PC's VHO's MH's T5's ?????

adamc1303

adamc1303

Active Member
I am new to "lights" since I never had a reef tank. I want to start adding corals to my tank but I know I need different lights. To my knowledge there are Metal Halides, VHO, PC & T5. What are the differences in all these different lights. I know it's a complictaed topic but I need help before I go out and buy them. I want to basically be able to have any coral except for SPS COrals because I hear they are very hard to keep and need very big tanks. I currently have a 90 gallon FOWLR.
 
db

db

Member
Since you are not interested in SPS I would probably get a T5 set up if it were me. If you get one with individual reflectors they put out a good deal of PAR and give off very little heat. My second choice would be to go with 440w's of VHO. Either of these would give you plenty of light for your reef.
 
adamc1303

adamc1303

Active Member
What is the difference between t5 and PC. They lok the same and some PC fixtures have more watts. Are watts the key word? Or even if a PC gives out 260W and a T5 gives 220w I will get more light form a t5?
 
oceana

oceana

Active Member
Originally Posted by Adamc1303
What is the difference between t5 and PC. They lok the same and some PC fixtures have more watts. Are watts the key word? Or even if a PC gives out 260W and a T5 gives 220w I will get more light form a t5?

i dont have the numbers in front of me right this min but t5 give out quite a bit more light then PC
 
clownfish0

clownfish0

Member
Originally Posted by oceana
i dont have the numbers in front of me right this min but t5 give out quite a bit more light then PC
I know t5 is not as popular as PC's so I would go with PC's because there is a reason for PC being more popular.
 
adamc1303

adamc1303

Active Member
What about VHO's do they get hot. I can't seem to relly see any fixtures for them on the market. Do you just mount a reflector to a canopy and them put in the end caps and plug them into a ballast or do I have it all wrong?
 
clownfish0

clownfish0

Member
Originally Posted by Adamc1303
What about VHO's do they get hot. I can't seem to relly see any fixtures for them on the market. Do you just mount a reflector to a canopy and them put in the end caps and plug them into a ballast or do I have it all wrong?
There is really no fixtures for VHO. YOu kind of have to do it yourself. You have the jist of it.
 
adamc1303

adamc1303

Active Member
1) Do they get very hot?
2) Will I get a huge electric bill using them?
3) They seem like they are the next best things from halides because they give off allot more lights, am i worng?
4) What are all the parts that I would need to put them together?
 
X

xrobbx03

Guest
i have 2x95 VHO right now but going to add a 4x39 T5 setup to that. From what i read about T5 is that they put out far more PAR than VHO or PC and under T5 you will be able to keep almost any soft coral. I think T5 is more efficient electricity wise and also last longer than VHO or PC. VHOs you will most likely have to replace every 6 months or so and with T5 you can probably go a year without replacing the bulbs.
 
X

xrobbx03

Guest
Originally Posted by Adamc1303
1) Do they get very hot?
2) Will I get a huge electric bill using them?
3) They seem like they are the next best things from halides because they give off allot more lights, am i worng?
4) What are all the parts that I would need to put them together?
To answer your questions about VHO.
1. They do get somewhat hot the more you have and the closer they are together you will probably want to add some kind of fan set up to them.
2. Electric bill has increased a little bit but not so much that you will get a huge bill. But i guess that all depends on how long you run them and how many you are running. Maybe some1 else can give their experience on that.
3. IMO from everything that i read VHO are better than PC but T5 would be the next best thing to MH because of the light output they have especially if you run a seperate reflector for each bulb it is suppose to increase the light output even more.
4. For VHO you would want to by a ballast to run the lights, possibly a Ice cap 660 would good for either a VHO PC or T5 setup. Next a harness that usually includes the endcaps that you connect to the ballasts and from their the bulbs to the end caps. Also a grounded power cord which come standard with most Ice cap retrofit kits. As for a reflector they sell set ups for the length of the bulb and to accomadate the amount of bulbs you would be running.
I think i might of covered everything but would appreciate anyone else to chime in with something i might of left out.
 
adamc1303

adamc1303

Active Member

Originally Posted by xrobbx03
i have 2x95 VHO right now but going to add a 4x39 T5 setup to that. From what i read about T5 is that they put out far more PAR than VHO or PC and under T5 you will be able to keep almost any soft coral. I think T5 is more efficient electricity wise and also last longer than VHO or PC. VHOs you will most likely have to replace every 6 months or so and with T5 you can probably go a year without replacing the bulbs.

What is par?
I currently just have a regular AGA double flourecent strip light. I am thinking of either putting in 260w of PC's or 216W of T5's. I would put the regular 50/50 bulbs in the fixture and just have 2x32w actincis in the flourecent fixture I have now, what do you think? What will I order today T5 or PC. NO ONE HAS CONVINCED ME YET!!!!!!!

Thanks for all your help though I really appreciate it.
 
adamc1303

adamc1303

Active Member
Ok it's going to be T5's what about the bulb set up how should I do it, bare in mind I still have the old fixture to use too. How would I add a reflector to something like this is it possible?
 
adamc1303

adamc1303

Active Member
2 leading edge advances in lighting technology in one energy-efficient fixture
articles
about Lighting
Lighting Overview
Aquarium Lighting Selection Guide
How to Light-up your aquatic Life
Nova Extreme T-5 Fixtures w/Lunar Lights
* Brilliant High Output T5 fluorescent bulbs PLUS LED lunar lights
* Provides complete 24-hour lighting
* Slim space-saving design
Brilliant high output T-5 fluorescent bulbs paired with the nocturnal glow of LED lunar lights. 2 leading edge advances in lighting technology contained in a compact energy-efficient fixture for complete 24-hour lighting. Features microprocessor controlled internal electronic ballast, integrated cooling fans, parabolic reflector, protective splash lens, and two 72" power cords. Includes docking mounts and Slimpaq 460nm Actinic and 10000°K T-5 HO lamps. 7-1/4" x 2-1/2" high. 48", eight 54 watt unit measures 14" x 2-1/2" high. Replacement tubes are available.
Length Total Watts # T-5 Bulbs # Lunar
Lights
48" 216 watts 4-54 watt 4
This is what the picture is.
 
clownfish0

clownfish0

Member
Originally Posted by Adamc1303
Ok it's going to be T5's what about the bulb set up how should I do it, bare in mind I still have the old fixture to use too. How would I add a reflector to something like this is it possible?
is that from dr. fostersmith
 
oceana

oceana

Active Member
Originally Posted by clownfish0
I know t5 is not as popular as PC's so I would go with PC's because there is a reason for PC being more popular.

i hope you realize how closeminded this statment is. you could have said the same thing about MH around 6 years ago. over seas EVERYONE uses t5. its just building here in the US soon i predict PC will be as popular as NO lighting
 
X

xrobbx03

Guest
Originally Posted by oceana
i hope you realize how closeminded this statment is. you could have said the same thing about MH around 6 years ago. over seas EVERYONE uses t5. its just building here in the US soon i predict PC will be as popular as NO lighting
I agree
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top