Light wattage help?

[chaosfinity]

I am looking at these Metal Halide fixtures and T5's trying to figure out what to buy and it seems difficult to figure out what power is needed for certain depth tanks. I cant find any information on what HQI MH wattage is good for 25" depth and whether or not a T5 fixture on that would give me good coral growth at that depth. I want to keep plates so i dont want the light to be worthless on the sandbed. All the information i can get on lights is all so inconsistent im going to end up with lights to bake my corals for din-din.

 

[yote]

With metal halide,you only have 2 choices for wattage.Either 175 or 250 watts(I think).
With T5s,you cant by wattage.You have to look at the par and lumens values(Dont ask me to explane that cause I cant).
T-5s run cooler and the bulbs last longer.And IMO,give the corals just as much if not more light than halides do.

 

[reeffreak]

Actually Yote there's 150,175,250,400 watt MH.

Plate corals don't need intense light so T5 with individual reflectors will give out plenty of light.Its really only SPS and clams that really shouldn't be kept below 24''.Always consider heat and electricity consumption when making your decision.

 

[fishbait]

If I remember right, HQI has a higher par than normal MH. i'm thinking like half again more or something like. and you have to make sure they have a UV shield or they will melt you're corals. the bulbs are more expensive than single ended MH, and they don't come in as many color temps. but yes, they are good for 25" inches of depth. a individual reflector t5 is supposed to penetrate well in 24". so a lower light coral would probaly do fine in 25" with t5's