t5s or leds?

jennieb01 · May 5, 2016

so I'm new to sps after having softie and lps reefs for 3 years. I'm getting a tmc signature 900 next week and am unsure of whether to go for t5s or leds. I love the shimmer look off leds but which is truly better for keeping sps in terms of coral colour and growth? Any suggestions would be appreciated thanks in advance
an sps newbie

TheEngineer · May 5, 2016

You are going to get people from both the LED and T5 side of the fence jumping in here telling you one is superior to the other. With a tank that is 90cm (~50") across you really have a LOT of options. I'm personally a fan of LEDs, but T5 has been around for years and some people swear by them. Do you have a budget in mind? That's going to help narrow the search down substantially.

Baby Ray · May 5, 2016

This is my opinion-
T5 will get much better growth but the colors aren't as vibrant in most corals.
LEDs don't get nearly as much growth but they make the colors on corals much more vibrant.
Most LEDs can also be controlled by our phone and look a lot better.
I personally use T5s but when I build a new tank I might switch to an LED T5 combo. Remember, that is always an option.
Hope this helps :)

Chris Adams · May 5, 2016

Go T5/LED hybrid. Nothing else to debate :)

mcarroll · May 5, 2016

I actually think it's somewhat of a mistake to look at it as an either or on the basis of one being better than the other.

If you look at the results people have gotten with LEDs and T5s, it's clear that either will do just fine.

There are many other factors besides light that go into success with corals - that is why you see a dramatic differences between different users' tanks.

If you were already using T5 and having success with it I would not automatically switch. If you were fine with the budget required to maintain T5s then there really isn't a very big argument toward switching.

However, LEDs are much more efficient and power use and require replacement only every 5 to 10 years, perhaps with some power supplies replaced along the way.

How you like to play your cards, however, LED fixtures run the run the gamut of price points and feature sets. Many of the more popular commercial fixtures are so expensive you almost don't save any money in switching. YMMV, but that is not acceptable for this particular reefer. Thankfully, there are commercial as well as DIY options at the middle and lower end of the price range well.

Give us an idea of your budget and preferences and we can probably make a good recommendation.