T5 or LED?

[Bryan47]

Hey everyone! My tank is running fallow because of an ich outbreak so I'm making some equipment upgrades! My first question is whether I should go t5 or LED. The LED fixture I'm in love with is the Orbit marine LED. My tank is 48inches so I would get the one that's 48inches long to cover tank. I love the features especially the cloudy day and the thunderstorm! However my main concern is good lighting. I haven't added any corals yet because I want to make sure I have good lighting. The orbit marine led would run me $185 on amazon.

My other option is a 4 t5 bulb fixture with timer that would run me $110 or I can get a 6 bulb t5 fixture with timer for $160. What is my best option? I was thinking maybe a combination of both? I can get a 2 bulb fixture for $49 and the marine orbit led. Or I could get one orbit marine led and save for a second one? It's really so many options!

Please help with the decision! I don't have $500 for a hydra system right now so around $200 is where I wanna be. Thank you!!!

 

[Reefing Madness]

If your thinking corals then I'd go with the T5 myself. That Orbit unit has 192 LEDs, but its only 46watts, not enough light.

 

[wildcrazyjoker81]

That Orbit unit would really limit what you could keep in the coral department (if any). I would also recommend the T5 setup unless you can pony up a couple more dollars and get some better LED's.

 

[Bryan47]

Ordered a quad t5 unit! Thanks guys!