SPS Coral Lighting
- Thread starter hanzo26
- Start date
wangotango
Active Member
well seeing as how we cant actually post links to other sites, and a lot of other reef hobbyist sites have people that have done tests comparing the two, all i have are pics. i am by no means at all saying that T5 are better than metal halide. in some cases (ie shallower tanks) they might actually be more ideal. however for very deep tanks unless they are overdriven, halides are your solution. in the most recent issue of coral magazine, the featured aquarium is lit with T5 only and look at his sps growth. ive posted these two pics before, but the first was under HQI, the second under T5. it's up to you which way to go, each system has their strengths and flaws. but there is absolutly no reason that sps cannot grow under T5.
-Justin
-Justin
farslayer
Active Member
Actually, I should clarify. When you point out examples of how people have this type of success, what you are doing is demonstrating case studies, to a degree. A case study can never, ever be used to generalize to a greater population; by definition, a case study is an analysis of a specific situation. Case studies are used in research as qualitative; qualitative studies provide hypothesis-forming results, but can never, EVER be used for hypothesis-testing or correlation/causation. So what these tanks show is that some people are doing it, but does not imply that ALL people can do it. There are simply too many variables, externalities, and other factors which can easily alter the results. So what you would want to do is use this as the basis for an actual study as to lighting. Studies take a lot of time and money, require researchers (aka PhDs), and then, if correlations are found, require more time, more money, and more researchers to examine possible causations. To show that this type of lighting is sufficient requires quantitative analysis involving literally thousands of tests over periods of time. Since we are discussing health and likely growth rate, you are looking at a longitudinal study, which only PhD researchers are remotely qualified to perform. So, again, bottom line is that any test done by a hobbyist is invalid. They aren't researchers and can not control or identify variables. I went to school for nearly a decade to earn my PhD; believe me, a LOT of work is involved.
So bottom line is that apparently yes, some people are demonstrating that it can be done. Should it be done? Well, it's up for debate. Would I chance it? Not likely, esp. considering that I prefer the light quality as compared to the T5s (I have both).
So bottom line is that apparently yes, some people are demonstrating that it can be done. Should it be done? Well, it's up for debate. Would I chance it? Not likely, esp. considering that I prefer the light quality as compared to the T5s (I have both).
aztec reef
Active Member
I know of a study were Sps would defenetly be better off with MH nothing Less, i don't wanna point it out cause it's part of a Experiment plus i don't think we can post links. and i like to keep it a secret untill my Experiment is done
aztec reef
Active Member
nah, i'm keeping that to my self
at least for a while..