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Jager said:
You couldnt have gotten the results that i have gotten for less than what i paid, so i paid exactly what i needed to pay for the results that i got. Beautiful thing about T5 retro is you can build it to your personal needs and specifications, spend what you need to or want to and get results that you want. Everyone has their ideas of perfection, doesnt make it perfect for someone else.
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Very well said...

If I were to do a custom light setup, I would do a little bit of each. At least 1 Metal Halide in the middle. Then 8 T-5's to fit the spectrum needs, and finally some cool white, actinic, and purple LED's scattered throughout. The cost of that is exactly why I don't have a custom light setup, but perhaps when my budget isn't so tight I will be able to do that.
 
I had LEDs on my 72 for about 7 months. I loved the color pop I got from them. It was hard to get the growth I wanted from my sps though. I had very good success with softies and lps. Well if growth was not what I wanted. I just got a 60" 6x80W Tek Light T5 High-Output Fixture with built in fans for my 180. Not the ATI I was going to get but for the price I got it for I could not pass it up. The color spectrum is not washed out like it was with the LED's either. My softies have taken off under this fixture as well. The overall look of the tank has been enhance 10 fold. IMO LED's are fine if you are not wanting much growth but incredible pop. T5's will give you full color spectrum and better growth. I do miss the shimmer though.
 
two ways to tell what you want. go to swe and look at the display tank. see what you think of all the sps colors. they got rid of all MH. then go to all reef and see what leds look like. those are the two best ways to tell. MH are going away. they have no way of tinting color the way you want it. people are hooked due to sps from the past. or go see rays. he does everything lite wise.
 
T5's are just to much, you have to have a butt load of them over your tank just to come close to one MH.. I would go with MH that way when you get to the point you want to try SPS you are already set up..:biggrin:
 
That's really not true. I had a 2 bulb T5 retro over a 40B. I was able to keep softies, LPS, and many SPS. With a 4 bulb retro I could have kept anything. I wouldn't call 2/4 bulbs a butt load.
 
look at some threads on par readings. t5s work great and not a butt load. go look at swe new lighting on there coral tanks. also shimmer is possible with t5's and leds. instead of the bulbs philament flickering just ripple the top of the water with a pump for t5's. I'm watching mine shimmer now
 
I know this thread is a little old, but are no-one using power compacts? I know they produce some heat, but are there other major cons to them?
 
In my opinion I like "old school" lighting. I'll put 250 or 400 watt radiums with VHO actinic supplement alongside any other light system out there and we will see which tank looks nicest:beerchug:
 
agears said:
I know this thread is a little old, but are no-one using power compacts? I know they produce some heat, but are there other major cons to them?
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Major con is the bulb shape makes them inefficient thus you will never get the intensity you could from a T5. When a linear type bulb and good reflector design virtually all the light output can be directed into the tank. With the compact floursent the area above the bulb and the inner side cant be directed as effeciently and thus loose output. I have never tried the URI compact flourescent bulbs but supposedly with the internal reflector built in it helps with that issue some.

The bulb life of a Compact Flourescent is not any better than a T5 so you don't get any real benefit or savings there either.

Another con is the cheap quality and variance between bulbs. Lots of low quality bulbs out there and even one bulb to the next of the same brand can be different. Same goes with T5s and MHs as well but IMO especially bad with CF so best to stick with proven brands.

Also, the bulbs can break pretty easy since the weak point is the little connecting piece of glass. If retro and the hood slightly warps over time it can put pressure on it an break. Also have been known to break a few just trying to get in/out of the clips.

For the most part, CF is an entry level first time reefkeeper who just hasn't had experience yet with other lighting to know. Most will upgrade to something better is a pretty short amount of time. Thus, the resale value is quite low and will have a hard time getting rid of them here on TCMAS. Often times you practically have to give it away.

For fish only though they can serve a purpose and get the job done.

Only time I'd ever recommend CF type lighting would be where your tank length is less then 24" and heat from MH would be too great. I personally just avoid tanks less than 24" in length for that reason.
 
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I probably should have gone with the T5. I was just already pushing my budget with a 72" long tank. But in the long run, the T5 fixture with equivalent wattage to what I got in a PC was only $230 more... Hopefully it works out though ;)
 
David Grigor said:
Major con is the bulb shape makes them inefficient thus you will never get the intensity you could from a T5. When a linear type bulb and good reflector design virtually all the light output can be directed into the tank. With the compact floursent the area above the bulb and the inner side cant be directed as effeciently and thus loose output. I have never tried the URI compact flourescent bulbs but supposedly with the internal reflector built in it helps with that issue some.

The bulb life of a Compact Flourescent is not any better than a T5 so you don't get any real benefit or savings there either.

Another con is the cheap quality and variance between bulbs. Lots of low quality bulbs out there and even one bulb to the next of the same brand can be different. Same goes with T5s and MHs as well but IMO especially bad with CF so best to stick with proven brands.

Also, the bulbs can break pretty easy since the weak point is the little connecting piece of glass. If retro and the hood slightly warps over time it can put pressure on it an break. Also have been known to break a few just trying to get in/out of the clips.

For the most part, CF is an entry level first time reefkeeper who just hasn't had experience yet with other lighting to know. Most will upgrade to something better is a pretty short amount of time. Thus, the resale value is quite low and will have a hard time getting rid of them. Often times you practically have to give it away. For fish only though they can serve a purpose.

Only time I'd ever recommend CF type lighting would be where your tank length is less then 24" and heat from MH would be too great. I personally just avoid tanks less than 24" in length for that reason.
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Most of this is true , however I've had really good luck with PC-R bulbs, which have the reflector built into the top surface of the bulbs. This directs all light downward and none reaches the reflector in your light fixture.

I also have 3 royal blue LEDs in my hood . Not sure what they add in terms of actual light, but they help with 2 things that seem to be missing from PC bulbs (in my opinion) which are color (my light was a bit yellow from my PC bulbs) and shimmer (which you can only get with a point light source like LEDs and MH bulbs.

but i agree with most of what you said, and my next tank (which i am hoping will be longer than 24" will most likely not have PC lighting in it
 
Ya, I've got that Aquaticlife fixture with the built in timers and moon LED lighting which adds a nice shimmer.
 
Agears, CF just isn't capable of required intensity to keep most SPS and Acros happy and colorful. For a community type tank with most LPS, zoanthids and the sorts, it can work. Most though as they get experience and start going beyond beginner type corals, end up upgrading to something different.
 
David Grigor said:
Agears, CF just isn't capable of required intensity to keep most SPS and Acros happy and colorful. For a community type tank with most LPS, zoanthids and the sorts, it can work. Most though as they get experience and start going beyond beginner type corals, end up upgrading to something different.
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Thanks again for the info. I've never been very interested in the SPS or acros. Maybe I will in the future and then upgrade. I mostly like softies and the more flowy lps.
 
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