MH vs 8 bulb T5 (Is this trade worth it?)

Hey guys I have a Current USA Nova Extreme T5 fixture with 8 bulbs on a single reflector (not individuals). Although I took 2 bulbs out and only using 6 at this time. The bulbs are 54w each.

I have an option to trade for a 2 bulb metal halide 150w X 2 and 2 bulb PC blue 130w X 2 fixture

48" Current USA OuterOrbit 2x150W 10KHQI-MH w/ 2x130W DualActinic & 6 Lunar Lights* - AquaCave

Would this trade be worth it? Will my corals grow faster and my lighting overall look better? How much heat do you think this will produce? And is 128 extra watts of power usage worth it ?

 

so, you will be paying a higher electric bill and maybe have more heat generated by the light...

Why do you have 2 bulbs out of your 8 bulb fixture? The 8 bulb T5 should allow you to grow anything, so there no need for the MH, in my opinion.

I think it would come down to a consideration of aesthetics... if you like the way MH looks better than T5's, then maybe that is something to consider. MH can look cool, but also casts dark shadows, IME.

 

Just took it out because I didnt really like to color, I didnt buy my light new so... So I should just buy higher quality bulbs and stick with my fixture?

 

it depends its all anout what your looking for i perfer t5s i like the lighting the color and i think sps get way better color on t5s =)

 

Then get a different combination of bulbs. Bulbs come in quite a few different general color groups like actinic blue/daylight/actinic 03/purple/sunlight/12k/14k/20k/.......let alone the slightly more subtle differences between the same "kind" of bulb from different manufacturers.

 

with metal halids one big difffrence is the ripple you will see and with t5s there wont be any but you can get the leds the actinc bulbs what size tank do you have and what t5s do you have
i run 4 t5s in a 55 2 powercrome actinic + a pure actinic and a fiji purple in your i might run 2 of each

 

well pure actinic and 3 actinic + should give a good color spectrum and allow you to have anything you want in your tank

 

i would consider your trade for the metal halides a "DOWNGRADE". potential heat issues with the water and higher electric bill.

 

that made nosense lol

 

never mind i lied i was confused lmfao had to read it twice