what lights would you choose?

N

nemo_66

Guest
well, im having a hard time deciding which light to go with. i already have some PC's. 30 inches, 130 watts. but i was wondering if i should go with some t5s i found on the big bidding site. its a 24inch t5 HO fixture, with two lamps for 24watt lights, 48 watts total. individual reflectors too. so i was wondering if i should keep my PC's for a while or go with the T5's. the tank is going to be a standard 10 gallon tank. mixed reef, softies and LPS. thanks for the input.
T5= 48 watts
PC= 130 watts
T5= 4.8 watts per gallon
PC= 13 watts per gallon
T5= 80 dollars without bulbs
PC= FREE
 
nano reefer

nano reefer

Active Member
i can get you a better offer on those t5's. around 90 somethin watts for 60 bucks. with LED's. PM me your email. T5's are the better option.
 
b_clark711

b_clark711

Member
Originally Posted by Nano Reefer
http:///forum/post/2690947
i can get you a better offer on those t5's. around 90 somethin watts for 60 bucks. with LED's. PM me your email. T5's are the better option.
It's all personal preference. I can't sit here and tell you that the T-5's are a better option, just because they have higher wattage. I owned T-5's & PC's and I took the T-5's back, just because for the amount of money and the slight difference in wattage, it wasn't worth it, to me. Not to mention, the T-5's run waaaay hotter than the PC's. On top of that, my corals respond better to the PC's w/ Current bulbs than they did when I had the T-5's on them. I have LPS & SPS corals! If the pc's are free, rock with that!
 
N

nemo_66

Guest
Sweet man. thats the exact kind of response i was looking for! a little bit of personal experience.
and yea, ive decided to keep my PCs
 
b_clark711

b_clark711

Member
Originally Posted by Nemo_66
http:///forum/post/2691603
Sweet man. thats the exact kind of response i was looking for! a little bit of personal experience.
and yea, ive decided to keep my PCs
No worries dude! I just can't tell you that T-5's are better than PC's because my personal experience has proved otherwise, and if my coral could talk, they would tell you the same.
 
wangotango

wangotango

Active Member
B_Clark711, just out of curiousity what T5 unit were you using? Considering that the do produce more light than PC, it's weird that you didn't have any luck with them.
I'm running 270w on my 55 and everythings going nuts.
-Justin
 
b_clark711

b_clark711

Member
Originally Posted by WangoTango
http:///forum/post/2692030
B_Clark711, just out of curiousity what T5 unit were you using? Considering that the do produce more light than PC, it's weird that you didn't have any luck with them.
I'm running 270w on my 55 and everythings going nuts.
-Justin
That's the problem with the particular setup that I had, my PC's actually had more wattage. This was before I upgraded tanks, but I actually compared the 30" Fixtures (24" bulbs) of the T-5's & the Power Compacts. The PC's were the Current dual satellite setup (built in fan & lunar light) w/ 2 bulbs x 65 watts each, for a total of 130 watts ($130). The T-5's were the Nova Extreme T-5 fixture setup (built in fan & lunar light) w/ 4 bulbs x 24 watts each, for a total of 96 watts ($150). So as you can see, my issue was very warranted, and that's why I run PC's instead of T-5's, you just get more bang for your buck, or if you look at the particular models I tested, I just get more bang period. A full 34 watts more, for half the amount of bulbs! PC's x 2 bulbs, T-5's x 4 bulbs. On a side note, I thought I lost this thread!
 
b_clark711

b_clark711

Member
I just found online yesterday, that CurrentUSA has a 36" 4x96 watt fixture w/ 3 lunar lights & 2 cooling fans, for a little over $350! I think I am going to make the plunge! The wife thinks I am NUTS! LOL
 
b_clark711

b_clark711

Member
Originally Posted by Stanlalee
http:///forum/post/2696946
seems like a waste to upgrade for a 10g with softies and LPS other than they will fit better.
But it's not an upgrade! Re-read the post! LOL T-5=48 watts vs. PC=130 watts! Upgrade? Not even close!
 
wangotango

wangotango

Active Member
Well if you can't find a fixture to fit over the tank, buy a new tank that will fit under the fixture

-Justin
 
reefraff

reefraff

Active Member
Don't get hung up on watts. PAR is what you should be concerned with.
A 54 watt T5 lamp provides stronger PAR along 46.5 inches than a 65 watt PC does along 22". Another advantage of T5's is a whole lot better selection of lamps.
All that said with a little tank like that PC's are fine and so are the T5's without individual reflectors. Corallfe makes Normal output t5's that would even work fine as will your PC's. I think I'd keep the PC's and put the money into corals.
(Forgive me lord, I have Blaspheemed!!!
)
 
b_clark711

b_clark711

Member
Originally Posted by WangoTango
http:///forum/post/2697666
Well if you can't find a fixture to fit over the tank, buy a new tank that will fit under the fixture

-Justin
I like the way you think!
I just realized the Nittany Lion, I am a Penn State fan myself, and living in Kentucky, it sounds crazy, but it's one of those things from childhood! Of course my Wildcats rule the roost, but Penn State, Boston College, those are my "loner squads"!
 
b_clark711

b_clark711

Member
Originally Posted by reefraff
http:///forum/post/2697679
Don't get hung up on watts. PAR is what you should be concerned with.
A 54 watt T5 lamp provides stronger PAR along 46.5 inches than a 65 watt PC does along 22". Another advantage of T5's is a whole lot better selection of lamps.
All that said with a little tank like that PC's are fine and so are the T5's without individual reflectors. Corallfe makes Normal output t5's that would even work fine as will your PC's. I think I'd keep the PC's and put the money into corals.
(Forgive me lord, I have Blaspheemed!!!
)
LOL, Blaspheemed huh? LOL That was funny! Also, you shouldn't get hung up on the T-5's being that superior. The PAR ratings on those T-5's aren't THAT much better than the PC's, especially for difference in price. I tested both, and I am telling you, my coral respond better to the PC's than the T-5's, and as for comparison, you are comparing apples & oranges dude, compare apples & apples, check the price difference, & you tell me if it's worth it, it sure wasn't for me, and I have said before, my coral would tell you the same thing. I am not talking about a couple of hours here, I am telling you that I have ALWAYS been a big PC guy, of course I am a tech junkie so the new highly touted T-5 fixtures & bulbs caught my eye, and it was time for a new fixture, so I jumped in. I had the Nova Pro series on my tank for about 2 months with no significant response from my coral, with that being said, I decided to go back to the PC's (Current Dual Satellite) which were less expensive, and MAN did my corals respond. I guess my instance could be the exception to the rule, but a couple of buddies had the T-5 fixtures as well, needless to say, they quickly went back to PC's, without giving the T-5's as much time as I did! To me, in my opinion, the T-5 bulbs, while there is a bigger selection than PC's, just aren't worth the increase in dollars or light/watts/PAR than the PC's!
 
nycbob

nycbob

Active Member
Originally Posted by B_Clark711
http:///forum/post/2698150
LOL, Blaspheemed huh? LOL That was funny! Also, you shouldn't get hung up on the T-5's being that superior. The PAR ratings on those T-5's aren't THAT much better than the PC's, especially for difference in price. I tested both, and I am telling you, my coral respond better to the PC's than the T-5's, and as for comparison, you are comparing apples & oranges dude, compare apples & apples, check the price difference, & you tell me if it's worth it, it sure wasn't for me, and I have said before, my coral would tell you the same thing. I am not talking about a couple of hours here, I am telling you that I have ALWAYS been a big PC guy, of course I am a tech junkie so the new highly touted T-5 fixtures & bulbs caught my eye, and it was time for a new fixture, so I jumped in. I had the Nova Pro series on my tank for about 2 months with no significant response from my coral, with that being said, I decided to go back to the PC's (Current Dual Satellite) which were less expensive, and MAN did my corals respond. I guess my instance could be the exception to the rule, but a couple of buddies had the T-5 fixtures as well, needless to say, they quickly went back to PC's, without giving the T-5's as much time as I did! To me, in my opinion, the T-5 bulbs, while there is a bigger selection than PC's, just aren't worth the increase in dollars or light/watts/PAR than the PC's!
i think u r the only one that will say pc is better than t5 even with individual reflectors. what corals r u keeping?
 
b_clark711

b_clark711

Member
Originally Posted by nycbob
http:///forum/post/2699663
i think u r the only one that will say pc is better than t5 even with individual reflectors. what corals r u keeping?
Please don't get me wrong, I am not saying that PC's are better than T-5's by any means. *Please read previous posts!* I am just saying that for the increase in cost of the T-5's compared to PC's, and the lack of response from my coral when I had my T-5's, to me, they just aren't worth the increase in cost! The PAR ratings on those T-5's aren't they much better than T-5's and when comparing certain fixtures, they could be a price difference of $100 or so. As I have said before, I had a Nova Pro T-5 setup for about 2 months, before I went back to PC's. My coral had not responded to the "better lighting" and on top of that, they run alot hotter than the PC's. Of course with fans, it's really not an issue, but my PC fixture has built in fans & you literally could not touch the shell of the T-5 fixture it was that hot. But I have about 15 pieces of coral, as I just switched from a 40 gallon standard tank to a 120 bow front and this stuff isn't cheap, LOL, but I keep hammer, frogspawn, candy cane, silver pumping Zenia, Pom Pom Zenia, Pipe Organ, Starburst polyps, Zoa polyps, brains, purple, green & yellow gonis, ricordia (1 green one that I just got and absolutely LOVE), umbrella mushrooms, blue mushrooms, fox coral & pink pocillopora & busy acropora!
 
bill109

bill109

Active Member
go for the t-5's if you plan on keeping the tank long term then u will thank your self later, being able to keep more corals later where pc is mainly softies..
if you can find something with parabolic reflectors. aka individual ones.. they work wonderssss
i have a TEK t-5 with parabolic reflectors.. i think i can do most sps and clams
 
b_clark711

b_clark711

Member
Originally Posted by bill109
http:///forum/post/2700626
go for the t-5's if you plan on keeping the tank long term then u will thank your self later, being able to keep more corals later where pc is mainly softies..
if you can find something with parabolic reflectors. aka individual ones.. they work wonderssss
i have a TEK t-5 with parabolic reflectors.. i think i can do most sps and clams
PC's mainly softies? WHAT? This is NOT TRUE! I can post a pic of my tank which has LPS, SPS, Polyps, mushrooms etc. Go with what you want, and whatever fits your budget. As for the pc's are mainly softies quote, that's false dude, straight up & down. Don't spread ill info, it's just not cool!
 
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