WHATS THE BEST LIGHTING?

[ShAgMaN]

Well, after some great info and opinions, I'm much more educated and informed. However........ I think I'm gonna do what no one recommends. I'm going with my instinct on this one.........LED's. I could be totally wrong, and likely so with so little experience compared to all of you, but today I saw the most awesome LED light at a LFS and it clinched the deal. I'll give you an update in a week or two, but please don’t say I told you so. I just gotta learn the hard way, or rejoice in success.

[uriah]

Good luck! Are you getting a good deal?

[ShAgMaN]

Yah, ridiculously good deal.

[Europhyllia]

I have a 72" T5 fixture over my 125g tank and love it. My tank is shallow enough (under 24" deep) to where T5s are adequate. I was happy that I could avoid Metal Halides because I don't care for the heat output and energy consumption of the MTs.
If I could do one thing different about the T5S though I would go with a fixture that takes shorter bulbs.
Mine sort of alternately stacks several 60" T5s (overlapping in the middle and alternatingly cover the remaining 12" on the ends).
60" bulbs are super tough to come by and since they are so thin tend to break in shipping. I had a tough time getting a replacement after one bulb arrived broken.
So if I had to do it over I'd get a fixture that takes 36" bulbs end to end.
You can always find those. With the 60" bulbs I am much more limited.

Have fun with the LEDs. Would be cool if it worked out.

[ShAgMaN]

I have a 72" T5 fixture over my 125g tank and love it. My tank is shallow enough (under 24" deep) to where T5s are adequate. I was happy that I could avoid Metal Halides because I don't care for the heat output and energy consumption of the MTs.
If I could do one thing different about the T5S though I would go with a fixture that takes shorter bulbs.
Mine sort of alternately stacks several 60" T5s (overlapping in the middle and alternatingly cover the remaining 12" on the ends).
60" bulbs are super tough to come by and since they are so thin tend to break in shipping. I had a tough time getting a replacement after one bulb arrived broken.
So if I had to do it over I'd get a fixture that takes 36" bulbs end to end.
You can always find those. With the 60" bulbs I am much more limited.

Have fun with the LEDs. Would be cool if it worked out.

Thanks for the input and advice. BTW I'll PM you right now about the mandrin.