All opinions welcomed - T5's or MH's

Hey Fellow Aquarists,

I am looking to purchase a lighting system,..I want to have the option of putting anything in my tank, from Clams to Leathers to Acro's to Mushrooms. I don't know if I should get T5's or MH's. I heard good things about both, and I want to make sure I get the right amound of Watts per gallon needed for any thing I might put in my tank. I want the color of my tank inhabitants to pop and to have a bright look to the tank, but not too bright. If you have T5's or MH's I would like to hear your opinions on each. With pic's if possible. Also what combo of lights will give my inhabitants alot of color enhancement for awesome viewing. Thanks.

 

I love my new MH's. However T5's are much better in the heat issues.
I personally got the MH's because I really love the glimmer you get in the watter off of them and it reminds me of scuba diving. Now t5's you can also change the lights into more combinations to get the color you want.

 

I think it's current that has a t5 MH combo. Look on Marine Depot in the MH section for the Current USA Outer Orbit HQI/T5 HO Fixtures. I want one sooo bad.
I have a current nova extreme t5 fixture and it works really well.

 

MH with SPS bulbs 14k and VHO's with URI Super Actinics 420nm...you will not be dissatisfied....8)

 

"I heard good things about both, and I want to make sure I get the right amound of Watts per gallon needed for any thing I might put in my tank."
Tyslin, you don't want to get into the habit of purchasing lighting based on just lux/lumens/watts per gallon, WITHOUT taking a look at the quality of your water...temperature, salinity, calcium, alkalinity and pH level etc. all need to be considered in caring for your corals and their overall success. Having said this, you want your water to be as clear as possible to allow as much pertinent light(PAR) to you water and corals below. By this I mean that if you have a considerable amount of GELBSTOFF(yellowing tinge to your water), DOM, turbidity, saltcreep shading your protective light shield, cloudy film on top of your water column, or detritus floating around in the pelagic areas of your tank.
IF your water has limited amounts of these pollutants/ refracting compounds floating around in your water coulmn, it is possible to get away with less watts per gallon with the same results as if you had purchased a much stronger wattage bulb configuration.
I am a firm believer of Metal halides, especially the DE HQI halides as opposed to the mogul screw in type. The glitter lines, and the color emitted by these is awesome IMO. YOu will want to decide on a color rendition to represent your tank however. Do you want it to be a crisp, icy white/blue color, or a greener/yellow color, or a deep blue as represented in the deep reefs around the world.
I would stay away from the 6500K bulbs and not go with any bulb color under 10000k as the bulbs contain high red wavelengths that are growth promoters of microalgae!

 

I am looking for clear, crisp and sharp color for all of my inhabitants. what do you think about MH 14 k bulbs?

 

It also depends a lot on the depth of the water. If it's a 90 gallon "tall" (which I believe is similar to my 110, 30" tall), then MH is the only way to go. In my opinion, the HQI bulbs don't have the penetration of the mogul base bulbs. I started with a single 400 watt 20,000K on mine, and thanks to the recommendations of folks here I now have two, but one is a 14,000K. Both are 400W mogul. The colors are nothing less than awesome.

 

Mogul bulbs have two "hot spots" synonymous with them where as the DE HQI have just one hot spot. These hot spots can cause damage to your corals if they are positioned under these hotspots!

 

All bulbs at any K value are not created eqal..A 1400 by on Co. may look like a 10 K from another . I ran across these new bulbs last Jan and until something better comes along I'll never use any others I have about every coral you can think of and they all rock under them Ushios are in the dust now. These and the URO supers VHO just can't be out done as a combo

 

well, with my 55-gal tank, i'm VERY happy with my nova extreme t5's... but then again, right now all i've got is a FOWLR... also, i chose the t5's for several reasons... i haven't seen any SPS's that i'm really interested, but i LOVE LPS and a few mushrooms.... i like clams, but considering the size of my tank, i wouldn't have anywhere to put one in an attractive position, so scratch that off my list... and anemone's, same as SPS... i might change my mind when i move out and get a 75 gallon, as far as corals, clams, and anemones, but even then, i'd most likely stick to t5's... maybe get an 8 bulb system... aw heck, i'll be stinking rich by then! so i'll dump the idea of t5's OR MH, and just go with the new LED systems.... lol... man, the only dream better than that would someone actually making a piece of actual reef their own... it could be easy! just get 4 big enough pieces of acrylic, and drop it in your favorite spot of the ocean! i'm thinking a 50x50 foot aquarium, and whatever the depth of the ocean is at that point... HAHAHA, ok i'm done... but yeah i'm all for t5's!