Mh vs. T-5

[reefreak]

ok guys im debating whether to go mh or stick with t5. the t5 is a nova extreme 6x39 watt bulbs and the metal halide is 2 150 watt lights with 14k bulbs so what do you guys think?

[Mr Cob]

less heat with T5 and more color options, when talking MH I personally only like 250w. I prefer MH but not a big fan of 150w bulbs/fixtures. Guess it depends on the specific tank and your needs/likes.

T5 and MH are both proven lights for all corals.

[koa25]

I agree with rob. 250 gets results. Alton is selling 175w setups. I read those with the iwasaki 15k bulbs pack a mean punch and get results like a 250w with an appropriate reflector. I like the color options with t5's definitely. But love the shimmer and growth with MHs.

[SoLiD]

Usually it's a heat issue when we're talking about any light. But between those 2, I'd take Metal Halide everyday of the week. Growth and color are usually unmatched with most any Metal Halide versus T5s.

[Zack]

Metal halides. If you can find a way to keep the heat in the tank down (fans REALLY do work here) than go metal halide. I have a phoenix 14k bulb and wow, that thing has the perfect color for my taste and the par values as per other aquarists readings are pretty dang good. Another minor thing that I really enjoy is the shimmer of halides. LED shimmer looks a bit too fake for my taste (very disco-ish) and T5's don't have any shimmer. Not a huge deal but it makes it look that much better for me.

[alton]

Depends on the application. My 29 at work I use 4 x 24w T5's, I tried 175w MH but too much heat. Some say T5's produce less heat than MH? 600 watts of T5 or 600 watts of MH, or 600 watts of LED is still 600 watts of heat, the only difference in LED the heat is put on the back side of the LED and not in your tank but still puts 600 watts in the room. At home I have my 300 with 750 watts of MH lighting my tank with two fans and screen covers, temp stays around 76-77 degrees with room temp around 74. If I used T5's I would have to use a 10 lamp 80 watt ATI fixture which would be no savings. 750w's of MH 750/.9 power factor = 833 watts, and 800 watts of T5 800/.98=816watts. On lamp changes MH $240 every 14 months versus $300 for T5 every 12 months. On my 40 gallon I use a T5 light with 4 x 39w lamps and the alarm goes off everyday around 8 because the temp gets to 79 and shuts down two of the four lamps. If you want to keep clams you are better off going with MH. Othere issues to think of is internal pumps? 140 watt internal pump adds 140 watts to the temp of your tank 24/7, then adding another 80 watts for a skimmer pump and you now have a grand total of 220 watts heating your tank 24/7. And don't forget if you are running 4 or 5 - 20 watt power heads, yep add another 100 watts to your tank heat.

[Mr Cob]

You the man Alton, thx for the break down.

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[koa25]

Yeah. Seriously. Thats a wicked awesome breakdown. Thank you. The educational value of this post just sky rocketed.

[reefreak]

Thanks alton I don't think I'll keep clams at this time

[350gt]

Depends on the application. My 29 at work I use 4 x 24w T5's, I tried 175w MH but too much heat. Some say T5's produce less heat than MH? 600 watts of T5 or 600 watts of MH, or 600 watts of LED is still 600 watts of heat, the only difference in LED the heat is put on the back side of the LED and not in your tank but still puts 600 watts in the room. At home I have my 300 with 750 watts of MH lighting my tank with two fans and screen covers, temp stays around 76-77 degrees with room temp around 74. If I used T5's I would have to use a 10 lamp 80 watt ATI fixture which would be no savings. 750w's of MH 750/.9 power factor = 833 watts, and 800 watts of T5 800/.98=816watts. On lamp changes MH $240 every 14 months versus $300 for T5 every 12 months. On my 40 gallon I use a T5 light with 4 x 39w lamps and the alarm goes off everyday around 8 because the temp gets to 79 and shuts down two of the four lamps. If you want to keep clams you are better off going with MH. Othere issues to think of is internal pumps? 140 watt internal pump adds 140 watts to the temp of your tank 24/7, then adding another 80 watts for a skimmer pump and you now have a grand total of 220 watts heating your tank 24/7. And don't forget if you are running 4 or 5 - 20 watt power heads, yep add another 100 watts to your tank heat.


But you don't need 600 watts of led to match the output of 600 watts of MH...

On my old fixture, I had 300 watts of mh and 108 watts of t5. My 3 ai sols total 75 watts each at 100%, I am only running them at 50% and they have matched or surpassed the par readings of the t5/mh combo with absolutely no heat.... The fixture warms up but that's about it, the built in internal fans never kick on and the units are placed in a canopy...

[350gt]

Question is Jeremy, what exactly are you looking for? Growth? Shimmer? Color?



Personally I would stick with what you have if it's working for you......

[reefreak]

Well I had t5 and it was working good but I love the shimmer effect on the metal halides but the im going to have is soft coral and maybe some Lps that's it

[Mr Cob]

You can always just purchase an LED strip in 50/50 or 10k to add shimmer to your tank.

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[350gt]

Well I had t5 and it was working good but I love the shimmer effect on the metal halides but the im going to have is soft coral and maybe some Lps that's it


I would stick with what you have then......... And do like rob said and add a led strip...

I am running a 4 bulb t5 On my frag tank and added 2 stunner LEDs for the shimmer...

I like all forms of lighting, they all have there ups and downs.... If I could run 2 250w MH with no heat and led strips for actinics...... It would be perfect IMO....

[reefreak]

well seems like im back to this but looking for a 150wx2 with 4 t5s fixture my question is instead of using the t5s is there something i can replace them with like led strips or those led tubes?

[ElChicano]

Have u seen the t5 led bulbs. Not sure what color range they are offered in. Its something I have been looking into .

[reefreak]

me too just can't find a place that sells them

[ElChicano]

http://www.ledlightsworld.com/led-fluorescent-tubes-c-51.html

This place offers them for sale.

[reefreak]

they are $30 a piece for the blue ones

[Big_Pun]

I like both so thats why I use both. just remember to use quality bulbs and ballast, good reflectors make a difference also. but the best growth I've ever had is with MH hands down, but you gotta learn to live and deal with heat but that's can be as simple as a 6 dollar fan. my tank stays at 79-80 all day with my AC set at 78-79. running low wattage pumps helps with heat also and running vortechs instead of traditional powerheads, every little bit helps.

[reefreak]

i have a pair of koralias and a rio 2500 only pumps i run.

[Fenker]

I used to be a hardcore t5 fan. Knew them in and out. I used to swear by them, until I got mh. The growth and color is way better IMO with mh. And the shimmer! How could u not love that. But.......they dont spread like t5's. Also the issue with heat, short bulb life and how inefficient they are. For my 37 cube, 10g,3g and my new 25g mh is best, but for a 55g or something like that stay with t5.

[reefreak]

i think im going with a t5 mh combo light with 2x150w and 4x54w t5

[kkiel02]

I would argue that mh bulbs last longer than t5. I'm a mh fan but that's because I can run three 250 watt fixtures over my tank. So I have 750 watts on 500 gallons of saltwater. Not to bad if you ask me. That's also why heat isn't a issue. I guess it comes down to the shape and size of your tank. The only reason I want t5 is for sunrise and sunset dimming.

[350gt]

True, running both is best...

[Big_Pun]

I like both so thats why I use both. just remember to use quality bulbs and ballast, good reflectors make a difference also. but the best growth I've ever had is with MH hands down, but you gotta learn to live and deal with heat but that's can be as simple as a 6 dollar fan. my tank stays at 79-80 all day with my AC set at 78-79. running low wattage pumps helps with heat also and running vortechs instead of traditional powerheads, every little bit helps.

he likes both ^^

[reefreak]

guessing i should take off my heater then? and fans will be the best too.

[Fenker]

Is this for a 55g? If so 2x150 and 4x54 is a ridiculous overkill for ANYTHING. I had a full blown sps/clam 55g with sps and clams on the bottom with just a tek4x54w.

[reefreak]

really? yes its 55 reef i have seen this on same on other tanks but im not going to be using all 4 t5s i will probably only use them at night for actinic and the metal halides during the day,

[Fenker]

Than why would u get it? Ur better of running 2x150 mh or 4x54w having both would be pointless. T5s are darn bright, I dont see how they would work as a sunrise/sunset effect. Ur better off getting one or the other and doing LEDs for the sunrise sunset.
plus thats $180+- for every bulb change.
the downside is with only 4x54w its hard to find a perfect bulb combo for good color and growth. A 6x54w it will be easier but even that would be an overkill. I used a 6x54w aquatinics with icecap ballast (pushing 85w+ out of each bulb) In my 90g, again sps/clam. Even that wad burning sps up to high. T5s have wicked potential but u have to get good bulbs and a good fixture, IMO nova is junk. Tek is good, aquatinics as great and ATI is king.
aquatinics does make a 5x54w fixture that would be ur best choice, but I went with the Tek cause I was only 14 and broke.

[reefreak]

well i plan on using the led tubes or the 4x54w actinic the led t5 tubes last for a while and have low wattage but are equal to high output 4ft t5 only reason i got the nova extreme is because im 13 and broke lol.

[Fenker]

Thats still an over kill. Especially if ur just going with softies and lps. Even ur nova can support clams mid to high on the rocks. With good bulbs u can support sps and clams in ur 55. Are u running stock nova bulbs? If so het some good ones and ur tank will thrive and look WAY better. I'm telling u, a 4x54w can support anything u put in there, same with 2x150w mh. But both to much man.

[Big_Pun]

Thats still an over kill. Especially if ur just going with softies and lps. Even ur nova can support clams mid to high on the rocks. With good bulbs u can support sps and clams in ur 55. Are u running stock nova bulbs? If so het some good ones and ur tank will thrive and look WAY better. I'm telling u, a 4x54w can support anything u put in there, same with 2x150w mh. But both to much man.

all true but why limit yourself to LPS n softies . why miss out on sps !! but basic rule of t5 is 1 bulb for every 3 inches of width if you want a light that can do anything, be sure it's a quality fixture.

[reefreak]

One i might be getting is a coralife aqualight prox2 150w if i get it i will do sps and clams yiur thinking its going to be too much but im not going to have the fixture right on the aquarium its going to get hung about 20" from the water line.

[Big_Pun]

One i might be getting is a coralife aqualight prox2 150w if i get it i will do sps and clams yiur thinking its going to be too much but im not going to have the fixture right on the aquarium its going to get hung about 20" from the water line.

too high run 8-10 inches

[Fenker]

all true but why limit yourself to LPS n softies . why miss out on sps !! but basic rule of t5 is 1 bulb for every 3 inches of width if you want a light that can do anything, be sure it's a quality fixture.

I'm saying a 2x150w4x54w combo is an over kill. Even for sps and clams. One or the other is MORE THAN ENOUGH for anything to thrive at any light level.
the 6x39w he has now is even enough for what ever u want to keep. The only problem is its a 36" fixture on a 48" tank so the sps and clams need to be under the light, but sps and softies will thrive in the corners.


I dont believe in lighting "rules" its all about par. Not wpg not how wide, its par.

Get itself some good bulbs and ur good. No need to upgrade just to get a shimmer.

[Fenker]

One i might be getting is a coralife aqualight prox2 150w if i get it i will do sps and clams yiur thinking its going to be too much but im not going to have the fixture right on the aquarium its going to get hung about 20" from the water line.


Ur going to loose all ur light before it even gets to the tank... and light up ur entire room.

[sergiotami]

I have the Current Nova Extreme Pro w 3 12,000, 2 Actinic and 1 purple plus and get Great growth from my sps as well as have two clams that have been thriving for the past 4 years under my T5s.... Thinking about going to a MH, T5 and moonlight led light fixture only because I've been told I'd get better growth out of my sps....:)

[reefreak]

yeah i have a 234w of t5s atm but wanting to do 300w halide and 108w t5 and the led tubes.