whats more efficient? and worth the switch?

[Poseidon]

im currently running a 48" mh t5 combo
2 -250w mh,
4- t5s

Im wondering if an 8 bulb t5 would:

-be more efficient electricity wise
-and be able to sustain the same amount of par for my tank.

tank is 30" deep.

no glen, i dont want to go led yet because ill only have this tank for another year or so.

dont even want to hear '' go LED'', dont bother posting

 

[Jewel]

716 watts vs 432 watts, I doubt you'll be able to duplicate the conditions with a 30 inch tank, Like or not LED is the way to go if you want to save money.

 

[monizb]

I went from 3 mh with 4 power compact to the 8 bulb ati and love it and lots of light and coral growth and added a strip of led for moon lights


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[spyd]

An 8 lamp fixture would definitely work on your tank. You will still have decent par at the bottom of your tank, even at a 30" depth. Like Jim mentioned, you would be saving a good chunk of hydro switching over. 716w currently to 432w with the 8 lamp fixture. The thing is though you would have to factor in the additional cost of lamps, 8 x $25 once a year and the cost of the new fixture. It would take a while to get your money back.

If you did switch, I would suggest a lamp combo of 5 x Blue Plus, 2 x Coral Plus and 1 x Purple Plus. The light comes off not too blue and not too white either with a whole lot of par.

 

[Poseidon]

An 8 lamp fixture would definitely work on your tank. You will still have decent par at the bottom of your tank, even at a 30\" depth. Like Jim mentioned, you would be saving a good chunk of hydro switching over. 716w currently to 432w with the 8 lamp fixture. The thing is though you would have to factor in the additional cost of lamps, 8 x $25 once a year and the cost of the new fixture. It would take a while to get your money back.

If you did switch, I would suggest a lamp combo of 5 x Blue Plus, 2 x Coral Plus and 1 x Purple Plus. The light comes off not too blue and not too white either with a whole lot of par.

thats one thing that was on my mind was bulb cost BUT
my mh cost- $200.00 per year (50x2, 25x4)
and the 8 bulbs would cost the same no? (8x25)

im def going to do some looking to see what i could do,
another thing is, alot of the t5 fixtures dont have moonlights correct?

 

[nexusnight]

Most t5 fixtures that are good do not have moonlights. Unless u go to the new ati led t5 combo. U could easily get away with a 6 bulb hybrid on that tank I think. These new fixtures are par monsters but they arnt cheap lol.


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[curiousphil]

[deleted comments]Realized you were talking actual bulb cost not hydro costs.

On the moonlight thing, I've actually seen several T5 units that have LED moonlights built in.  But yeah not the ATI units.

 

[Poseidon]

[deleted comments]Realized you were talking actual bulb cost not hydro costs.

On the moonlight thing, I've actually seen several T5 units that have LED moonlights built in.  But yeah not the ATI units.

no no! hydro costs are important too!

bulb costs is actually not a big deal at all as it works out to be the same,

hydro is the big one, without sacrificing par for 30'' depth

 

[curiousphil]

I was just going to say that when comparing the wattage differences between your current unit (250w*2+54w*4=716w) vs an 8 bulb T5 unit (54w*8=432w), you are looking at a 40% savings on hydro.  Assuming you use 4 foot bulbs... I can't remember how wide your tank is.

 

[Poseidon]

I was just going to say that when comparing the wattage differences between your current unit (250w*2+54w*4=716w) vs an 8 bulb T5 unit (54w*8=432w), you are looking at a 40% savings on hydro.  Assuming you use 4 foot bulbs... I can't remember how wide your tank is.

yea its all 4ft so your right there.

but for par, is it going to work that way?
i know what spyd said but i would like to hear a few more ppl agree

 

[Petercar (RIP Dec 2017)]

[quote author=spyd link=topic=7509.msg77504#msg77504 date=1390217756]
An 8 lamp fixture would definitely work on your tank. You will still have decent par at the bottom of your tank, even at a 30\" depth. Like Jim mentioned, you would be saving a good chunk of hydro switching over. 716w currently to 432w with the 8 lamp fixture. The thing is though you would have to factor in the additional cost of lamps, 8 x $25 once a year and the cost of the new fixture. It would take a while to get your money back.

If you did switch, I would suggest a lamp combo of 5 x Blue Plus, 2 x Coral Plus and 1 x Purple Plus. The light comes off not too blue and not too white either with a whole lot of par.

thats one thing that was on my mind was bulb cost BUT
my mh cost- $200.00 per year (50x2, 25x4)
and the 8 bulbs would cost the same no? (8x25)

im def going to do some looking to see what i could do,
another thing is, alot of the t5 fixtures dont have moonlights correct?
[/quote]the aquaticlife fixtures have builtin moonlights. and  3 seperate timers .. builtin to one led display

 

[jroovers]

Your PAR will undoubtedly change.  However, I wouldn't hesitate to put an 8 bulb fixture over your tank at that depth and expect things to grow near the bottom of the tank without much difficulty.  Your spread of light will change with the T5s over MHs more than anything - you should have more uniform coverage with less "hot spots" with MHs, so that is something to think about.  You should find that your PAR is more uniform from spot to spot throughout your tank, with it dropping off at the ends of course (and the deeper you go too).  Really, I think it is an advantage.  Your bulb choice is going to have an impact as well.  I think Spyd's recommendation in this regard was solid - still great PAR with those Blue +'s, and a nice look. 

 

[Jewel]

I guess I'm a fan of MH, I can't see how the par would be even close, sure more even coverage but realistically there's quite a difference in wattage there. I'm using T-5 my self but I think 2 250 MH is a lot brighter than my 6 T-5 and then you've got another 4 54 watt T-5, That's an awesome light but you need it for that depth, Sorry you may not want to hear that just my 2 cents

 

[Reef Hero]

Brandon,

You can't go wrong with the ati fixture with ati bulbs....
It's your best bet besides MH.... Some will disagree with me but good choice on not going with led.... I see more and more reefers who are growing acros switch back to t5 or even mh....
If you recall there was a guy on here named tom baker from chesterfield,mi who was all led with a massive tank full of sps... He has kinda faded away from this forum.... But last most might recall is that he was having some major issues with numerous acros. Well, his tank is doing fabulous now if you check it out over on michigan reefers forum. But you will notice he has changed his lighting setup...no longer all led....
Anyways, back to the ati fixture.... The 30" depth is no concern IMO and in fact will likely be more beneficial to you if you plan on growing Lps, zoos, chalice, or other low light corals on the sand bed. If you plan on growing sps, especially acros down there then it could pose an issue....
I know that with my ati fixture I get "too much" light on my sand bed for some corals and keep in mind I use 3 actinic bulbs which are not high in par by any means....so in my 75g with my ati fixture I am seeing about 300 par on the sand bed...
So what I am trying to say is that I think u will find the deeper tank no issue at all as long as u don't plan on growing sps on the sandbed....

 

[Jewel]

I'll agree the ATI with ATI bulbs is a Superior light, If you go to AP there's an ATI 8 Bulb unit for sale 400 bucks mind you it's only 36 inch or better yet I think Jerry has them for sale as well. The one on AP is the Power Module, I was thinking about getting it but it really limits the access to the tank, My Guiessman Reflexx is just fine, with ATI bulbs of course.

 

[Poseidon]

I guess I'm a fan of MH, I can't see how the par would be even close, sure more even coverage but realistically there's quite a difference in wattage there. I'm using T-5 my self but I think 2 250 MH is a lot brighter than my 6 T-5 and then you've got another 4 54 watt T-5, That's an awesome light but you need it for that depth, Sorry you may not want to hear that just my 2 cents

no its all good jim, i do like my mh fixture, but i want more spread and lower power bills.

 

[Jewel]

Not sure why you don't want to go LED, For me I just didn't like the Disco ball effect, But a lot guys love em, You could build a fixture that would suits your needs pretty affordable OR I just happen to have a LED build that could be customized to your needs. 51 LEDs. Just Thinking is all

 

[Poseidon]

Not sure why you don't want to go LED, For me I just didn't like the Disco ball effect, But a lot guys love em, You could build a fixture that would suits your needs pretty affordable OR I just happen to have a LED build that could be customized to your needs. 51 LEDs. Just Thinking is all

I'm only planning on having this tank for another year or so , so it would be stupid to custom build one for my dimensions and the store bought fixtures are just to much dough, but NO LED TALK !!!! Lol

 

[Petercar (RIP Dec 2017)]

see theres a new post put up by aquariums by design.  aquaticlife 6 bulb. ..799 for 399. and they have builtin moonlights

 

[Jewel]

ok but you know this fixture I've got or should I say DIY build wouldn't cost you any cash just a simple trade for a real nice green brain or multi colour torch, might be worth a look.