ben1987
Fish Aficionado
If you all started agreeing that T5's are better than halides i'm going to be pretty pi**ed off as i have just paid over £1200 for new halides.
Id rather have halies. Less bulbs and less fuss imo.
T5s Vs Halides
- Thread starter garybuk
- Start date
Id rather have halies. Less bulbs and less fuss imo.
216watts is plenty of light for corals and anemones on a 3x18x18 tank, but Tridachna clams will need to be out in the open to maximise the light they get. I kept Acroporas under 2 x 36watt T8 globes but the tank wasn't as high. It was only 12inches high but the corals did well.
If you all started agreeing that T5's are better than halides i'm going to be pretty pi**ed off as i have just paid over £1200 for new halides.
T5s are fine for tanks up to 2ft high but halides are better for the taller tanks. Halides also give a nicer finish in some respects because they put the light in a beam. This gives you shadow and light and looks more realistic (at least I recon it does).T5s are better for small tanks but halides are better for big tanks.
Remember, the most important thing with T5's is having indivudal reflectors. If you have those, then you can get away with a 4 tube setup
If you all started agreeing that T5's are better than halides i'm going to be pretty pi**ed off as i have just paid over £1200 for new halides.
i agree i just bought a halide too cuz i thought i coudlnt do better!
rabbut
I don't bite, all that often...
Ski has two 150W lamps over a 63g if I remember correctly 
If it were me, I'd stick to halides. I've got a 150W over a 70l, and it's not too bad. Need resonable ventilation in summer to keep things cool, but otherwise, the performane is great
Two 250W globes would be ideal, but if you don't mind stacking all your light-loving corals in the middle, you could have one 250W lamp.
Zu-Zi-We on Ebay dose all the bits you need for conversion to 250W supprisingly cheaply. I do believe I gave you a link on another lighting thread of yours
4 individually reflected T5 lamps should be fine for Nems in a fairly shallow tank, but over 2Ft deapth, halides are best. I'm not well up on clams. Colin_T recons it will be fine, but I always thought they were a halide job?
All the best
Rabbut
If it were me, I'd stick to halides. I've got a 150W over a 70l, and it's not too bad. Need resonable ventilation in summer to keep things cool, but otherwise, the performane is great
Two 250W globes would be ideal, but if you don't mind stacking all your light-loving corals in the middle, you could have one 250W lamp.Zu-Zi-We on Ebay dose all the bits you need for conversion to 250W supprisingly cheaply. I do believe I gave you a link on another lighting thread of yours
4 individually reflected T5 lamps should be fine for Nems in a fairly shallow tank, but over 2Ft deapth, halides are best. I'm not well up on clams. Colin_T recons it will be fine, but I always thought they were a halide job?
All the best
Rabbut
Clams should be fine in the tank because it is only 18inches high. Theoretically there will be an inch or so of substrate, and the clam should be 3-4inches high, (little Tridacna clams less than 2inches high don't do well in captivity) thus putting the clam's mantle (the coloured bit) closer to the light. Also most tanks have the water level an inch or so below the top of the glass. This will leave about 13inches of water above the clam. T5 lights should be able to penetrate that without too many problems.
Have you considered substrate depth in your calculations.
I would say Colin T has it about right as a rule of thumb, For deeper tanks especially with SPS then you really have to go with halides. My tank is 18" deep but with the substrate it only around 16" deep I get away with 1x 36w T5 power compact Actinic and 2x 55w T5 power compacts Daylights all with individual reflectors. I can keep Montipora digitata high up on the rock but I've failed to keep a Plating Monti. So I would love to go with MH but the way the cabinet is laid out a pendant would spoil the asthetics of the aquarium in general. MH are great but their spread of light is limited and you sometimes get shadows in the tank corners, which is why when you buy Mh's consider its reflector not just the size of lamp. Luminarc reflectors seem to be the way to go today. where as T5's on the other hand dispurse the light much better round the aquarium. but have their limitation in penetrating larger depths. So its a bit of a trade off if you decide to go with either one or the other (T5 or MH). Most aquarists today go with a combination of the two, a unit with MH's and T5's running along its edges with in-built timers.
Regards
BigC
I would say Colin T has it about right as a rule of thumb, For deeper tanks especially with SPS then you really have to go with halides. My tank is 18" deep but with the substrate it only around 16" deep I get away with 1x 36w T5 power compact Actinic and 2x 55w T5 power compacts Daylights all with individual reflectors. I can keep Montipora digitata high up on the rock but I've failed to keep a Plating Monti. So I would love to go with MH but the way the cabinet is laid out a pendant would spoil the asthetics of the aquarium in general. MH are great but their spread of light is limited and you sometimes get shadows in the tank corners, which is why when you buy Mh's consider its reflector not just the size of lamp. Luminarc reflectors seem to be the way to go today. where as T5's on the other hand dispurse the light much better round the aquarium. but have their limitation in penetrating larger depths. So its a bit of a trade off if you decide to go with either one or the other (T5 or MH). Most aquarists today go with a combination of the two, a unit with MH's and T5's running along its edges with in-built timers.
Regards
BigC
Ok its getting a little hi-tec with (sps,Plating Monti) i dont have much sand but i could add some more if needed???
The thing is with my halides my bed room gets super hot! and i seem to be getting head-ach when there on also it just lights up my hole room.
The thing is with my halides my bed room gets super hot! and i seem to be getting head-ach when there on also it just lights up my hole room.
rabbut
I don't bite, all that often...
Same unit, smaller wattages
With both Colin_T and BigC both saying T5 are fine for your set-up though, I'd say the choice realy is yours
Be careful with too much sand. More than 1" deap and you could get a DSB (Deep Sand Bed) filter forming at the bottom of the tank. If this happens, you need to take steps to enusre the livestock can't diturb the substate too much. The anairobic pockets, some report, caurse issues for the tank inhabitants if disturbed, though many argue this not to be true... With conflicting advise going round here, I'd play it safe and mesh over the bed if it's more than an inch deap, such that only the top 5mm or so can be disturbed Alternatively, you could keep it shallow
All the best
Rabbut
With both Colin_T and BigC both saying T5 are fine for your set-up though, I'd say the choice realy is yours
Be careful with too much sand. More than 1" deap and you could get a DSB (Deep Sand Bed) filter forming at the bottom of the tank. If this happens, you need to take steps to enusre the livestock can't diturb the substate too much. The anairobic pockets, some report, caurse issues for the tank inhabitants if disturbed, though many argue this not to be true... With conflicting advise going round here, I'd play it safe and mesh over the bed if it's more than an inch deap, such that only the top 5mm or so can be disturbed
Alternatively, you could keep it shallow All the best
Rabbut
SPS = small polyp stony corals like acroporas.
LPS = large polyp stony corals like torch and elegance corals.
Basically it is the size of the coral polyps that determine if they are SPS or LPS. The larger the polyp, generally the less light they need. This is due to the bigger polyps being able to catch food like small fish and shrimp, whereas the small polyps have trouble catching anything and rely more on their symbiotic zooxanthellae. The zooxanthellae is the algae living in the coral's tissue and often provides the green or brown colour.
Corals with small polyps need more light because they are unable to get food from anything else beside the algae they have growing in the cells, (the zooxanthellae).
Plating monti = a type of coral called montipora that grows out in a flat round shape similar to a dinner plate.
LPS = large polyp stony corals like torch and elegance corals.
Basically it is the size of the coral polyps that determine if they are SPS or LPS. The larger the polyp, generally the less light they need. This is due to the bigger polyps being able to catch food like small fish and shrimp, whereas the small polyps have trouble catching anything and rely more on their symbiotic zooxanthellae. The zooxanthellae is the algae living in the coral's tissue and often provides the green or brown colour.
Corals with small polyps need more light because they are unable to get food from anything else beside the algae they have growing in the cells, (the zooxanthellae).
Plating monti = a type of coral called montipora that grows out in a flat round shape similar to a dinner plate.
Same unit, smaller wattages
With both Colin_T and BigC both saying T5 are fine for your set-up though, I'd say the choice realy is yours
Be careful with too much sand. More than 1" deap and you could get a DSB (Deep Sand Bed) filter forming at the bottom of the tank. If this happens, you need to take steps to enusre the livestock can't diturb the substate too much. The anairobic pockets, some report, caurse issues for the tank inhabitants if disturbed, though many argue this not to be true... With conflicting advise going round here, I'd play it safe and mesh over the bed if it's more than an inch deap, such that only the top 5mm or so can be disturbed
All the best
Rabbut
Ahh thanks! its only about 1" deep prob not even that at some places! what you mean same unit smaller wattage? so your saying i can keep my 400w ballast?
Right i get it now thanks
Since I was asked, I run 2x175watt electronic ballasted metal halides over a 65USG tank. Both are Reeflux 12k bulbs. One ballast is an ARO (~3 years old) and the other is an Icecap (~5 years old). I actually do notice a SLIGHT difference in color between the two ballasts and I also get more coraline growth on the right side (although I forget which ballast I wired to the right 
).
If I had to do it all over again, I'd go with 6x39watt T5's. Maybe if I do find a good deal on a set I'd buy it, but for now the halides are surely working. The heat isn't all that bad with the electronic ballasts, but it was a PITA with the magnetics I used to use.
).If I had to do it all over again, I'd go with 6x39watt T5's. Maybe if I do find a good deal on a set I'd buy it, but for now the halides are surely working. The heat isn't all that bad with the electronic ballasts, but it was a PITA with the magnetics I used to use.
beesnees
Fish Fanatic
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