Metal halide v. led v. t5

i have a nano up and running and i just have stock lighting on it now, my parents just decided they wont let me order anything online so now i have to find stuff locally. i dont think any lfs' have par30's and theres one guy on craigslist but hes asking 140 just for one. i found a ton of good deal on craigslist for like a 150 watt single bulb metal halide light. would this be a little overkill on my little 5 gallon? are there any smaller t5 fixtures? input would be great. thanks

 

they all have their pros and cons. MH look great on lg systems, for a nano, leds and t5s are your best bet. I personally love the colors you can get with different t5 combos (ie; 6700k w/ 460mm w/ pink looks amazing).

 

MH over a 5g? I like my shrimp fried not boiled. lol. That would be way too much and alot of overspill anyways.

I would still consider LED's. I'm pretty sure if you try to local electronic shops you can find a place that carries or can get CREE LED's. Radio Shack I seriously doubt but its worth a try and there has got to be some local electronics/ham radio shops in the area that can get them too.

 

so you can get led's at stores like radio shack?

 

There are different types of LED's. The little cheap hobby & computer LED's they carry wont put out enough watts for what you need. Most of what they sell are the dinky computer type led's. They maybe able to get them though. Call and see. Plus a trip to the yellow pages like I mentioned for DIY electronics stores & short wave radio shops. Alot of those places all work from the same suppliers & can more than likely get them as well.

 

could i do halide if its high above the tank?

 

yeah but then the light would hurt looking at it. go led. they can look like halides

 

so far i have not found one lfs that sells led's and i am forbidden from ordering online. were going out tonight so ill try to convince my parental unit to go to a couple stores

 

Have an LFS order LED's for you. Most of the LFS's around here will custom order stuff and mark it up.

 

That's what I did with my Aquaillumations... I like to support my local economy so I shop local at any opportunity (I myself own a large local business and depend on others doing the same to support me)

He was able to order the kit and I was able to shop local! AI is backordered across the board though so I'm still waiting... (would probably be waiting on an internet order as well) But, point is, they can get more than they stock.