pics needed.

[fish_gurl]

ok... I am having a "friendly debate w/ my good friend and satlwater mentor" about lighting and what way I should go. I think t-5's for the heating, cost, and hydro issue. I only have a 23 long tank and feel that the t'5's suffice. He thinks m.h's alllllllll the way, and has not seen many tanks that are using t'5 lighting, I have.
This is where you come in.... I am hoping people will post pics of their tanks, lets do a m.h vs t'5 thang. post pics of your tanks and lets let the pics speak for themselves. I know I wont be dissapointed w/ the t'5 tanks ;)
thanks all
Ruth

[icyuod2]

actually ruth, i think t-5 will win hands down. i'm not sure why, but my tank always looked nicer in pictures with flouresent lighting. in person, well thats another story :)

you also left out some very important points in our friendly debate.

1. you sure like to upgrade on a regular basis :) i was thinking long term, a light that would adapt to suit your needs for a larger tank in the future.

2. its really not the light you wanted right? but at $80 it's very affordable. the lights 30" your aquarium 36". your just making do. :)

3. you love the shimmer effect in my aquarium created by the mh. its ok to admit it :)

only 2 aquariums i have seen in person with t-5s, and both aquariums went downhill after the lighting upgrade :)


i really dont have the experiance with t-5S

[ShipWreck]

Maybe REEFERMADNESSS (Daryl) will post some pics for you. His tank is 4 T5's and the corals were so bright you also need sunglasses to look at them. It is the only tank I have seen first hand with the T5's but there are many examples out there.

One thread that has some pics:
http://aquariumpros.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=22057&page=2

If you poke around on RC you will find many European tanks that are only T5's. They have been using the lighting longer then the North American market.

Just be aware that there are light fixtures that at T5 and T5HO, and you want the HO. As well the fixture or retrofit should use good quality individual lamp reflectors, not a single reflector for all the bulds.

[Sea MunnKey]

If you poke around on RC you will find many European tanks that are only T5's. They have been using the lighting longer then the North American market.



As well as Asian reefers! ....where the hydro's are very expensive.

[Schlesien]

Here's a great example of T5 SPS reef:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-03/totm/index.php

[Dene]

I am running T5HO's on my propagation system, and I have to say that I am extremely impressed by these lamps.

The system just finished cycling so I am slowly bringing the coral in after acclimatization it took less than half an hour for zoanthids to fully open (all polyps) and 15-20 minutes for the Kenya trees to fully open. After one day, I've already started to raise the lights higher. I'm looking forward to observing the growth from T5HO's.

With the control that I have over the T5HO's (all are 6 bank with on/off for evey pair), these are getting the thumbs up over a MH system. Mind you I'm not after the look of the lighting (ie no shimmer effects etc) as much as the functionality/versatality of the system.

[Jimbo]

What about Power compact's?

[ajx22]

What about Power compact's?
Do a search - PC's are an older - ineffecient lighting technology, that is quicky being replaced by most companies with T5's. T5's can compete with MH's for output & but much more effecient + PC bulbs are over-priced and there are few companies that make a 'true actinic' PC bulb...most are just 'blue', and aren't in the 420nm spectrum.

PC's are IMO - over-priced junk. I'd use them for a refugium - but they aren't even contenders for lighting on a reef tank (unless used only as supplimental).

[Darryl_V]

There is a great decent thread going on in RC SPS forum with some pics of north american T5 tanks. Notice D.Style....who probably has the nicest T5 SPS tank in the GTA and maybe ontario.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=954899&perpage=25&pagenumber=2

Please take into consideration that T5HO is relatively new to the north america market and there are many more nice MH tanks then T5....but I think more and more people are beginning to accept that T5's can get the job done.

Also note that if T5HO can light beautiful SPS tanks they will have no problem with LPS and softies. The only thing to watch out for is underestimating the power of these bulbs....which a lot of people do including myself.

Here is a photo of my tank......my camera (and me) have a hard time taking good pictures of my tank. Can never get exposure and white balance right.

anyway here it is anyway.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/dvanacker/SALT/untitled.jpg

[smp]

I'm a fan of MH because I like the esthetic a lot more.
I recognize that T5s are very good for reef tanks though, I just prefer the look of MH.
That being said, I have a single MH bulb over my tank. This basically means that there is one point source of light which means that any part of my corals that are in the shade, say for example a part of an acro that is away from the light, it is ALWAYS away from the light. I think a big advantage to T5s is the even spread of light, exposing most parts of any coral to light from all sides.
Now, I still prefer the look of MH, exactly because of the shadows and shimmer that it creates.

As far as keeping whatever you want in a 23 long, either setup will be plenty.

[icyuod2]

smp, you serious about selling your light? i could do with another fuge lamp :) pm me.

[fish_gurl]

do you figure 4x18watt(=72watts total) would be enough for my tank. Keep in mind that my tank is only 1 foot high.

[r3m1x]

hmmmmmm this thread makes me wanna keep my t5's as a suppliment lighting to my pc lights..

[Darryl_V]

do you figure 4x18watt(=72watts total) would be enough for my tank. Keep in mind that my tank is only 1 foot high.

NO such thing as an 18watt T5HO. The smallest bulb (2ft) are 28watts. Also if need lots of light and want to get the most from T5HO individual parabolic reflectors are key


hmmmmmm this thread makes me wanna keep my t5's as a suppliment lighting to my pc lights..

I think if you have T5HO with good reflectors your PC lights would be supplemental to T5. ;)