t5 lighting

[houndhome1]

WE saw one of these setup at a new lfs. We are thinking of upgrading our lighting from compact to HO. we are mostly a reef tank 75gals. Are these lights worth the investment? WE are thinking of the 6 bulb unit what are the advantage an disavantage?

 

[lamaface]

i used them on my 100G reef and they work well!!
I could keep most corals except acros ect.
They get very hot.
What ww are the bulbs?

 

[houndhome1]

THe site said the bulbs were all 54watts, my choice of colors, whould would be a good combination for a six bulb setup

 

[blemmy_guy]

T5 s seem to be getting more and more popular. I prefer 10K but theres a lot more to it. Do a search at the top of the page on Kelvin . Should get you some good ideas on what color spectrum you would like. Goodluck
Todd

 

[fishamajig]

i wouldent get t5 if i was looking to upgrade my lighting. go with mh, they are tried and true and there is more available PAR to a mh light. if you are looking for growth and color there is no comparison in my opinion .

 

[houndhome1]

thanks for the imput, my LFs thinks there great. they don't sell them but use them on all there tanks. price alway being an isue they seem to be the best bang for the buck, but that isn't always the truth.

 

[blemmy_guy]

Lighting is a highly heated discusion around here!! Ive had people say they use nothing but VHO's and other swear by Metal halides, and everything in between. I persoanlly use Metal halides on one tank and VHo, with Actinics on the other. Which i think look the best, actinics that is. So Goodluck, listen to everyones ones opinions then do what ever you feel the most comfortable with! Goddluck which ever way you go and Enjoy your new lights!!
Todd