VHO Lighting?

Just to add, 1 T5HO with a single reflector is good for 6" of tank width. So if you have a 55g, which is 12"s wide, you only need 2 bulbs, 3 tops. Im running 4 on a 75g and I honestly think its too much. Anything in the top 6"s of the tank bleaches, EVEN ACROS.

 

wow geek never heard that befor but can see its true from my own tank. i have nothing on my top row cause every thing was closing up that i put up there. except a small hydnopora frag seemed to grow pretty fast. and you also answered another of my question about t5's and tank depth. think tink your post went from vho to t5 sorry

maybe its time to look into a clam,

 

T5's Are my personal favourite, however i am using an MH as it was a bargain! But i have often thought about going to T5 again because they run cooler and use less energy!

 

I apoligise too for hijacking the thread...

I use both T5HOs and MH's, but they are ran seperatly for different reasons. However I will be combining them to get the best of both worlds on my current build.

 

I have to agree and disagree at the same time. If you take a standard t5ho fixture lets just say you are totalling 250 watts and put it against a 250 watt mh, and you put the meter in the tank directly under the mh bulb it's gonna outshine t-5. With individual reflectors the t-5 is going to be a closer comparison. Also with the t-5 the the wattage is spread over 4 ft for a 48 inch bulb where the mh's usually only reach 1 ft either way thus keeping the power of the light centered and you don't lose as much of it. I hope all of this rambling made sense.

 

The intensity of the T5HO is the same across the whole bulb. The difference between MH and T5HO is light penetraiton. Its not possible for 250wT5HO to be equal to 250w MH unless the T5HO's were old bulbs.

 

My tank dimensions are 72x24x24. The only issue I have is that I only have 3.5 inches of clearance on the top of the tank to the bottom of my bar (very had to explain, but I need a lighting system that is no higher than 3.5 inches). So I guess ultimately T5s are my best bet. I was considering buying 2 x 36 inch T5 sets instead of a 72 just to cut down on costs. Any thoughts?