T5 vs. PC...is T5 better and worth upgrading to.

I have a coralife aqualight, its a 36 inch 192watt, I have a 96watt actinic and a 96watt 10,000K...would a 36 inch 156watt T5 be a better light for growth and the look in general...its on my 46gal bow front, its a glass tank and it looks ok, stuff grows well, but I was thinking of going to 14,000K for a more blue look...so I dunno...any thoughts, I really can't afford metal halide or I'd have it...

 

T5 is way better

 

lets put it this way. yes

 

T5's are much much better. But then again it all depends on what sort of corals you want to keep PC's will keep the easy stuff just fine, if that's all you want.

 

ok, I'll invest in one shortly...so my next question...Why?, Im a mechanic and in general just a total gear head so I'm always curious, I got the light I have now with the tank so never took the time to look into this...and now Im wondering why I didnt...thanks for the help

 

More light for your buck, while it's wattage that most people go by and a general rule of thumb to use, with T5's you just get more light output than the PC's... Atleast that's how it appeared to me.

When I went from PC's to HO T5's, my corals really grew. My colt, for example, was only 1 inch tall with the PC's. When I put the T5's on, they shot up in a month for a total of 7 inches tall and now there are about 4 or 5 new arms on it growing out.

I am doing MH now, once my new tank finishes it's cycle - i'm sure my corals are gonna love me.

Good Luck!
-fritts

 

t5's put out more lumens per watt, less heat, they have deeper penetration through water, longer lasting bulbs, all that adds up to more light for corals

 

yeah I don't wanna keep anything that needs a ton of light, but I'd like to have them grow fast and I also am kicking around the ideal of an anemone in a few months...but I wanna do some other stuff first...

 

Lets put it this way: neither bulb were designed to go on an aquarium originally. PC's were designed to go in the ceiling above your cubicle. T5's were designed for tanning beds. What do you think puts out more power?

 

wow i did'nt know that thanks K+