VHO or T 5

jeffroberts1 · 05/23/2009, 07:48 PM

which is the better lighting for LPS and SPS and would i need to add halide for sps with both? I have compacts now and want to up grade.

tufacody · 05/23/2009, 07:58 PM

SPS and LPS can be done under sufficient T5 or any halide
VHO offers better actinic supplementation for halide than T5 (imo)
LPS can be done under VHO if sufficient bulbs

(general rules, always exceptions)

fishaholic911 · 05/23/2009, 07:59 PM

I love VHO's but might be one of the few. They are not that great for most sps though. If you sre looking to go sps go with M/H

jeffroberts1 · 05/23/2009, 08:24 PM

i was thinking of having vho or t-5 for lps which bulb would be better. i don't have sps it would be nice!

redfishsc · 05/23/2009, 08:40 PM

For nearly every coral, go with T5's. I cannot think of a single coral I've ever heard of that would do better under VHO, although I will say that I don't know the "full picture". VHO actinics do look very, very very nice compared to T5 actinics though.

As for growing SPS, I grow them under T5's in a 10 gallon. Shoot for similar "wattage" output, as T5's seem to be in the ballpark of PAR output per watt as MH.

The advantages of T5 over VHO, in at least from what I've seen (and experienced with T5): much less wattage used per tube with similar capabilites with the same number of tubes), longer tube life (1 year vs. 6 months with VHO), much more tube replacement choices (more mfr's make T5's than VHO), and in my area the LFS's carry a better selection of T5's.

Not to mention that T5's can be used in parabolic reflectors, whereas the VHO's are just too fat to do that effectively.

I say none of this as an expert, but it's what I've gleaned from RC and other sites, and have seen on my own tanks with T5's and on others with VHO.

05/23/2009, 07:48 PM	#1
jeffroberts1 Registered Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Colorado Posts: 97	VHO or T 5 which is the better lighting for LPS and SPS and would i need to add halide for sps with both? I have compacts now and want to up grade.

05/23/2009, 07:59 PM	#3
fishaholic911 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Albuquerque, NM Posts: 2,822	I love VHO's but might be one of the few. They are not that great for most sps though. If you sre looking to go sps go with M/H __________________ happiness is like peeing in your pants everyone can see it, but no one feels the warmth as you do. Current Tank Info: 80 gallon, vertex 150 skimmer, 2 mars aqua 165 watt leds and 2MP40WQD

05/23/2009, 08:40 PM	#5
redfishsc Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Wake Forest, NC Posts: 3,696	For nearly every coral, go with T5's. I cannot think of a single coral I've ever heard of that would do better under VHO, although I will say that I don't know the "full picture". VHO actinics do look very, very very nice compared to T5 actinics though. As for growing SPS, I grow them under T5's in a 10 gallon. Shoot for similar "wattage" output, as T5's seem to be in the ballpark of PAR output per watt as MH. The advantages of T5 over VHO, in at least from what I've seen (and experienced with T5): much less wattage used per tube with similar capabilites with the same number of tubes), longer tube life (1 year vs. 6 months with VHO), much more tube replacement choices (more mfr's make T5's than VHO), and in my area the LFS's carry a better selection of T5's. Not to mention that T5's can be used in parabolic reflectors, whereas the VHO's are just too fat to do that effectively. I say none of this as an expert, but it's what I've gleaned from RC and other sites, and have seen on my own tanks with T5's and on others with VHO. __________________ "The measure of a life is not its duration but its donation." Corrie Ten Boom “The tyrant dies and his rule is over, the martyr dies and his rule begins” -- Søren Kierkegaard Current Tank Info: ghetto grad school reef.....11g rimless tank, 36X9X9, lit by Cree and Rebels scobbled together. Stocked mostly with free stuff I got from panhandling my fellow reefers.

05/23/2009, 07:58 PM	#2
tufacody Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 1,890	SPS and LPS can be done under sufficient T5 or any halide VHO offers better actinic supplementation for halide than T5 (imo) LPS can be done under VHO if sufficient bulbs (general rules, always exceptions)

05/23/2009, 08:24 PM	#4
jeffroberts1 Registered Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Colorado Posts: 97	i was thinking of having vho or t-5 for lps which bulb would be better. i don't have sps it would be nice!