reef165 Posted October 13, 2007 Share Posted October 13, 2007 anyone growing sps with only T5's? lets see some pics please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted October 13, 2007 Share Posted October 13, 2007 I had a 45g, and now have upped to a 75g. For lights I have a 6 x 54w T5HO TEK light. It is plenty of light for my current needs. I have some basic montipora, acropora, and such that seem to be doing ok. If it were not for the monti-eating-nudis, I think my montipora would be thriving. I still do not have anything that is really expensive. As long as the light you are looking at has individual reflectors, you should be OK. Without individual reflectors, they are no better than PC lights. (so I am told) dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefgeek84 Posted October 13, 2007 Share Posted October 13, 2007 Nothing compares to halides, I have had both and halides are much better there are a couple of other people who have gone from t5 to halides. Now do not get me wrong, t5's will grow any coral, but do not compare to the look halides give, imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeanF Posted October 13, 2007 Share Posted October 13, 2007 The tank of the month on Reef Central this Month is a T5 driven reef tank. Unfortunately I left Oklahoma before he started building this beast but I saw his 225 that had metal halides on it. I think there are advantages and disadvantages to both sets of lighting it really comes down to your personal likes or dislikes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spectra Posted October 13, 2007 Share Posted October 13, 2007 I have been running my bigger tank with a 8 bulb Tek Light and love it. My corals are growing not real fast but they are growing. Would like to run MH but do not want a big canopy or anything hanging over the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef-fisher Posted October 14, 2007 Share Posted October 14, 2007 in the process of switching from softies to sps. most of the softies are gone, with the exception of some zoos and a leather. was real reluctant last year to try t-5s as i had not heard much about them. thankfully they are working great. i have the 'made in china special' independent fixtures (5x54watt) over my 72 bow. recently i changed bulbs and used the guiseman(sp) 1100k bulbs. what a difference! i love them. have not found a frag yet that doesnt like t-5s, and have about 20pcs. even 2 clams in the sand at 24" down. unfortunately i have yet to try halides, so i have no comparison to them, but i would go with t-5s again any day. in fact, i think ill try to go get some pics before the lights turn off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H20cooled Posted October 14, 2007 Share Posted October 14, 2007 I had a dual 250w MH setup and loved it, when I upgraded to my 130G tank I decided to go T5 only so I put 8 4' T5's over my tank and over drove them with the Icecap 660 ballasts. I lived the light and the color was ok but I always felt like I was missing something. So, when I got an opportunity to upgrade my T5 setup to a 2x 400w MH setup I jumped on it and I could not be happier. The growth was a lot better and the color's improved a LOT. So, can you do SPS with T5's, yes will they be as good as a good MH setup, probably not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef-fisher Posted October 14, 2007 Share Posted October 14, 2007 here are some pics... hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted October 14, 2007 Share Posted October 14, 2007 I agree with reefgeek and H2Ocooled. For the price I paid, T5 was the best route. I think that if I had the extra cash, I would like to try dual 250s or dual 400 over my 75gal. My coral growth is OK, but I think it could be better. I have a couple of corals that have turned brown in my tank, and I have been waiting 3-4 months for them to regain color. That part I am not happy about, and think that they would color up nicer if they were under halide. But then again, it could be 1000 other variables like salinity, calcium levels, salt mix, not enough water movement, too much feeding on my part... The list goes on and on. dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siskiou Posted October 14, 2007 Share Posted October 14, 2007 I have an 8-bulb TEK fixture on my 120G, and some of the few sps corals I have love it and grow insanely fast, while others wither away slowly. It almost seems the light is too much for them and I now start everything off really low in the tank. Softies are doing great! In a short while (once addition is finished), I'll be setting up a 60G cube with MH light and am looking forward to seeing the difference. I'll be putting some frags of the corals that are doing good in there to see if there are color differences etc. Hopefully the MH won't bring our energy bill up too high! Any experiences with that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefboy Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 you will need to use alot of high output T5's and keep nutrients at a nill and most that ive seen that have great color use the probedio type supplements plus you need to switch every 6 months to keep the best colors going so not really sure of what benefits there are to using t5's other then heat and maybe energy saving but im assuming with cost of replacing bulbs there probly isnt much in savings but they will work and there are some sweet tanks to prove it but ill stick with my halides:)Oh as a note i do use them over some of my prop trays and work great but only on softies and lps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyles Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 Its your lucky day, tank of the month at RC is all T-5 http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-10/totm/index.php there is a link at the bottom to my all T-5 tank as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 I switched from MH to T5 and am glad i did. The only thing i miss about MH is the shimmer, but that can be done with some simple DIY. I love the added flexibility to create any color output i wish. Less heat, and less $$ replacing bulbs. My zoas grow insanely fast under the T5s, and SPS are finally growing great as well. It definately takes longer to acclimate corals to the T5s. I start all corals at the bottom and work them up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef165 Posted October 15, 2007 Author Share Posted October 15, 2007 thankyou, Nyles and Impur! I have seen the tank of the month on RC and ive seen several examples of bada$$ tanks lit with T-5's growing anything. Its the cost and heat issue im looking at and the lighting color is very important aswell. Ive made my mind ill go with eather 4 or 6 HO T-5's over my 15gal sps tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyles Posted October 16, 2007 Share Posted October 16, 2007 I think 4 would be sufficient with good reflectors. as long as the tank is not over 20" deep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefboy Posted October 16, 2007 Share Posted October 16, 2007 looked at your tank nyles looking good better get down here again might have somore stuff youll want to fill in those empty spots im seeing lol.(plotting) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyles Posted October 16, 2007 Share Posted October 16, 2007 The tank is to "busy" for me, I'm hoping to grow out some corals and get rid of some others, I'm going to wait it out 6 months or so, but I am looking for micros. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefboy Posted October 17, 2007 Share Posted October 17, 2007 sry dont have any lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blown65 Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 I wish we had more sun, I'd do sonatubes. Thinking about it though for summer use/energy savings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef165 Posted October 26, 2007 Author Share Posted October 26, 2007 the solartubes would be great! ive used the solartube extencions to make reflectors befor, it works awsome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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