T5 questions

[rldavisou]

I've got pc's on my 20 gallon right now, and I'm going to make the switch to something more advanced. I thought I wanted MH, but I looked at some pics of MH compared to T5 and I liked the way the T5's looked a lot more than MH. I haven't really done any research into T5 yet tho, so here are my questions:
1. Do T5's heat up your tank like MH does?
2. How much brighter will 96 watts of T5 be than 65 watts of PC?
3. Is there anything I won't be able to grow under 96 watts of T5 in my 20 gal?

 

[scsinet]

Originally Posted by rldavisou
1. Do T5's heat up your tank like MH does?
Yes. They just don't heat it up nearly as much. T5s are the hottest running fluorescent technology out there, BUT it is nothing compared to the heat of halides. Although some tanks need chillers no matter what type of lighting they have, adding T5 lights to a tank without a chiller generally will not cause the tank to need one, unlike halides, which often require adding a chiller (but also not always).
Originally Posted by rldavisou
2. How much brighter will 96 watts of T5 be than 65 watts of PC?
It's difficult to say, but I'd estimate roughly double. You have 50% more wattage, and a good bit more efficiency, so ... yeah doubleish.
Originally Posted by rldavisou
3. Is there anything I won't be able to grow under 96 watts of T5 in my 20 gal?
I'm thinking no... Normally I don't suggest clams, SPS, or amemones for anything less than 6wpg of T5, but a 20 gallon tank is not very deep, so the lighting will remain intense throughout.
However, clams, SPS, and amonenes will be marginal in this setup.

 

[rldavisou]

But if I didn't want to do sps, I could probably do pretty much anything else? I probably won't do a clam, since I don't like the way they look unless I can put them on the sand bottom, and it sounds like that might not be enough light. I've got 2 anemones in there now, a bubble tip and some kind of bright yellow one, and both seem to be doing ok. The yellow one's lost a small amount of color, it came from a tank with MH. But it always anchors itself somewhere with not a lot of light, so that might be part of the problem, too.

 

[scsinet]

it sounds like you'll be fine.