t5 or MH?

What are the pros and cons of each lighting system and which one is overall better? ex: penetration, costs, hydro, corals, fish, etc...

thanks alot
(it would be for a 90 gallon)

 

Metal Halide is the greatest of all. But when it comes to cost, T5's win.

I would point you to this post, http://www.3reef.com/forums/reef-lighting/metal-halide-vs-t5-36549.html Very good discussion and very well put.

Good luck sterling!

-Fritts

 

There would be nothing you couldn't grow under MH's.

 

Using T5 under my current setup. Cheap, effective. I must say I enjoy them, and for a shallow tank I would surely use T5. However, I want to be able to grow anything and not have to worry about my lighting being sufficient. Switching to metal halides.

 

metal halide is the strongest(not to say t5 is pretty strong as well), but has issues with heat. t5 lighting can grow any coral if using a good set up and....
blah blah.......
....... lot of useless and confusing facts comparing the too ive looked up over the years.....

basically it all comes down to the size of the tank, t5 has a maximum effective penetration of 18-25 inches(depending on the t5 brand and brand of fixture).
i believe a 250 watt halide penetration depth is between 28-30 inches
i havent seen any facts on 400 watt halides but i would assume it would be in the 40's
(sidenote for very huge and deep tank they make a 1000 watt halide.)

if you have a smaller tank then 90 gallons get t5 unless its some weird shape, because of the heat.

if you have a tank bigger then 90 gallons you probably need halides, and your gonna have to suck it up and buy a chiller most likely lol.

since you on the edge you get to choose, which one you want, i would go with a good t5 fixture if i was you, unless you have a chiller. since like i said your one the edge you must buy a quality fixture for good lighting, no oddyseas. try to get one with individual reflectors.

 

not to jack this thread or anything, but i heard that as long as your halides are a certain distance from the water, heat wouldn't be too big of an issue...

Is that true? is there anyway to beat the heat?

 

it would depend upon the circulation in the room, a pair of 250watts could raise you room temperature by 20 degrees depending on size and ventilation.
if your room already is 65 degrees then it becomes 85 so your tank would be 85 your already over where it should be, it really becomes a problem in the summer.
with a single 250 you could make it work.
i have a 175 2 feet over a 10 gal nano(for now i plan on replacing it with a t5) the tank still get 82 degrees, its still winter outside where i live, snowed the otherday, so yea in the summer that wont fly.

you can lower the temp buy puting fans in your canopy but then you have alot more evaporation, the sure way to fix it is with a chiller

 

Google tanks with t5 setups and you will see once you buy a good t5 unit they can grow anything a mh can. Yes t5's are a newer technology, but it has been years now and t5s have gained widespread acceptance in Europe, Asia, Canada, etc (with many cases people preferring them to mh due to bulb selection abilities and less heat issues), it seems that only in the USA has the acceptance been slower due to many myths floating around.

 

You can google all day long but the fact is that MH shimmer is nearly identical to that of the actual sun. What does this do for the coral?? Probably nothing my my eyes like them.

 

You are correct, MH shimmer, t5's don't, but there are new LEDs that are supposed to mimic the shimmer as well.