T5's vs. PC's, a lighting question...Help?

[herefishy2]

I am replacing the lighting I currently have on my tank. A 260wt PC fixture, came with my set up. The actinics turn on some times with a wiggle of the right power cord, one power cord has wires exposed and the fans are no longer working on one end. An accident waiting to happen... I don't want to feel I have to upgrade my lights again, wishing to have the ability to keep almost anything (coral) under the new lights. I have a 90g tank and am trying to decide between T5 8+54's or a PC 4+96. Both will give me around the wattage I am looking for, any opinions? Thanks.

 

[reefraff]

If it comes down to PC vs T5 and you want to have enough light for a full blown SPS tank go with an Aquactinics Constellation or Solar Flare T5 system. A 6 lamp Tek light would work but you would need to keep higher light critters up off the sand a little.

 

[fanker]

the tek 6x54w u can keep what ever u want

 

[dragonzim]

Originally Posted by fanker
the tek 6x54w u can keep what ever u want
I have one of these on my 75 and it is a great light fixture. I currently have softies and a few LPS. I'll be getting a clam soon as well.

 

[isistius]

8x54 t-5 is some serious lighting for a 90. you'll be able to grow anything your heart desires. just make sure that the fixture has individual reflectors. tek and aquactinics are both great companies. avoid all pc's if you want anything more than softies.

 

[al mc]

Hands down..go with T5 system if comparing to PCs for a reef tank.

 

[pondy]

Originally Posted by DragonZim
I have one of these on my 75 and it is a great light fixture. I currently have softies and a few LPS. I'll be getting a clam soon as well.
Hey I have the same set up and have a crocea clam and mostly sps. A few softies and everyting is growing great. You should try some sps. More then enough. Sorry to hi-jack.
as for your question, T-5's all the way, low heat and all the light that you need. my honest opinion.

 

[dragonzim]

Originally Posted by pondy
Hey I have the same set up and have a crocea clam and mostly sps. A few softies and everyting is growing great. You should try some sps. More then enough. Sorry to hi-jack.
as for your question, T-5's all the way, low heat and all the light that you need. my honest opinion.
Thanks for the info! I havent made the jump to SPS yet mainly because of the price and I think that I want to get new bulbs before I do and dont have the $150 just for bulbs right now...

 

[fanker]

the 6x54w will be enough but just looking at rge prices u can get the 8x54w for like 50$ more

 

[rudedog40]

What bulb configuration do you use on the 6X54W T5's to house clams and SPS? Can't seem to get an answer for this on my other thread. I currently have 3 - 10K bulbs, and 3 - Blue Actinic. I also only have a 55. I imagine the bulb configuration would be different based on the number of gallons your tank holds (55 vs. 90).

 

[isistius]

rude- not at all. you can configure you bulbs to suit your taste. i.e. more blue like a 20k mh or more white like using a 10 or 12k w/ actinic supplementation. maybe something like this:
front:
blue +
12000k
10000k
blue+
12000K
Blue +
but like i said, it's all about what YOU LIKE. everyone else can only offer suggestions. but definitely go with ati bulbs. they are among the best on the market.

 

[rudedog40]

That's interesting. I thought I read in an older post that the blue actinics don't add to the wattage or PAR rating. So if you have 3 - 54W blue actinics (162W), you still factor that into your wattage needs for the corals that need it (i.e SPS require 4 - 5 W per gallon)?

 

[reefraff]

It's all about the brand of lamps you are talking. The Blue Plus T5 has a lot of PAR, within about 15~20% of the brightest daylight lamps. The Actinics have lower PAR. The Aquablues (12000K) have about 10% more than the Blue Plus. The 6500K GE and UVL Aquasun have the most PAR. If you are throwing 6 lamps over a 55 Use 3 Blue Plus, 1 Actinic, 1 Aquablue and 1 (in order of preference) UVL Aquasun, GE 6500K daylight, Giesemann Midday, anything called a 10000K. For the actinic get the UVL super actinic, ATI Actinic blue or Giesemann Pure actinic.

 

[rudedog40]

Originally Posted by reefraff
It's all about the brand of lamps you are talking. The Blue Plus T5 has a lot of PAR, within about 15~20% of the brightest daylight lamps. The Actinics have lower PAR. The Aquablues (12000K) have about 10% more than the Blue Plus. The 6500K GE and UVL Aquasun have the most PAR. If you are throwing 6 lamps over a 55 Use 3 Blue Plus, 1 Actinic, 1 Aquablue and 1 (in order of preference) UVL Aquasun, GE 6500K daylight, Giesemann Midday, anything called a 10000K. For the actinic get the UVL super actinic, ATI Actinic blue or Giesemann Pure actinic.

Thanks for the great advice. So based on these bulb selections, what kind of time schedule would you use with these 6 bulbs to get the most beneficial light for corals and clams? My fixture allows me to turn on 2 bulbs at at time, using three different schedules.
Oh, and sorry herefishy2 for hijacking your thread. Hopefully this info will help with deciding what bulbs you need for your T5 fixture over your 90.

 

[reefraff]

I would run 1 Blue Plus and the Super Actinic as dusk/dawn 10 to 12 hours a day. then the other 2 Blue Pluses 8 to 10 hours a day as sunrise/sunset and the Aquablue and Aquasun or whatever 6 to 8 hours a day.