MH or T5 Lighting

[serkp78]

Hi bro & sis out there,

Need u ppl to comment on this as i have a hard time to decide which one to take, will u take a Atman MH with 2 PL attach or will u take ATI T5 as atman is from china but the price is good, so it hard for me to decide. Both cost $450 to $460, so will u all coment & gove suggestion so that i be able to settle it fast as i only have a buget of $500. thanks, your help will be greatly appreciate.

[BarraCudaTM]

use MH .. no regrets

[roidan]

if you have a chiller in the system, my choice would be the MH

[serkp78]

Hi all,

Thanks for all the comment, but i still hope to recieve another comment, will it be better to get the DIY from calciumreef or get the item direct from store for the atman brand?

[Tanggy]

MH coz the glimmering effect alone outweight everything else. Plus cheaper as replacement bulbs cheaper than replacing T5 of the same wattage. eg. 250watt MH is 100+ but to replace 4-5 T5 or 3 96watt T5 cost more..... If its 400watt, the difference is even more. MH 400watt is also 100+ but to replace 4x96watt t5 woo...

The T5 pendant itself also not cheap.

But the main thing is still the glimmer created by the single concentrated light source. Like the sun and make the reef tank look real!!

[chinmo]

hi guys, hw do i know when to replace the bulb? single end bulb need uv glass? or it's safe wifout uv glass?

[KingFish]

This has been discussed over many times so I leave you guys to slug it out.

Just to comment that the rippling effect can be replicated by simply using a incadescent bulb or even an LED in conjunction with other lighting options.

Also another consideration is the lifespan of MH as compared to T5, match the replacement cost to that. There is also the CRI and lumens per watt to discuss on.

[richng]

hi

i heard from 1 of the reefers here say that t5 tubes not that fantastic as what it should be... so better go mh

ciao

[dr evil]

from ur budget of SGD500, u can easily get a 2x150watt MH.....but DIY of course.

when using MH, u can easily keep all corals except for SPS.

can help if u need assistance and advise on the diy........

[Tanggy]

Just to comment that the rippling effect can be replicated by simply using a incadescent bulb or even an LED in conjunction with other lighting options.

Also another consideration is the lifespan of MH as compared to T5, match the replacement cost to that. There is also the CRI and lumens per watt to discuss on.

Yes can be created by incadescent because MH is regard as incadescent and the effect can be created by halogen bulbs but their spectrum is useless for marine and not nearly as bright.

As for the lifespan thing, dont believe what you read from the manufacturer. They tell you 10000hrs also useless as Florsence light intensity drop with time. You cant wait until the light totally dim before you change. still have to change yearly. As for MH they also rated to last 8000hrs + but still need to change every year or so.

[riot]

from ur budget of SGD500, u can easily get a 2x150watt MH.....but DIY of course.

Heh heh intend to sell off my 2X150w MH in a months time. PM if interested

[Tanggy]

Ke ke... solicitating sale!!! ha ha....

[Tanggy]

But got one thing to add la. dont know how hot it is to run T5 but MH is definitely hot. But if you squeeze 6-10 4ft floro tubes into a 20cts coin it'll be hot too. But will need chiller.

But no matter how good T5 or what ever light is, Will stick to MH coz personally feel a reef is incomplete without those glimmer you get from MH.

[dr evil]

But got one thing to add la. dont know how hot it is to run T5 but MH is definitely hot. But if you squeeze 6-10 4ft floro tubes into a 20cts coin it'll be hot too. But will need chiller.

But no matter how good T5 or what ever light is, Will stick to MH coz personally feel a reef is incomplete without those glimmer you get from MH.

i am with tanggy....a reef tank is not complete with MH....it will look better

[serkp78]

Hi guys,

Really appreciate all the comment. Thank You. I will stick to u ppl say, get the MH light.

[jc85]

Always rem to include chiller if u wan MH. Some manage to cool their tank using fans tot.

[Terryz_]

But the water top up is like siao... If using fans...

[andysho]

i will use mh instead~~~

but now i got to spent money on chiller~~~

i dun think will use fan`~ i cant imagine everyday top up water like siao~~ for 2 feet cube tank

[riot]

Invest in a tubby+fans+MH setup. I can keep my temp with 2 fans for my 2X150w at approx 28 degrees. Evap rates can allow more dosing of kalk anyway. Works great for me.

But just watch out on hot days.... a bit of problem there.

[andysho]

i wonder how many fans you use~~

and where you position your fans at....

[Tanggy]

The top up water can top up kalk as well... ke ke

[jc85]

Invest in a tubby+fans+MH setup. I can keep my temp with 2 fans for my 2X150w at approx 28 degrees. Evap rates can allow more dosing of kalk anyway. Works great for me.

But just watch out on hot days.... a bit of problem there.

Maybe you can add another fan? 28 degree is like stretching the limit for some corals liao.

[andysho]

yep best is 26 degree for coral

to achieve that ~~ i think only chiller can~~~

[jc85]

yep best is 26 degree for coral

to achieve that ~~ i think only chiller can~~~

That's why chiller and MH is like a package. You should not go without either one, imo.

[riot]

I am running a teco 680 but to keep cost down lah and keep up with calc/alk demands. On cool days my chiller only runs once hee hee once my second MH kicks in. Otherwise, nice and quiet (and cool too).