Safety,ElectricBill, Budget

buffalobil

buffalobil

Member
Hi guys,
I'm confused on whether I should go Metal Halide or T5. My concerns are Fire happening. I have 10 month old so that would be mine and I"m sure all of our worst nightmare. I have the tank in my dining Room and that room is pretty big and last year I had AC on but still got up to Mid 80's with 260 watt PC. I have a drop in Chiller that I could use but that puts off alot of heat in itself. Electric bill another concern is it a significant difference? Would I have to use the chiller if I were to get Metal Halides. Finally I have mostly softies and Lps and want to keep some SPS and maybe a Clam. Would all these live together okay or Not? I'm on a tight budget with the little one and first house so it's not like the funds are going to be there to spend alot on SPS. Most of my corals come from members of different clubs. I just can't afford the LFS prices.
Would you do the T5 until I'm better off situation or am I overthinking this too much? How hard is it to Keep SPS?
Alot of babling but just looking for advice
Thanks
Buffalobill
 
acrylic51

acrylic51

Active Member
IMO there isn't any bigger or greater risk of fire when running MH's over other lighting.......Are you running any type of fans or such on the tank when you ran the PC'? How tall is your canopy, and I guessing you don't have any type of lids (glass) over the tank as well? Fire can happen with any electrical appliance, and it's not to common you hear of such a thing....shorts can happen in any lighting....MH's just produce alot more heat IMO.....
As far as electrical consumption that should be and can be a major concern....With that being said you'd be better served running a good quality T5 setup. Less electrical consumption, and less heat produced and will support just about anything you want to keep as well......HTH
 
scsinet

scsinet

Active Member
The question of needing a chiller or not is not cut and dry with either lighting technology. With halides, you are more likely to need a chiller than with T5. But that doesn't mean that you won't or at least shouldn't consider it.
A tank will always equalize itself to, then tend to rise above the temperature of, the surrounding environment... So let's say in the summer, you set your home to 76 degrees at night, and 80 during the day (this is what I do). Forget all of the tank's equipment for a moment, pretend you just have a glass box full of water. At night, the tank's temperature will tend to equalize to 76, and to 80 during the day.
Now, add your equipment into the mix. Your pumps, your lights, everything all adds heat to the tank. If your tank is already at 80 because that is the temperature of the room, your equipment only serves to increase it more. Even T5s add some heat. Most people mitigate this by keeping their home's air conditioning set lower than 80 (since 80 is usually the warmest you want your tank).
However, what most people don't take the time to figure out is that it may actually be cheaper to purchase a chiller and use that then to pay to keep their house cooler. I figured it out in my case and found that my $1100 chiller would pay for itself in saved energy costs in just a few years, even considering the energy that the chiller consumes.
So long story short, it's a complicated decision. I myself feel that any reef of reasonable size should have a chiller. A $800 chiller is cheap compared to the loss of all of your corals because your home's AC failed one day when you were at work.
However, with T5, you are not likely to need one, the question is whether you truly save without one.
 
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