t5 ho vs mh

[puka]

what you guys really think about t5 ho compared to mh. I'v been using t5's since i started up the tank but alot of people i know is telling me to go mh. Just trying to get some other opinion before i make the change

[Ding2daDong]

LOL you just opened a huge can of whoopass!

Lets just talk about the presidential election!

In all seriousness I have tried both and like them both for different reasons.

t5's;

less electricity
more even distribution of light on a 1:1 ratio vs. MH
unique way of getting the exact kelvin rating by switching out bulbs but can be a pain
Same heat but less goes directly into aquarium

MH

Shimmer
more direct light source that is a ton of light
takes up less space
Much easier to choose the lighting because it is one bulb and it gives you everything.

And many more I can't think of but they both have pros and cons so...

Please if I forgot something or said something incorrect don't go crazy...

lol

-Matthew

[puka]

What you said was true i think there are pros and cons to both but still so hard to choose... ><

[OceansCoral]

I have seen both, I prefer the MH look over the T5's

[puka]

why mh? if you don't mind telling me why

[ReefRockerLive]

I prefer T5 over MH any day simply because I can mix and match different spectrum bulbs to fine tune the tank appearance to my liking. Before I use to run 400w MH bulbs over my tank, but after having switched to T5 I don't plan on looking back to MH.

[nikon187]

+1 for T5.. more colour options possible and can grow any coral just fine

[jnb]

I went from t5 to MH and back again - now I have t5 on one tank and mh on the other

and I still don't know my preference -

[puka]

wow both pics looks good. Looks hard to choose from if you know what i mean

[jnb]

yes - just installed the t5 and am working a bit to get the color right - a little too much pink

Originally posted by puka
wow both pics looks good. Looks hard to choose from if you know what i mean

[keith5]

I just switched from MH to T5, and I like the T5 a lot more. The advantages have already been mentioned in this thread, less electricity, less heat going into your tank, more control over the color. You miss out on the shimmer but I think that's overrated anyway

[renisel]

It really depends what you would be trying to accomplish by switching lighting systems, what your specific application is, and what your personal preferences are. You really can't (reasonably) say that one is flat-out better than the other. For example, no T5 setup that I know of is going to give you the maximal PAR and penetration that you'll get out of a 400W 10K MH. You just can't fit enough T5 bulbs into a small enough space. On the other hand, it's going to be very difficult with halides to get the same kind of consistency through all areas of the tank that you get with T5's. But then there are some drawbacks to that consistency; do you really want to have almost the same amount of light being directed toward the very front and back of your tank (areas that often don't contain as many corals) as you have in the center? Even though T5's put out more light per watt, there's also a good possibility that more of that light is being wasted. I could probably continue going back and forth for a while here, but the point I'm trying to make is just that it's complicated. My advice would be not to make a change unless you either really don't like the results you're getting right now and are pretty sure it's because of the lights--or because you just really want to do some experimenting.

[orangekush4]

Shimmer overrated?I guess all of the worlds reef is overrated.I just can't stand the look of T5,it looks very flat and unnatural.If you want a reef tank that looks natural with shimmer and great growth go with MH and if you want the unnatural look go with T5.Most every reef tank out there used MH to grow colony's and then went with T5.

[nikon187]

People in Europe have been using T5 only for 5+ yrs with great results. On the other hand people here have been using MH for 15+ yrs with great results. Which do you prefer? Shimmer or flater colours. ( I love my T5 and would never go back) alot is preference as mentioned above and the application.


Jnb: nice tanks, like the colour of the one on the left more

[hahnmeister]

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...5&pagenumber=1

I have tried both, and even a combo of both, but you just cant beat the glow that T5's give the corals. It does something to the pigments that I just cant get with halide, even if I suppliment with 50% T5s. Orange cap that glows neon red, tort that is superman blue at the tips with hulk green skin. Blue prostrata that looks metallic greyish under halides looks bright blue under T5s. Nothing beats those colors. I have rarely seen a halide lit tank that can compare... and of those I bet some are photoshopped (or you have a camera control that lets you adjust it).

[stevensun]

hahnmeister, do you mind sharing your selection of T5 bulbs? Just wondering if it's the color enhencing bulbs, ie pro color...that work the wonder. Thanks a lot.

[hahnmeister]

I used 2x aquablue+, 2x actinic 03, 2x actinic+ by Giesemann. You could just as easily substitute with the same ATI bulbs. No need for the pro color or fiji purples... everything like red millipora and pink birdsnest was just fine under that combo.

[solitude127]

I prefer T5's just because you pick a lot of different color bulbs to get the color you want. good luck

[Dyraxe]

I like MH because I can get the best growth so I can frag more corals. T5 was too slow for my taste plus the shimmer of MH is my favorite. IMO use both!!!

[puka]

both sounds good so i think i know what i am going to do hehe. I will set up another tank with mh and see how both works out. Who knows i might just keep both tanks up. Thanks to everyone for the info it was very helpful

[drouner]

Okay this is hot off the press!

I just finished swaping out 1x250 MH and 2x39 T5 on my 58 gallon.

I struggled with the problem of having one MH in the center of the tank. It was like a having a spot light because I couldn't get the spread of the entire length of tank. Even with a luminarc mini. The T5 helped some what but missed the ends in the center of the tank. If I went with 2x250 I would be facing heat issues. I didn't want to add a chiller. One less piece of equipment to worry about.

I added a Fauna Marin 6x39 fixture over my tank this evening. All I can say is wow the whole tank is bright. The challenge is going to be getting the color that I want. I really don't want a real blue look of a 20K tank, more towards the 14K as I had with the MH.

My first reaction or thought after I turned them on was "okay". Real bright, kind of flat, not quite as crisp as a MH and of course very little shimmer. Now can I resvolve the crisp issue? I don't know, as I may have to swap some lamps around. But I don't have any dark spots or the spot light effect. Some corals seem to pop more than with the MH. I'm hoping the T5 will help with the heat issues that I had, it was not bad but still. I'll need to give it a few days.