Lighintg choices.... (1 Viewer)

[Guest]

Well im bout to order lighting for my 20L nano and i cant decide. My budget will either allow 48 watts of T5HO, or 130 watts of PC. Would the T5 lighting be strong enough to be compared to 130 watts of PC?? Im looking at being able to keep anything i want, but i dont want clams or SPS.

 

[MarkieB]

In the long run I think you will be much happier with the T5's.

PC's really have a lot of negatives, IMO!

Look around the threads for more info. This debate was just held last week. There is a lot of good info in that thread!

I looked around but can't find it , sorry!

I doubt anyone who has kept a tank over a year would recommend pc's for you! They are very expensive to upkeep, if you change the bulbs every 6 months like you will need too!

 

[Guest]

wish i could edit thread title but i just read alot of old threads and decided to go with T5. I just dont have enough money for a good t-5 setup right now. I was hoping i could cycle without lights for now that way ill have enough to have a great T-5 setup after cycling is done. what would th epros and cons be for cycling without lights?

 

[MarkieB]

I would recommend you to save and cycle with no lights then.
I cant really think of any cons to cycling without lighting.

If I had your choice to make I would cycle with no lights, then buy a good T5 set up when you can, and before you add corals.

Lots of people cure rocks for months with no lighting at all, and prefer this method. It kills a lot of bad algae. I almost go out on a limb and even suggest cycling with no lighting would be better than with because of this.

Others may have different feelings, but I say go without the lights for now!

 

[toefu]

realisticly, you ought to be able to get a used PC setup for ultra cheap. Most people here have a set of run down 55 watt pc's sitting in their closet ever since they upgraded to halide/T5/VHO.

The good : You should be able to get a workhorse 5/7 w/ end caps for very very cheap.

The bad : isn't it a bit strange why it is sitting in a closet and no longer in use?

Not saying that PC's are no good, just pointing out a trend.

 

[Guest]

You can get the ballast for cheap. do a search for workhorse 7 ballast. I think they are only $35.

PC s are good just got to spend the money for a good brand of bulbs. Jebo and coralife both suck. light those up next to a sunpaq bulb and their is a huge difference.

 

[Guest]

Id say dont waste your money on PC, just wait until you got enough cash for some T5s or halides

 

[MarkieB]

The bad : isn't it a bit strange why it is sitting in a closet and no longer in use?

Strange ? no....

There is a reason why you see used pc set ups for sale all the time.

 

[Guest]

if anyone wants to sell them cheap i will more then likely be able to buy them in the next month. they are for my 75/50/20 system

 

[BrianPlankis]

Yeah, save your money, that $35 you spend on a PC light ballast can go towards your better T5 light set when you are ready for it. Cycling a tank does not require lights and like Mark said it could reduce bad algae.

B.

 

[incysor]

wish i could edit thread title but i just read alot of old threads and decided to go with T5. I just dont have enough money for a good t-5 setup right now. I was hoping i could cycle without lights for now that way ill have enough to have a great T-5 setup after cycling is done. what would th epros and cons be for cycling without lights?

As far as I'm concerned there are no cons to cycling with the lights off.

I've cycled all my tanks that way, and I've never had an algae or diatom bloom like most people.

When you do start turning the lights on you need to slowly ramp up your photoperiod though. If you suddenly turn them on for the full photoperiod you'd like, you're likely to get algae/diatom blooms just because you're adding a lot of energy/heat to the system that it's not used to. Much like suddenly stocking heavily.

I just started with about half my normal photo period then increased the photoperiod by a couple hours each week til I got it where I wanted it. If I started to see algae, then I cut it back by an hour.

B

 

[Guest]

I know for a fact my lights are not the best , but i went with odyssa 24 in T5HO's for the price. I am pleased with them and have had no problems.
I am not sure of the limits of them, as far as what i can hold in my 20gal.

I wound up getting 2 fixtures of (24 per bulb) them for a total of 96 watts total. Came with 12000k & actinic's

They were 80 bucks + shipping.

Here is a pic , but not the best. Not in dark with glass dirty.

 

[incysor]

Where did you order them from?

B

 

[Guest]

Reefaholic....not to sound rude or like a smartass but for the $160+ you paid for your lights you could have gotten a DIY 175W MH (ballast, bulb, reflector, etc...) from either hellolights or from someone on here for about the same price if not a little bit less. Unless of course you dont have a canopy, but even then you can rig up a hanger out of pvc for about $15.

And just kind of a broad generalization....but I dont think people realize how comparably priced MH setups are if you just get the components and put them together yourself in a canopy. Its really easy to do, you dont even need a soldering iron if you dont know how or want to use one.

 

[Guest]

Also if you look those blue bulbs arent actinics they are plan blue bulbs. I had the odysea setup and unless they have changed in the last year it has a plan blue 65K bulb and not a true actinic bulb.

 

[Guest]

Also if you look those blue bulbs arent actinics they are plan blue bulbs. I had the odysea setup and unless they have changed in the last year it has a plan blue 65K bulb and not a true actinic bulb.
TFD sales them for $75 thats where i bought mine.

 

[Guest]

Reefaholic....not to sound rude or like a smartass but for the $160+ you paid for your lights you could have gotten a DIY 175W MH (ballast, bulb, reflector, etc...) from either hellolights or from someone on here for about the same price if not a little bit less. Unless of course you dont have a canopy, but even then you can rig up a hanger out of pvc for about $15.

And just kind of a broad generalization....but I dont think people realize how comparably priced MH setups are if you just get the components and put them together yourself in a canopy. Its really easy to do, you dont even need a soldering iron if you dont know how or want to use one.

No i totally understand, but i paid 80 bucks altogether for both sets + shipping.

Thanks for the pricing in case i want to invest in MH later.

I got these lights from aquatraders.com (i had no problems with these people even though some have).

I want to know more about how these bulbs are not true actinics and what plan blue bulbs are. They are not coated and are white when off if that helps.

 

[Guest]

well a true actinic bulb says it and if you read on these they say just a blue bulb. king of like those colored light bulbs you can buy at wal-mart.

Like i said when i bought mine a year ago they didnt come with actinics. they might come with them now. I dont know. look at the end of the bulb and if it says actinic then its actinic and they have changed. It has been a year.

 

[Guest]

what length is your system?

here is the description of the JEBO Odyssea system.
Note it says blue bulb which mean the bulb is just coated with a blue stuff not actinic. its most likely a 65K with a blue coat.
This is the Odyssea by Jebo 36" NEW T-5 system. This system includes one 1200k white bulb and a blue bulb. Each bulb is 21W. Two of these systems are equivalent in brightness to one 140W PC.

 

[Guest]

lol i keep changing my mind on tank size.... im gonna obe doing a 40gal breeder. Im waiting till tank cycles to order lights which will probably be 2-96 watt PC since im planning on lower light corals anyway.