Light upgrade

[baio44]

I'm looking to upgrade the lighting on my 29 biocube. I have mainly LPS and softs, but would like to try my hand at SPS. I would like opinions on upgrading to metal halides vs high-output T5s. Either better for SPS? Cons of them? Any help would be appreciated!

 

Thanks,

Jeff

[Der ABT]

Well i am a MH user myself, but here are a few things that helped me decide. BUT if you want a Current 6bulb 36 inch T5 light let me know I have one for sale form a tank breakdown for the inlaws (6-8mo old and sorry trying to help them sell it dont mean to fully hijak)

 

MH - High intensity of the light, get the shimmering effect (not all that important), great growth, Free heat (which can be a damper in the summer), some of the best tanks/Farmers i tend to get my best corals from all use MH and have usually tried T5 and gone back, again this is most not all.

 

T5- better control of color (aka Deg K) so you can change out a single bulb and effect the overall look of the tank, less heat, lower power usage for a similar amount of light (PAR). There are many tanks out there that are amazing with T5s that ge good growth etc, and im sure there are other benefits.

 

Depending on the amount of light you need pricing can be the same or much cheaper with one or the other. T5 bulbs are about 20 bucks each and most tanks up to 90g will have a ton of light with 6-8 bulbs, MH bulbs are about 50-70 a piece (some are cheaper but) and usually require 2 for up to 90g. so the pricing on bulbs are close to the same as well as the life from my experience.

 

I have 2x250 radium 20k and 2x54w Aquablue+ (its a little blue but the colors pop and if i want to change the color i would change the t5s cause the Radiums are just great bulbs) I had great growth and poly extension/color (until everything died in the battery incident) but i dont plan on changing a thing.

I did a DIY retrofit canopy and spent ALOT less then buying a fixture though i have junk reflectors which makes a big difference and if i spent the money and could fit the bigger reflectors i would probably spend only a little less then most fixtures (one day).

 

this is all my opinion as the choice tends to be just that, i just really like my MH and will stay with them for a while eventhough the lower heat and less energy are tempting, i still think the combo is the way to go.

Edited February 2, 2010 by Der ABT

[Coral Hind]

I have one tank running with T5 only and two others with MH and T5 actinics. Both lighting systems grow corals with good color.

 

For me it is all about the shimmer, so I prefer the MH.

[mrphatstacks]

might as well go big now and save yourself the trouble later down the road. i have the Nova extreme pro and its great but i wish i had gone with the metal halide from the beginning. once you get into sps youll probably end up upgrading your lights to a mh if you dont already have one.

[El Camaron]

read up man, a good T5 fixture will grow and color corals just as good as any other MH fixture, plus bulbs last longer and you have more bulb choices, also less heat, cheaper bulbs and you can always complement it with some LED's if you so want the shimmer.

[igozoom]

Metal halide if you already have a chiller for the biocube. I'd be careful not to bleach whatever you have in the tank currently by starting with some light diffuser or screen and gradually removing it. You'll also need to make sure the water temperature remains stable after the upgrade. Personally, I'd go with the one of the nanocustoms or nanotuners LED upgrade kits if I were you.

[baio44]

Thank you everyone for your responses. I'm going with the Nova Extreme Pro T5HO since its power will grow all my corals (and ones i want to add) and I like that it has actinics. Plus less heat and top-offs.

 

Any further suggestions on light upgrades? Any suggestion on how to add and which lunar lights to go with?

 

Thanks,

Jeff

[zygote2k]

Skip the halides and T5's altogether and go right to LED.

[baio44]

Skip the halides and T5's altogether and go right to LED.

 

 

Like which LEDs? Please let me know where i can get more info.

[zygote2k]

PAR 38's from nanotuners.com are the simple, neat, and clean way to go. They'll cost you $100/bulb- 4 of them are equivalent to a 400w mh. They generate warmth rather than hotness. They last 10 years and screw into a regular household light bulb socket. More shimmer than halides too.

Edited February 12, 2010 by zygote2k