lighting discussion.

I just switched from t5 to led (current orbit marine) and I wish I would of done it a long time ago it has built in overcast thunderstorms and a couple other settings really sweet I don't see any con's to it yet con's to the t5 is bulb replacement and heat in my opinion lets not forget the amazing color I can now get with led that I could never seem to get out of t5 but I know it can be done with t5's but I couldn't ever accomplish it

 

I am a T5 fan myself, I feel with the right combination of bulbs you can get some of the best color and growth. there are cons though as mentioned, bulb replacement at least every year, more energy consumption, and heat.

 

A 48 inch 6 bulb ATI Sunpower would rock that tank. Like mike said you will have annual bulb replacement and a little more heat from all bulbs but in my experience you get better growth and coral color under t5. But a combo of t5 and led would be even better I really like colors popping under some royal blue leds.

 

T5s would get my vote, can get a color combo you really like with all the different bulbs, t5s tried and tested for quite some time.but bulb replacement does suck lol, better than replacing a bunch of halides tho.
Only big plus' I c with LEDs are energy consumption and the blue LEDs really make colors glow/pop way more than t5s.
Cost vs benefit to you,
t5s less to get fixture and some bulbs good growth good color more energy use
vs much higher cost to buy a good led fixture less energy use and better coral color "pop"
I'd guess over a two year span the costs of both would be roughly the same, initial investment will just be higher on the LEDs and I guess over a longer period be less costs for LEDs
Plus it will depend on what you want to keep in the tank, sps vs softies etc
2

 

I have not owned one of the higher end LED systems yet. I cannot justify the cost when compared to something in the same price range as a HQI. My biggest concern about them is that when an LED goes bad, unless it is a replaceable puck, you are.... stuck... lets say. So I cannot really comment on these types of systems aside from opinion.

In terms of T5HO. I ran a T5HO system (4 bulb from Coralife with moons) on a 75 for three years with very great success in year three I added a T8 fixture to boost some spectrum. With the bulb combinations that you can manipulate, you can make you colors 'pop' with a T5 system just as well. I found a balance with 10K 420 actinics x2 and a 460 super actinic. The T8's I added were a two bulb shoplight with another 1k toward the front to fool the eyes and another 420. 4-6 bulbs ov HO T5 will provide plenty of light to grow even most SPS (contrary to popular belief) You will want to watch your bulbs. I get about 6 months out of mine, which surprises me the number of people saying annual changes. Which run about what...$20 a bulb or so so between $80-120 a change.

I personally run 500 watts of HQI on both my systems currently, the 75 has an additional 4 T5HO on top of the HQI, and the 40 runs 500 watts of HQI with two T5HO. Both HQI only run for 6 hours a day and the T5HO run for 10. Some of the best lighting IMO But expensive to run and very very hot.

 

If the t5 bulbs are properly cooled like in an ATI fixture then your bulbs will last 10-12 months. If your fixture has no fans I would change them at 6 months also. I actually just changed mine and it was 2 weeks short of 1 year.

 

I would like to dig into this deeper here shrotly. But need to head into an appointment.

 

I would like to dig into this deeper here shrotly. But need to head into an appointment.

 

Look on reef central. I can't remember the thread but I think it was the Grimm reefer that did the tests. On Ati fixture you can select voltage that fan pulls like 6,9,12 volts you want to put thermometer or gun on output and if I remember correctly its like 113 degrees. That will maximize your par and bulb life. But after 10-12 months the spectrum starts to shift. I just ran mine for a year just to see if I could and they were just fine. No Browning of corals or nuisance algae or anything.
I run an ATI Sunpower 8 bulb all Ati bulbs on a 120 gallon sps tank.
There was also another thread on reef central were somebody else took par readings on his tank randomly over the bulb life and didn't notice any drop until after 10-11 month mark.

 

I am suspect of the bulb life rather than temps being a contributing factor. Based on the physics of florescing so long as the warm up period is hit and the maintained. The bulb should not suffer from greater temps in the aspect of spectrum. Mainly because the mercury is never leaking out sobthe density never changes. But there will be an optimum tempurature to light and power ratio that will exist. Essentially the efficacy of the bulb with regard to the ballast which will be shedding heat. Hmmm... more research is required! This could be a great instance of learning something from a vendor a long time ago that has cost me long term money in bulb changes!

 

I have a 48 in 8 bulb ati

 

Actually bulb temps are one of the factors that shortens bulb life. Same with leds if not cooled they burn out faster.

 

I have a 6 bulb T5 on my 75 gal display. I've had it for 5-6 years now. It has always done very well for me. Good/great growth. I replace the bulbs every 12-15 months.


I have a DIY LED kit from Rapid LED on my cube tank. I bought the set-up as a used system. When it was time to change the bulbs (came with T5 power compact), I didn't hesitate to go to LEDs. I've got great coloration there and OK growth.


I started with a 2 bulb T5 fixture on my 20gal frag tank. Wasn't enough light and couldn't get a respectable coloration without going to at least 4 bulbs - and that would have been too expensive for changing out the bulbs on a regular basis. I switched about a year ago to a Reefbreeders Value fixture. I'm still struggling with getting the light right. Corals do ok in the tank - but no growth. But - I can't say that that is due to the light or some other factor. The tank is definitely not as stable (parameter wise) compared with the other 2 tanks.

 

Love my reefbreeders LEDs. The biggest thing that gets me with bulbs is changing them. It never sounds like a big deal until I totally have forgotten about them for way too long and them the $$ annoys me. It seems like I always used notice it was time for a bulb change right when I didn't have the money, ha.