Lights for a Mixed Reef

[ReefzLover]

Hi guys..wanted to know which 1 will u all prefer in term of colour and growth for the lightning for a 2ftcube mixed reef. 10tubes of t5 or 250watt mh 12k bulb with 2 tubes of t5? Thanks in advance! Need more suggestion! Pls!

[Reefzzz]

Hi guys..wanted to know which 1 will u all prefer in term of colour and growth for the lightning for a 2ftcube mixed reef. 10tubes of t5 or 250watt mh 12k bulb with 2 tubes of t5? Thanks in advance! Need more suggestion! Pls!

bro, go for the mh la. To replace 10tubes of T5 is no joke to the pocket... The shimmering effect achieve by mh is much nicer as well

[ReefzLover]

bro, go for the mh la. To replace 10tubes of T5 is no joke to the pocket... The shimmering effect achieve by mh is much nicer as well

oh ya..never tot of changing 10tubes of t5..hahas! think will go for mh then. thanks so much for reminding me of changing 10tubes of t5..lols!

[planula]

Hi Reefz lover

i think you have to consider a few issues:

1. the PAR (Photosynthetically Available Radiation) / PPFD (Photosynthetic Photon FLux Density) requirements (ie. quantity) as well as spectral quality (ie. color) requirements of your intended captive inhabitants. Several articles by Dana Riddle and Sanjay Joshi in the Adavnced Aquarist Mag should provide u with some leads on the lighting requirements

2.your spectral preference (ie. what colour do u prefer looking at). again, Feldman et al. (2008) in the march issue of AA Mag will illuminate u (pardon the pun)

3. the depth of ur pocket. i agree with Reefzzz on the cost issue.

Hope this helps.

[oceanus]

Hi Reefz lover

i think you have to consider a few issues:

1. the PAR (Photosynthetically Available Radiation) / PPFD (Photosynthetic Photon FLux Density) requirements (ie. quantity) as well as spectral quality (ie. color) requirements of your intended captive inhabitants. Several articles by Dana Riddle and Sanjay Joshi in the Adavnced Aquarist Mag should provide u with some leads on the lighting requirements

2.your spectral preference (ie. what colour do u prefer looking at). again, Feldman et al. (2008) in the march issue of AA Mag will illuminate u (pardon the pun)

3. the depth of ur pocket. i agree with Reefzzz on the cost issue.

Hope this helps.

And not forgetting the running cost in the long run.. esp when the electricity bill going north nowsaday..

[serravorte]

upz for MH...

currently the best light so far is still MH...

tt's my personal opinion....

give the reef a boost of light bro...

been having another big plan going??

[angelfishlover]

Hmm MH the cost running it will be wow!!!T5 for mixed reef around 6x24watts should be enough.If 10x 24 watts will be 240watts 10 less watts than MH.

[vt_snowman87]

i'm running a mixed reef and currently using 8x 24W.. more than enough.. good for sps and other softies at the bottom..

personally i prefer T5s as they give a wider spectrum of colour temperatures u can choose from to tweak the lighting to sooth your preferences.. more blue, or more purplish, or more red, or more white, entirely flexible by utilising the wide array of tubes available in the market.. just my personal opinion.. even with 6 T5s it will not lose to a 250W.. provided with a good fixture and good tubes..

don't forget how hot MH is.. T5 is hot, but not as hot..

just my views..

[angelfishlover]

i'm running a mixed reef and currently using 8x 24W.. more than enough.. good for sps and other softies at the bottom..

personally i prefer T5s as they give a wider spectrum of colour temperatures u can choose from to tweak the lighting to sooth your preferences.. more blue, or more purplish, or more red, or more white, entirely flexible by utilising the wide array of tubes available in the market.. just my personal opinion.. even with 6 T5s it will not lose to a 250W.. provided with a good fixture and good tubes..

don't forget how hot MH is.. T5 is hot, but not as hot..

just my views..

MH is too hot till it burns the cash in your pocket/parents pocket

You guys should know what i mean

[sherman]

With electricity cost going North I will recomend T5.

Many had proof not problem for both SPS and LPS.

Long run you may look at LED when it become more affordable

for the general market.

Save your pocket and save the earth

[thomas_lim]

IMO, MH is still the better lighting compare to T5/LED if we are not looking power/heat.

For tank with 1.5Ft and below, you will do fine with a good quality T5. Anything deeper, you will need MH if you need to place corals on sandbed.

For calm keeper, MH is probably the best as it being out the colours of your clam.

Just my own observation.

[ambystoma82]

u BUY MH = BUY CHILLER = LESS EVAPORATION MORE wattage ELECTRICITY

u buy T5 + FAN = more evaporation less wattage ELECTRICITY (4 X t5 + 1 FAN = below 28degrees)

however topping up water price can never exceed (xtra wattage for MH than t5 & chiller electricity price)

i so far only hear of 1 person use MH with fan and w/o chiller...but he disappear liaoz..(maybe e price of topping up water killed him...)

FYI for 2 feet cube i dun suggest Mh,if u take focus/wide spread beam for bulb not much place shift ur corals to hide,also dependant on flow restriction to place ur corals...

lastly if u think MH can keep better corals than t5 then maybe it might be a mental barrier,due to impression given by MH reefers always get gd resutls and nt knwing what secrets they dose in their water.

[ReDDeviLs]

IMO, MH is still the better lighting compare to T5/LED if we are not looking power/heat.

For tank with 1.5Ft and below, you will do fine with a good quality T5. Anything deeper, you will need MH if you need to place corals on sandbed.

For calm keeper, MH is probably the best as it being out the colours of your clam.

Just my own observation.

agree,esp on the clam apart.

but ofcos 1 have to take note that its not always more lighting means better, might be too overkill resulting in bleachin!

[RockyBoy]

IMO, MH is still the better lighting compare to T5/LED if we are not looking power/heat.

For tank with 1.5Ft and below, you will do fine with a good quality T5. Anything deeper, you will need MH if you need to place corals on sandbed.

For calm keeper, MH is probably the best as it being out the colours of your clam.

Just my own observation.

Yup, nothing beats the MH if you are keeping full sps. But then, since the electricity price is high, may be have to re-adjust to use LED or T5 and make the tank shallower. Maintenance in terms of runnig cost will be cheaper and easier to do pruning , etc...

[TayHongSiang]

u BUY MH = BUY CHILLER = LESS EVAPORATION MORE wattage ELECTRICITY

u buy T5 + FAN = more evaporation less wattage ELECTRICITY (4 X t5 + 1 FAN = below 28degrees)

however topping up water price can never exceed (xtra wattage for MH than t5 & chiller electricity price)

i so far only hear of 1 person use MH with fan and w/o chiller...but he disappear liaoz..(maybe e price of topping up water killed him...)

FYI for 2 feet cube i dun suggest Mh,if u take focus/wide spread beam for bulb not much place shift ur corals to hide,also dependant on flow restriction to place ur corals...

lastly if u think MH can keep better corals than t5 then maybe it might be a mental barrier,due to impression given by MH reefers always get gd resutls and nt knwing what secrets they dose in their water.

You can check out this website at http://www.nano-reef.com/