Lighting

[dammar]

Im trying to decide on a light system to upgrade too.
I understand that the T5 bulbs are 'new and fancy' and thus cost a lot. But aside from being new whats so 'fancy' about them?
The whole light discussion goes way over my head, anyone know of a dumbed down explanation they could link?

 

[patandlace]

What size tank do you have and what are you wanting to keep in the tank?

 

[lecithin]

Yep, need to know tank size and what you want to host in it. It its FO then your lights aren't very important, anything after that they become more and more important (corals, anemones, etc)
T5s are newer and are much more effecient then our old Power compact set ups. They do a great job of hosting everything as long as its the right light set up. They are not necissarily that expensive. For a high end model yeah, they're up there but a decent system can be had somewhat cheaply (taking into consideration this is a very expensive hobby) the costs also escalate the larger your tank is.
There are also Metal Halide lights which are top of the line very high output deep penetrating lights. But of course they're also expensive.... again, so is everything with this.
PC (power compact florescents) are the older style of light that doesn't penetrate as well and take a lot more Watts to do the same job as other systems.
But really it comes down to tank size and what you want in there.

 

[dragonzim]

Originally Posted by Lecithin
Yep, need to know tank size and what you want to host in it. It its FO then your lights aren't very important, anything after that they become more and more important (corals, anemones, etc)
T5s are newer and are much more effecient then our old Power compact set ups. They do a great job of hosting everything as long as its the right light set up. They are not necissarily that expensive. For a high end model yeah, they're up there but a decent system can be had somewhat cheaply (taking into consideration this is a very expensive hobby) the costs also escalate the larger your tank is.
There are also Metal Halide lights which are top of the line very high output deep penetrating lights. But of course they're also expensive.... again, so is everything with this.
PC (power compact florescents) are the older style of light that doesn't penetrate as well and take a lot more Watts to do the same job as other systems.
But really it comes down to tank size and what you want in there.

 

[patandlace]

I like T5's because they don't put out a ton of heat like MH's. You don't need a fan to cool them so they run almost silent. And they are stronger than PC's especially with individual reflectors.

 

[dammar]

My tank is 46g and 21 inches deep, 3 inch sand bed. I have a pc light fixture atm with a few corals but I was wanting to upgrade to either MH, T5, or a combination of them.
Mainly just curious if the t5s are worth the price difference of the outer orbit t5 vs the sunpod from current. I read the specs and they didn't help much, most of the specs went over my head.
Dont really have a plan for what corals I want to get, most of the ones I have now are doing ok under my PC lights. Iv noticed my favia fading around the edges though, one of the reasons I want to upgrade.
I need a "lighting for dummies" book or something similar

 

[lecithin]

lol, there isn't a lighting for dummies book that I know of, hell there isn't even that much info out there on lighting! I was thinking of making a chart/matrix that would give people a much better idea of what goes w/what depending on tank size, light, types of corals, etc... but I haven't started juuuust yet.
If you're not sure what you want in there should we assume the worst (meaning everything and anything?) at that point you need a high end T5, a MH, or a T5 MH combo.
That outer orbit T5/MH kicks out some serious wattage and you could probably host satan himself down in that tank w/that thing, but of course it'll run you some serious cash.
As for if the Sunpod worth it at basically half the price... damn thats a hard question. I think the sunpod can host most things under there... but I'm really torn on truely high light demanding corals/clams......
experts chime in please!
I also agree w/patandlace I prefer T5HO, less wattage, less heat but that doesn't make them the best and people will debate you on that all day.
Give us a more concrete answer on corals and we'll give you a more concrete answer on lights.

 

[dammar]

Hmm, I cant really give a concrete answer since I'm not sure what I want in the tank, kinda adding stuff as I go. A lot of stuff out there iv never heard of before =D
From the sound of it though I should just save enough for the outer orbit, better investment, can put most anything under it, uses less energy, runs cooler, i could keep satan in my tank, etc.