Better choice?

[clowns101]

Metal Halide vs. t5?

Which is better and for what reasons?I wont take personal experiance stories on this,I want more "scintific" information if anyone has any.

Im looking for the best growth out of my SPS on my new tank,and color of cource!

Let me know what information you guys have on the better of the two!

Thanks!

 

[Troylee]

Don't think there is any scientifical info man...it's all preference IMHO..

 

[clowns101]

Maybe Im shooting in the dark here...lol

 

[lps1212]

Maybe Im shooting in the dark here...lol

I think shooting in the dark you are I'm with Troylee its all about personal preference imo I believe sps will get better growth with mh but I believe that t5 gives better pop so go with mh as main light source and t5 as supplemental maybe 2 actincs I have seen acouple of tanks with that type of setup and seem to have both growth and pop

 

[Lateral72]

Maybe Im shooting in the dark here...lol

I think you are. lol. ;)

Both can put out the same amount of light, in the right circumstances. But T5's run cooler, and the lighting spectrum is almost infinitely adjustable.

 

[SAZAMA]

this is now thread number 1,364,425 about this same topic. dose anyone search anything anymore? but I say MH with T5 actinic.

 

[clowns101]

this is now thread number 1,364,425 about this same topic. dose anyone search anything anymore? but I say MH with T5 actinic.

Sorry about that!I do alot of research,but at times its nice to hear some talk from some fellow friends about the saem topic other than words in a artical!

 

[Troylee]

this is now thread number 1,364,425 about this same topic. dose anyone search anything anymore? but I say MH with T5 actinic.

Actually the first I have heard of any one asking for scientifical backings... Of course there is a million t5 vs. Mh threads but I have never heard some one ask for scientifical backings..;)

 

[Raggamuffin]

paging Dr. Sanjay....

 

[dougers31]

What size tank and what depth can make a difference.

 

[SteezySPS]

I know nothing about spectrum par lux etc but I will say, I use both but if I had to only use one it would be all t5's. I would never use just mh alone

 

[ronnie]

Not too scientific, but I'm seeing equal growth in my 120 (25" tall) from 10k 250w MH and my now 8 bulb Tek light. This is IMO, thus the non-scientific aspect.

 

[cdness]

MH/T-5/LED - They have all been proven to grow corals and provide different levels of color.

They all have their pros and cons outside of growing corals. Since they all work for that I would say look at the other specs like power usage, heat dissipation, shimmer or no shimmer, startup and replacement costs, DIY or not DIY, etc...

 

[gar732]

It could be figured out scientifically with the proper setup. You would need two tanks with the same dimensions sharing the same sump (so water conditions would be the same). You would also have to set up each identically using the same powerheads and positioned the same. You can then get frags of the same approx size from the same colony and position them at the same height in the tanks and monitor there growth over a period of time under the different lighting systems. The only variables would be bulbs and fixtures which can make a huge difference within itself. Short of having done something like this everything else would be opinion. It would be a cool experiment, I'd try it myself if I had the space and equipment.