T5`s And Led`s

[stefday]

Hi,

I currently have 6 T5`s in my tank,3 white and 3 blue.

I saw a tank in a LFS that had a combination of T5`s and LED`s. I like the idea of adding a couple to my tank but wondered if I should add them to the existing set up or replace a couple of the T5`s.

I liked the shimmer effect of the LED`s and the fact that you can get a dimmer added as well.

Would welcome any advice.

Thanks.

Stef

 

[DarrenUnwin]

Hi,

I currently have 6 T5`s in my tank,3 white and 3 blue.

I saw a tank in a LFS that had a combination of T5`s and LED`s. I like the idea of adding a couple to my tank but wondered if I should add them to the existing set up or replace a couple of the T5`s.

I liked the shimmer effect of the LED`s and the fact that you can get a dimmer added as well.

Would welcome any advice.

Thanks.

Stef

HI Stef,

I had T5 in my tank about a year ago and swapped the whole lot to LED and never looks back. The tank didnt overheat half as bad as it has done for the past few years and the ripple effect is great. Corals seem to be happy (mainly soft but I have the odd favia) and electrivity bill has definiately reduced, although I have a 4 yr old who insists on leavings lights on now she can reach light switch

 

[stefday]

Thanks for the reply.

I have mainly hard corals at the moment.

Has anybody used LED`s with hard corals.

 

[Crazy fishes]

I have a frogspawn colony under 2x aquarays plus a 20W actinic T8. It is not bothered by the change from T5 and is actually happy with LEDs as opposed to halide. I also have a small frag of acropora under this lighting and it has been alive for a good couple of weeks now. I ordered the acorpora off the web and it was in bad shape when it got to me but it now extends most of the polyps. Today I have got another two strips and the tank is looking awesome.

I will one day get the courage to try T. maxima under them but am still not that confident. I know of someone who has had a Tridacna clam under a mixture of T8 and Leds for 6 months with no problems.

Hope this helps

Joe

 

[xxBarneyxx]

I have been asking similar questions myself for about the last year. We use 6 T5's over our tank at the moment but the electricity costs are horrendous. If you want additional lighting then using them in conjunction with your T5's. If you are after saving some money and replacing the T5's then imo there still isn't enough data on any of the LED light systems to really show what kind of light they are putting out.

I'm still holding off for the moment until hopefully the LED prices start to come down a bit more. If money isnt an issue though I would definitely get some to go alongside the T5's. You could always just try running with a couple of T5 tubes and some LEDS then add more T5's back if your livestock needs it.