?

as for the heat? sounds like your going to bake no matter what in the summer, maybe a cheap window ac unit, and run the MH no more then 6-7 hr / day.
 
To be honest with you, I don't know where you guys come up with this stuff. Great coral growth can be had with either t5's or mh's. You don't need A LOT of t5's to do it either.

VW, if you want good coral growth, a much greater selection of color temps. lower power bills, less worrying about water temps and more pop from your corals as far as color, get t5's. If you'd rather have shimmering in your tank, stick with the mh's. Either 2 six bulb tek fixtures or the above linked nova extreme pro will work just fine. I just prefer the nova extreme pro because it has fans as well as an acrylic cover and legs. If you don't put an acrylic cover over the Teks, the reflectors stain and if you do put one on it, the bulbs lose quite a bit of par from the lack of a fan.

Here's a decent amount of pics for you of SPS dominated tanks grown with t5 lights. If this can be done with sps, lps will easily grow.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1591157
 
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So I'm Michael's (returnofsid) better half, and we have had our Tek Light T-5 light for I think almost 3 years now. We were also told that we wouldn't be about keep much in our tank other than LPS, but we have grown everything in our 75g tank, including clams. Will has seen out tanks in person so he knows the corals we have. We have done MH's and I personally don't like them. If you get the corals up to high they get bleached out and if there too low then there's not enough light. I'm currently waiting for a 24g Aquapod with a 150 HQI MH that comes with it, so we'll see how I like it. Will, I don't think you would need to go with 2 fixtures on your tank. Maybe try a 6 bulb if one is available in a 72". Good luck!!
 
wow good threads as well ..welp u guys come up with a price...I am keeping the chiller for now untill i go throu a summer with t5's and the chiller i am not taking the risk w/o it! but I would be happy to see the mh/vho's go!
 
I don't see why you had 400w mh on that tank anyways, 250's would of been plenty but done deal so converting to T5's will save you a bit of electricity used through consumption & through lesser cooling needs if any.
I had T5 & VHO's, you can get the VHO's with internal reflectors in the lamps which work pretty well. If you already have two 6ft VHO's, I'd add a 4ft T5 unit in the middle with the individual reflectors in the unit. Should be great coverage with awesome colors. If you wanted to go all T5's you could probably squeeze in two 3ft T5's units as SID said as another option but I'd take careful measurements & call the seller to get exacting measurements from their units, may not work though, might be too tight. T5's you can squeeze in more lights in the same space so that is a plus.
 
yea I have two vho's so I may do that...The one thing thar really gets me peved is the stupid redneck idea behind the wires just hanging around .I like the sleek design of the t5 one cord in that is IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Ohh on the 400 watt I got a goood deal on those along time ago a friend had two tanks but only need the one three light/vho setup so i traded my brand new bulb/mh setup for the two i have now..Cost saved me alittle in the long run..But now the wife is getting mad about the extreme heat in the room!!
 
400W of lighting produces just as much heat, be it MH or T5. MH concentrates it and T5 spreads it ... but at the end of the day it is pretty much the same.

There are some great T5 lamps available nowadays and applied correctly can sustain just about anything in coral species in tanks up to 2'. After that MH comes into its own.

On the other hand, advancements in technology like the Lumenbright reflectors and e-ballasts have opened the way for better application of MH lighting.

:)
 
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