T5 vs PC lighting...

[glocklt4]

What is the difference between T5 and PC lighting besides the obvious physical? I have PC's now, but haven't ever had T5's. Also, how would these compare to VHO's?

 

[erock]

I've used all three. Out of the three I recommend T5's as they are more energy efficient. I was once told that one 54watt T5 bulb is the equivalent of a 110 watt VHO. Not sure how true that is, but when I replaced my 4x65w pc set up with a 4x54w T5 setup, my corals began to split and grow faster. I also prefer the spectrum put off by T5's.

T5 bulbs also last longer than the others. A pc bulb needs to be replaced once every 6-8 months, a VHO bulb will last a bit longer but should be replaced at least once a year. A T5 bulb usually will be good for about 18 months. The bulbs are also cheaper. So with less wattage output, less frequent bulb changes and cheaper bulbs, it seems like the best overall choice for a reefer who does not want to use halides.

 

[glocklt4]

Thank you very much for the feedback. What about the color and brightness compared to PC's? Right now i have an atinic and 10k.

 

[DalaiTom]

@glocklt4 wrote:

I agree with everything Eric said above.

I would suggest going for a fixture that will contain at least four bulbs. That will give you more flexibility on adjusting the color the way you want it. With the combinations of daylight, actinic, 60/40, and other bulbs, you should be able to find a combination that would make you happy.

 

[glocklt4]

Is an 8bulb too many for a 72 gallon bowfront? I really don't plan on having that many corals really ... and none that take a TON of light. I like fish better . The reason at looking at the T5's instead of PC's was because I didn't think that 260 watts of PC's would be enough. Maybe I'm wrong?

 

[erock]

An 8 fixture unit may be overkill. I have a 4 fixture unit on my 72 g bowfront and I succesfully keep many different zoa's, shrooms, leathers, as well as lps corals such as frogspawn, torch, and favites. I even have a small aquacultured sps at the top of my tank that is doing just fine with this setup.

I'd only go 8 if you either plan on keeping light intensive sps or clams or if you plan on upgrading to a 90g, but 4 bulbs would still be alright on a 90 for most softies and LPS.

 

[DalaiTom]

@glocklt4 wrote:

I have an 8 bulb fixture that has three on/off switches. Two switches control three bulbs, one controls two bulbs. This gives lots of options for creating a morning (two actinics & one AquaBlue 60/40) to dawn (add two AquaBlue 60/40 & one 10,000k) to noon (add one 6700k and one 10,000k) and then light go off in reverse for afternoon to twilight effect. The 6700k and 10,000k lamps are only on for a few hours in the middle of the day. The tank is pretty bright at that point but still pleasing to look at. I'm very pleased with the looks of my tank at each stage of the lighting sequence. It took a little trial and error until I could find the blub combination and lamp sequence I like best.

If you're not interested in doing the above, a four lamp fixture would probably be fine for what you described.

 

[iamquockie]

the color combinations that T5's offer are way out of range for the PC's to even compete. Pc's will give you only a couple of color combo's while t5's offer countless ones. actinic, pure actinic, blue blus, 10k, 6k, 6.5k, 12k, 14k, 20k, 3.5k, there are more I'm sure but I cant remember em.

You won't be able to fit 8 bulbs in a 72 bowfront unless they are 24" long. People have gotten away with 4x54 with two daylights and two actinic bulbs on a 72. Don't forget the reflectors because they play a major part of the strength of the T5's. If the tank is SPS dominated go with 6x54 if you can fit it in the canopy. You'll have to do some playing around with dimensions because of the curved shape of the bowfronts. I've seen some stagger the t5's and still get even light distribution.