T5 4,6,8 bulb is there big difference?

[Ramon Estevez]

I have 3 black boxes on a 125 gallon aquarium that do ok with lighting and coral colors. My first tank ran with T5 4 bulb fixture I liked the even light distribution and coral did good under it. I’m wondering if you get a big difference with a 4 bulb or an 8 bulb fixture other than intensity and being able to handle sps.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

BB can do sps and any thing else.

T5 is just a different tool and needs to used differently.
Coverage is the first one.
I mimicked t5 coverage with more boxes.

There are or were , as many lame t5 tubes as there are led out ther, spectrally speaking.

 

[jda]

A lot depends on the width of a tank. 4 bulb can light a 13" deep 55G whereas you might need 6 or 8 for a 24" deep 120G.

The type of SPS matter too - MBP&S have different light requirements than most acropora does.

 

[A. grandis]

Just get a fixture that will cover the most of the area over the tank.
The more bulbs, the more wattage/PAR, and the better are the chances for spectrum combinations.
Grandis.

 

[Velcro]

Tank brightness is another big factor. Also, more bulb slots gives you the opportunity to run low par bulbs like pure actinics without sacrificing too much overall PAR as well as visual brightness.

 

[A. grandis]

^ Very true! ^
T5s are never too much!!
And please make sure you get one True Actinic running in the middle.

You could also play with the channels in case you want to use only 4 bulbs for a longer period of time in a 6 bulb fixture, for example.

Grandis.