Help with an age old debate - MH or T5?

[jda]

You don't need to be able to adjust DE stuff since they are centered already.

 

[JCOLE]

I know you asked @jda, but if it were me I’d get the largest reflectors you can without getting larger than the tank itself. My chief complaint about the lumenbright minis are how narrow the spread is. They punch so deep but have a narrow light cone. As bad as a black box. Also the cayman sun mogul choice doesn’t have an adjustable socket. Meaning depending on your bulb choice you could get some goofy intensity distribution. Just something to think of.

Honestly I was going to tag you as well. I was on the fly and I always associate halide with @jda lol.

Cool. That is what I am leaning towards as well with the Cabo Sun system. I like the pricing and it includes the bulb and ballast. Any thoughts on the Hamilton 14k bulb? Also, would 250w or 400w be best for my size tank?

What about going all T5 route? I don't want to sacrifice performance but for less than half the cost it might be worth it?

 

[JCOLE]

If you decide to go with SE halides (instead of DE), I would highly recommend the large Lumen Brite reflectors (if you don't care about appearance). I doubt there is any reflector or pendant that will give as good a spread as those. Will give a pretty good, uniform spread over a 2' x 2' area. They are my favorites. (No glass though, in case that matters.)

I will take a look into those. Really liking the Hamilton Cabo system because of the large size. Do you prefer SE or DE?

 

[Bpb]

You don't need to be able to adjust DE stuff since they are centered already.

right I just mentioned it because I’ve seen both SE and DE thrown around in the discussion so wanted to make sure that fact wasnt overlooked if he happened to stumble upon the mogul option of that reflector

 

[JCOLE]

The Cabo system has the adjustable bracket so I could move the bulb in case of size.

The Cebu system I was originally looking at had that problem where you cant move them to the middle.

 

[Dr. Jim]

I will take a look into those. Really liking the Hamilton Cabo system because of the large size. Do you prefer SE or DE?

I've used them both but prefer SE.

 

[Dr. Jim]

The Cabo system has the adjustable bracket so I could move the bulb in case of size.

The Cebu system I was originally looking at had that problem where you cant move them to the middle.

I recently bought a 24" Cebu Sun 250W for a small cube tank. It is true that the bulb is not centered. It may not be so off=centered with a 400 but I think it will still be off a little. Some day I may look into moving the socket.
In general, it is a very nice fixture with 3 power cords: halide; inner T5's and outer T5's with the fan. The only thing I didn't like were the legs. I specifically wanted a fixture I didn't have to hang. But the legs are metal which is pretty stupid...(they will rust). For now, I wrapped them in a thick clear plastic bag. (This tank isn't for "show."). If you plan to hang the light, then this is a mute point of course.

On my next build, I'm going with large Lumen Brites that will be in an enclosed hood with a glass bottom. The ends will be connected to a ventilation system. I don't have the exact plans yet, but will look into being able to divert the heat outside in the summer and into my house heat duct system in the winter.