T5 vs. Compact flourescent

[antman]

My mom is making me get rid of my 400 watt metal halide light on my 55 gallon because she thinks the pendant hanging from the ceiling is unattractive, it gives off too much heat, and takes up to much electricity. I was looking into either T5 or compact flourescent and I was wondering which one looks the best and is the best for coral and plant growth.

[SABOB]

Depends on what you want in your tank.T5 will give you many more options.Tell us about your tank.What size,what equipment and what livestock do you want to keep?

[Gseclipse02]

im assuming you have a MH for the corals that you have .....

so i would go T5 what size tank??? how deep ? and how wide

[brewercm]

I don't really think it matters what you have T5 just out of pure lighting options that are available. Not to mention you will be able to keep most anything you want under them (dependent on depth and coral location in the tank).

[Agent Jones]

t5 > cf

[BIGBIRD123]

Compacts are a wave log gone. T5s are great and you can keep anything with them. The only thing that MH are for now is the "shimmer effect". I like the shimmer but I like the low electric bill even more.

[rjohn111]

You can still get the shimmer effect with LED's without the heat and expense of the MH.

[Gseclipse02]

You can still get the shimmer effect with LED's without the heat and expense of the MH.

but at the expense of the led's

[BIGBIRD123]

You can still get the shimmer effect with LED's without the heat and expense of the MH.

With the proper LEDs, yes but most people can not afford the cost of them. We did some calculations a year or so ago and it took about 12 yrs to recoup the cost of them. Also, I have helped remove 3 Solaris fixtures because they didn't produce growth. Not trying to start an argument, just stating some facts. I wished they worked better for growth and were affordable. That is why I went from 4 -250w MH to all t5s.

[CoryDude]

Compacts are a wave log gone.

Totally agree. Compacts were great 10 years ago. Never liked how easily the bulbs could break.