30" tank--halides or T5?

[xcastn0shad0wx]

I just bought a 37 gallon (30x12x23). I am having problems finding 30" t5 lighting and am wondering if I should go with a pendant halide? I plan to have a mixed reef. I would rather have t5 and the only one I have found that's the right size is the 30" SunDial 4x24watt from CurrentUSA. I am also wondering if 96 watts would be enough wattage since the tank is kinda deep. Any suggestions on what lighting I should get would be appreciated thanks.

 

[bobby]

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=CU-USA01151&Category_Code=Current-T5

You could aslo try a 24 inch light with the hanging kit and hang it from your ceiling or build and canopy and retro fit a light. I notice this is your first post. Is this your first saltwater tank or have you been in it for a while?

 

[bobby]

A 96 watt light would be fine if you only plan to keep softies and maybe s a few LPS. Anemones and SPS will be out of the question with that light. I prefer halides over anything else but alot of people like T5. Halides are the best, but t5 form par readings are comparible. A halide would be cheaper for the light and cheaper to replace the bulbs.

 

[queenangel77]

T5!!! cheaper electric bill. No need to worry about a chiller. replace bulbs every 10 -12 months.

 

[xcastn0shad0wx]

yes, it is my fist salt water tank. I have had fresh water aquariums all my life and have decided to take the plunge into the saltwater world... I was just stupid enough to buy a 30 inch aquarium....now I know why it was so cheap! lol

I'm thinking metal halide is the way to go in my case. not really looking forward to the heat involved or the energy required for them. I'm thinking I will only need one and keep just soft corals on the outside. Can any one give me any suggestions on what specific metal halides they would recommend?

 

[Keaton]

The sundials are awesome. I have the 48" 4x54 sundial. I love the fact that it has one cord and timers built in. It also has night lights on a photocell so they automaticly come on when the timers kick the daylights out.

 

[bobby]

T5!!! cheaper electric bill. No need to worry about a chiller. replace bulbs every 10 -12 months.

By what 1.00 or 2.00 a month? My 175 halide over my 40 keeps my tank cool and if ran for 8 hours a day only cost me a little over 5.00 a month to run.

 

[bobby]

yes, it is my fist salt water tank. I have had fresh water aquariums all my life and have decided to take the plunge into the saltwater world... I was just stupid enough to buy a 30 inch aquarium....now I know why it was so cheap! lol

I'm thinking metal halide is the way to go in my case. not really looking forward to the heat involved or the energy required for them. I'm thinking I will only need one and keep just soft corals on the outside. Can any one give me any suggestions on what specific metal halides they would recommend?

A fan can go a long way to lower the temp of your tank. The cost in running a halide over t5 will not be noticed. I built mine. You can build them for around 100.00. The price mainly depends on the bulb you choose. You can get decent cheap ones off of ebay for around 20.00 or you can get the best one. The bulb I run in my was 80.00 alone but you can get very good one's like XM brand for around 50.00 or 60.00

 

[xcastn0shad0wx]

Thanks for all the suggestions. It looks like the best bet is to go with halides.

 

[Teixeira29]

Halides are the best for your tank!

 

[xcastn0shad0wx]

OK so now I'm confused. I was under the impression that t5's were way better than PC's. I'm guessing that's only watt for watt that they are better. I found currentUSA's dual satellite and orbit both with 2x65 watt pc's .... how muck better is the 130watts (that's 3.5 watts per gallon)from the pc's vs the 96 watts (2.5 watts per gallon) for the t5 vs 175 watt metal halide? because the power compacts are only $130 dollars!

also how much better is it that both types of florescent lighting systems have the lunar lights?

 

[daugherty]

go with either t5's or a mh. pc are good bulbs but not that good. a good set of t5's with ir's will double or tripple the light output of the bulb. just like mh bulbs if you have a crappy refelctor you will not get as much light to the tank as if you have a good bent refelctor. pc's just dont get enough light to the tank to be any good unless you have a lot of them. on my old 50 gal i had 4 96w pc and one 175 mh. and with the set of t5's i have i get better light on the tank than i ever did with my old lights. with less wattage

 

[xcastn0shad0wx]

so daugherty you have on your current tank 4 39 watt t5's and those are better than your 4 96 watt pc's? how mant t5's do you have?

 

[yote]

I'll take T-5s over PCs any day.With PCs,you have to replace the bulbs every 9 months.With T-5s you replace them every 12 to 18 months.
Over a tank that size,I'd go with T-5s.

 

[parrotchute]

Are LEDs still way too pricey?

 

[Bifferwine]

This is my opinion: T5s are way better than PCs for any tank. T5s are slightly better than MH for most tanks. MH are better than T5s for large tanks and deep tanks. For everything else, go with T5s.

And yes, MH are expensive. My electric bill doubled (to $400 or $500 a month) when I switched from T5s to 1,600 watt MH...

 

[daugherty]

so daugherty you have on your current tank 4 39 watt t5's and those are better than your 4 96 watt pc's? how mant t5's do you have?

on my 75 now i have 8 54w bulbs

 

[xcastn0shad0wx]

I'll take T-5s over PCs any day.With PCs,you have to replace the bulbs every 9 months.With T-5s you replace them every 12 to 18 months.
Over a tank that size,I'd go with T-5s.

This is my opinion: T5s are way better than PCs for any tank. T5s are slightly better than MH for most tanks. MH are better than T5s for large tanks and deep tanks. For everything else, go with T5s.

And yes, MH are expensive. My electric bill doubled (to $400 or $500 a month) when I switched from T5s to 1,600 watt MH...

So are you saying I should go with T5's or are you saying I should go with halides? And if I should go with T5's can you find any that are stronger than 4x24watts? Because I won't be able to keep any hard corals with only 96 watts. in a 37 gallon tank.

 

[IraqVeteran]

So Bobby.....it really only costs you like $5 to run your MH's a month? I just put mine in and I am nervous to see my bill. I only have it set for 6 hrs a day..is that enough for LPS, softies and SPS? It is 2x250w MH and 2x96w PC.

 

[yote]

So are you saying I should go with T5's or are you saying I should go with halides? And if I should go with T5's can you find any that are stronger than 4x24watts? Because I won't be able to keep any hard corals with only 96 watts. in a 37 gallon tank.

How tall is your tank?
JMO,But I think you get close to double the light per watt burned with T-5s.So I think you'd be alright with them.

My light bill has went up $150.00 a month since going to halides.