All opinions welcomed - T5's or MH's

Ive got a 48" Tek T-5 6 bulb over my 60" 100g tank. Ive got the following bulbs in this order: Front, URI Super Actinic, ATI Blue Plus, G-Mann 11k, GE 6500k, ATI Actinic 03, ATI Blue Plus. That combo gives me around a 14k look. I love it!! The t'5s are super bright too. I would say just as bright as MH, but with out as much heat. Dont get me wrong the bulbs get super hot!!! Dont tuch them when they are running, lol. But not quite as much as MH. But you dont get the really cool shimmer effect... I would suggest t-5's to anyone with a tank less than 24 inches. If you got the 8 bulb you could get away with a deeper tank, that would be up to you. You could run any coral you want. Ive got a clam now on the bottom of the 100, along with an ORA Chips Acro sps. Both are holding color really good, and seem to be loving the light. Let us know what you go with!! Just remember with t-5's, its all about the reflectors. Get a fixture with a reflector per bulb. It make a huge difference. Good luck,

Michael

 

Would you care to delve into that a little deeper so I can get a full understanding of exactly what you're talking about? I would really appreciate more info on these "hot spots", and also some technical info to back it up.
The reason I say this is because if we're talking about open-air lighting maybe I could see it, but when it's penetrating water? Enlighten me further please.

 

ParSouce
mm2002, check out these glossaries...and anyone else regarding lighting terms!!!!!!
Hot spots are the areas of the bulb which emit stronger light in a nut shell. Bleaching, higher level of UV rays and uneven coral growth are indicative of these damaging hot spot areas!

 

You should be able to keep clams and SPS corals without any problems with HO T5 lighting.

 

Next month I will be picking up my T5 fixture. The main reason I went with T5 is the heat issue. Right now I have 4x65 watt pc's and last summer it really caused the LR to heat up. 8x52 on T5s. Kinda anxious to see how they will perform through the summer.

The other thing I am concerned about is going up so quick on wattage. I really do not want to put our corals into shock.

Anybody have any good plans for a light cradle setup?

Anne

 

My2Heartboys, I really like my T5 unit. I think you'll like yours, too. I haven't had any heat problems since I got it.

By the way, welcome back! Haven't seen you on 3Reef for a while!

 

Yeah, well, you know. Kinda got side tracked with life. Funny thing is, if I can I am fixing to add more to what is already a hair raising life. Trying to get things in line to go to University of West Florida's Marine Science online program. Long story.

Anne