Reef Central Online Community

Go Back   Reef Central Online Community > General Interest Forums > New to the Hobby
Blogs FAQ Calendar Mark Forums Read

Notices

User Tag List

Reply
Thread Tools
Unread 02/11/2008, 01:32 PM   #1
davidhughes85
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 493
lighting question

I am setting up a 20L and was wanting to know which light would be more powerful:

48 watts T5 HO

or

130 watts PC

and with that much t5, what could I keep?


davidhughes85 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/11/2008, 02:01 PM   #2
kau_cinta_ku
Moved On
 
kau_cinta_ku's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: NW Iowa
Posts: 8,669
what brand T5 fixture?


kau_cinta_ku is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/11/2008, 03:24 PM   #3
davidhughes85
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 493
its a cheap ebay one but so is the pc


davidhughes85 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/11/2008, 03:31 PM   #4
dileggi
Premium Member
 
dileggi's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: S. Philly PA
Posts: 1,171
I'm not sure which would be the more powerful light. I have a 29g, and I'm using 144w PC's on that.

Basically, depending on the placement of what you want to keep, you should be able to keep mushrooms, zoa's, softies and LPS with the PC's. But, you will not be able to keep SPS or clams with the PC's.

I believe the T5's will enable you to have more of a selection on what to keep. I am just not sure how much wattage you would need for your size tank.

Hopefully, someone can chime in with that.


__________________
Eric


"The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled, was convincing the world he didn't exist." - Usual Suspects

Current Tank Info: 90g w/30g sump; skimmer; 2x175w MH & 2x super white actinic...3g w/.5g fuge 1x150w MH Viper
dileggi is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/11/2008, 03:32 PM   #5
kau_cinta_ku
Moved On
 
kau_cinta_ku's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: NW Iowa
Posts: 8,669
unless the T5's have individual reflectors for each bulb they won't be any better than the PC's


kau_cinta_ku is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/11/2008, 03:46 PM   #6
davidhughes85
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 493
and if they do?


davidhughes85 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/11/2008, 03:54 PM   #7
afish70
Registered Member
 
afish70's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Tampa
Posts: 688
t5's will be cooler running and with alot better selection of replacement bulbs, they also last longer than pc's (from what i have read) i have a 20L as well as just dropped about $175.00 on a light from That Fish Place and it will be here tomorrow and i can't wait.


afish70 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/11/2008, 04:23 PM   #8
kau_cinta_ku
Moved On
 
kau_cinta_ku's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: NW Iowa
Posts: 8,669
if they do have a good quality reflector like the icecap or tek then they will double the ammout of light as PC's


kau_cinta_ku is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/11/2008, 04:43 PM   #9
davidhughes85
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 493
double the amount, as in equal to 260 watt pc or 96 watts pc?


davidhughes85 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/11/2008, 05:02 PM   #10
kau_cinta_ku
Moved On
 
kau_cinta_ku's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: NW Iowa
Posts: 8,669
basically with quality reflectors it will take 2 pcs to equal the par of 1 T5HO bulb


kau_cinta_ku is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On



All times are GMT -6. The time now is 09:33 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Powered by Searchlight © 2025 Axivo Inc.
Use of this web site is subject to the terms and conditions described in the user agreement.
Reef CentralTM Reef Central, LLC. Copyright ©1999-2022
User Alert System provided by Advanced User Tagging v3.3.0 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2025 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.