Ask Your T-5HO Questions Here

How big and deep of a tank are you going to use the lights on. If it is your 46g bow front. You only need like four bulbs tops.
That would have out in Stony coral clams land!

 

I am switching 29g reef to a 75g reef so my tank isn't much to look at right know but check out this guys tank:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=419188
That is full color nature formed SPS growth with 3.24 watts per gallon!!!!!!!!!
T-5HO blow the other floresent technologies out of the water.
As far as T-5HO vs. MH You can more easily light standard size tanks with the T-5HO because you don't have to deal with as many heat issues.
Normal canopies with modest fans. No open tops with heavy evap. Or mounting them on wires or stands 6 or more inches off the tanks some you waste more light energy and have to stare at the painfully bright light straight from the bulb. Or a chiller more electricity and way more cost. You can just skip it all and mount your T-5HO in a normal canopies with a modest fan.
Another advangages is cost. T-5HO is used as residential lighting in Europe as a result the cost untaking by the developer can be share by other groups other than use reef hobbist balast that are made for the general public can be minorly modefitied and used for reef service.
So like say you wanted the light a 75g with VHOs. Reefer are the only people using VHO tech and because of the Icecap and URI have a near monopoly on that makert. So you pay about $400 dollar for a 48' bulb retro. Like I said the T-5 crowd share the cost of research with the rest of the world and because of the you can setup a Coral-Vue 4 bulb T-5 retro for like $220!!!

 

In personal experience I have Acro, a clam and amenoe in my tank and seem to be doing great. I bought my acro from my LFS it was a nice green and brown piece with long branches. It is growing good in my tank and has changed from brown and green to purple and green, Yeah! The Condylactis doubled in size in three months (I do target feed it to).

Bird Lady you wanted disadvantages. The biggest one I have found that the companies that make full light not retros seem to be gouging there customers. If you can get a good retro why could you spend another 50% on the same amount of light from a complete light. The another main one is the fact that most people don't believe or don't know how bright these thing are. Even my LFS fish that I think is generally pretty well informed doesn't know anything about them but if you see them sided by side in the same hood with PCs the PCs look like a joke. I am ordering a 4 bulb retro form Coral-Vue at the end of the week and will start pimping out my 75g so I hope to have pics again soon

 

Thanks for the info! Can't wait for pictures! ;D

 

Yea, I am ordering a 4 bulb rig for my 75g on friday. My one last gripe about T-5HO is that for now until some company gets around to it. No one is making T-5 sized end caps. You order a light from any company I know of and you get T-12 size end caps with big spacer in them.

 

will any of this lighting fit a 12 gallon? im very interested...

 

Sorry I think the 24" light is the smallest I have seen.

 

darn

 

I just got my new lights yesterday. A 4 bulb Coval-vue Retro. I am combining it with the 2 bulb from my old light to to get 6x54Watts of T-5HO. Right now I have 4x54 and 2x39watts. I now own the brightiest tank I have ever seen in person. Oh Yeah!! It is even brighter than my LFS Coral sale tank with the MH Hamilton kit. At 3.94 watt a gallon I can keep anyhting I want. It will go up to 4.3 wpg went I get the last two bulbs. I can wait to start buying more coral(I guess more rock first ). I hope I don't burn anything.

 

I am going to make a proper canopy tommorrow