My story of t-5 and MH...

[reefgeek84]

Originally posted by oct2274
actually those two bulbs would have done exactly that.........I had the same issue as you when i got my T5's. Dull and no pop. Got the ati blue plus, which every T5's lover recommends, and voila, instant happiness. Like I said, you should have read, tried more bulb combinations, and asked alot more before posting something that is absolutely incorrect and not educated. If you are thinking about T5's don't listen to this. Its absolutely rediculous to listen to someone that tried one bulb combination and say something isn't good. If that was the case I would have tossed my 10k halides out the door the first time I turned them on. There are many educated T5 users out there that can help you choose the right bulb combinations depending on the application you need. Here are a couple of threads that are useful in getting the right T5 combinations for your application and liking:
this one shows different pictures of user tanks and people talk about the bulb combinations they used http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...5&pagenumber=1
.
and this one is probably the best. shows par readings of various bulbs from someone that actually tried all the different bulbs and know which ones will give you results you are looking for
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...5&pagenumber=1

.
I'm sorry you had a bad experience with T5, but you should have asked for help with your setup before totally switching out to halides and trying to tell people that halides are better than T5...........

I know three other people local that had t-5 set ups with ATI's and the combo everyone is talking about and guess what all going halides after they swore by t-5s.

I am curious what else you have to say to all the other people who made the switch from t-5's to halides...my guess is that you are a t-5 nazi and did not read every post.

How can an opinon or thought be incorrect...sorry it can not. We are not doing addition here, I am simply saying that I do not like t-5's in all the set ups I have seen...So for you to sit here and say that I am absolutely incorrect is ignorant, because if I like something better, then I am right in my own mind..you are not incorrect just have a difference of thoughts.

also if you would have read through the entire thread, the grim reefer has posted in here about this subject, I also said that I do not believe pics, because pics lie, and I am not arguing par, but apparently you did not read that...I said in my first post, is that I am not saying that t-5's can't grow SPS, I said they can for sure, so par does not matter.

Please be positive and stop putting me down...I think one thing whether you think that is false is fine, but that does not make me wrong.

[The Grim Reefer]

Oct,

I hear what you are saying but you could have been a little less abrasive in your post.

Personal taste is just that, personal. Geek doesn't like the look of T5's. That doesn't make them better or worse than halides, just different.

[oct2274]

wow, you say that pics lie? you sound like you are just bullheaded and want to be right to me..........why would someone lie about what lighting they use on their tanks. I never once compared par from halides to T5 anywhere here so obviously you didn't read my posts. There are tons of pics of peoples tanks that are not as you described that use only T5 lighting. Like I said, I like both halide and T5, that is why I have both................Again, sorry you had a bad experience, but there are tons of T5 users on reefcentral that love their T5's and have beautiful tanks. Sorry you think they all lie and enhance their pics before they post............I agree grim, it is personal taste, but his thread was started to put down T5 and to steer people away from T5 with little T5 knowledge.

[reefgeek84]

Originally posted by The Grim Reefer
Oct,

I hear what you are saying but you could have been a little less abrasive in your post.

Personal taste is just that, personal. Geek doesn't like the look of T5's. That doesn't make them better or worse than halides, just different.

Thank you Grim...also Grim did you get my PM?

[hahnmeister]

Originally posted by oct2274
.
.
.
.

Your choice of bulbs was aweful if you were looking for good color. You really should have asked around about bulb choices before switching back to halides. You definitely needed to replace atleast two of the white bulbs with ati blue plue bulbs. You tried one set of bulbs and than told everyone that T5's suck basically. Should have thought this through before posting. I do admit halides are nice too, I have T5's supplementing my 10k halides which look aweful without my T5's. As with T5's, halides can look like crap if you don't pick the bulb choice that makes you happy.

I dont see this as rude or abrasive. Looks like 100% constructive criticism to me. The only thing even partly rude would be the :rolleyes", but if it was so rude/offensive, it wouldnt be a smiley option. Other than that, nothing about that post was personal or derogatory.

[The Grim Reefer]

Originally posted by reefgeek84
Thank you Grim...also Grim did you get my PM?

Yeah, it's a bad link

[reefgeek84]

Originally posted by The Grim Reefer
Yeah, it's a bad link

Sorry, new PM.

[JER-Z]

i am a T5 user who is switching to MH w/ VHO actinic as soon as my new canopy is finished being built.

I have been using t5s for about a year now and played around with many many different bulbs...

I get good growth and decent color but no matter what bulb combo i use I can never get my SPS to look as good as they do in the guys tank i buy my frags from...

I feel like i kind of owe it too myself to try MH to see if it easier to get the color i want. One thing I have noticed, about 90% of people who talk about how great T5's are never show impressive pics of their colors...

The same handful of spectacular European T5 SPS tanks always get linked. With all of the T5 fans out their boasting of their great colors, not alot of people put up pics...

That being said, I will hang on to all of my T5 hardware until i decide which i like better from first hand experience.

[The Grim Reefer]

Why not try T5/Halide as long as you already have the T5 stuff. A lot of the diehard Halide people seem to like that combo. If you look around there actually are quite a few pics of tanks with SPS under T5's from America.

Until now I have only dabbled in SPS so I aint gonna offer up an opinion on which will get you "the best" color. I will just say that as far as spectral output goes there should be no reason why we can't come up with a mix of T5's that will duplicate what halides do. I know adding a 3000K T5 really changes up the look.

[JER-Z]

Grim, yes that is a possibility as well.

a few pair of endcaps and VHO tubes won't cost an arm and a leg, (i already have the 660 ballast from the T5 setup) then i will have many different variables to play with. The guy i buy frags from uses 10K Reeflux bulbs w/ VHO actinic, and i love the look and color he gets out of his corals.

I want to mimic his set-up for starters and go from there.

[engagg]

Grim, where do you get the 3000k?

Greg

[The Grim Reefer]

If you have a 660 try running 2 Blue Plus T5 and 2 Actinic VHO's on it. The ballast will run both. Then you get the best of all three types of lighting.

Originally posted by JER-Z
Grim, yes that is a possibility as well.

a few pair of endcaps and VHO tubes won't cost an arm and a leg, (i already have the 660 ballast from the T5 setup) then i will have many different variables to play with. The guy i buy frags from uses 10K Reeflux bulbs w/ VHO actinic, and i love the look and color he gets out of his corals.

I want to mimic his set-up for starters and go from there.

[The Grim Reefer]

Originally posted by engagg
Grim, where do you get the 3000k?

Greg

Reefgeek has them

[reefgeek84]

Originally posted by The Grim Reefer
Reefgeek has them

I thought you were talking about me for a min. LOL...durr....

[servicky]

Yes i have a 60x24x24 and i went with 4x48 inch T-5s and 3 250 watt mini pfo halides

3-blv 10k
2 actinic from icecap and 2 daylight......

looks pretty good if you want to se pics let me know.... ill put them in my gallery

[reefgeek84]

Originally posted by servicky
Yes i have a 60x24x24 and i went with 4x48 inch T-5s and 3 250 watt mini pfo halides

3-blv 10k
2 actinic from icecap and 2 daylight......

looks pretty good if you want to se pics let me know.... ill put them in my gallery

Put them up in here...

[servicky]

how do you put the pics in here???

[Mr D smack]

I'll chime in on this.
I had a 225 gal with MH/VHO running and looking really good. The wife wonted a smaller tank in its place. its was in the living room. She went out and bought a 120 gal 60l X 18w X 26t. I researched the T-5 thing and for the same reason as reefgeek I went with T-5's. I got the Ice Cap setup with UVI bulbs retro kit and fans.
When the 120 cleared up the next day and the lights came on, I was like WOW its bright. A few days went by and lost a coral,sps. Well I expected this to maby happen I placed corals in different places to see where they would do best. When all of my sps died I was like WOW this sucks now. I did frag a pulsing xen and placed one at the top and one on the bottom. The one on the bottom melted away in less than 7 days. The one on top thrived till last week. I now am watching my lobo melt away. My toad stool is doing fine. Long story short is that Im not going to give up on the T-5 yet. When I redo the 225 and then can compair the two after running for some time thats when decision time comes.

[Mr D smack]

Forgot to add that I realy like the shimmer of MH. And of coures the wife likes the T-5 look. Again opinions

[servicky]

ok i took some pics but there in my gallery

[lvreefer]

Originally posted by The Grim Reefer
Until now I have only dabbled in SPS so I aint gonna offer up an opinion on which will get you "the best" color. I will just say that as far as spectral output goes there should be no reason why we can't come up with a mix of T5's that will duplicate what halides do. I know adding a 3000K T5 really changes up the look.

As always you are right on Grim. I have been playing with the 3kK bulb and have noticed a huge diference since I stopped using it. The 3kK bulb seemed to perk up the high lights of the corals, if that makes sence. For instance the purple rim of my Montipora capricornis has faded to a blue. Unfortunately I don"t have pics, been spending all my money on my tank and not a camera. BTW, I am currently running 3xact+ and 3xblu+ (D&D). Corals react so-so, both in color and growth.

[reefgeek84]

Alright, so I have heard good things about the new zeo purple light is suppose to be really good...but my question is there any difference between it and the UV super actinic which is super purple as well?

[The Grim Reefer]

Dunno