xxBarneyxx
Fish Aficionado
Well thanks to overpaying my tax last year I find myself (for once) with some spare cash.
The T5 tubes (6 of them) over my current Jewel vision 450 (5x2x2 more or less) need to be replaced soon which is going to cost the better part of £100.
I have been thinking of replacing the T5's for a long time now but I'm still not sure if I want to. One of the main considerations at the moment is that the T5's burn a LOAD of electric.
I was thinking of going for LEDS but this still seems like a very expensive option if I want to completely replace my T5's and is still not 100% proven in the long run (unless someone can show me otherwise). If I went LED I would go for a DIY build as I could get way more light for the price then the commercial systems.
MH might be an option (I don't really do SPS corals so don't need stupidly high amounts of light). This would reduce the cost of bulbs and if I'm correct should use about the same amount of electric as similar wattage T5's (assuming I get an electronic starter)?
So as a hypothetical if you had a budget of about £500 max and needed to light a 5x2x2 softie/LPS tank (and already had the T5's) what would you get and why?
I'am tempted to just keep the T5's and use the money on stocking instead
The T5 tubes (6 of them) over my current Jewel vision 450 (5x2x2 more or less) need to be replaced soon which is going to cost the better part of £100.
I have been thinking of replacing the T5's for a long time now but I'm still not sure if I want to. One of the main considerations at the moment is that the T5's burn a LOAD of electric.
I was thinking of going for LEDS but this still seems like a very expensive option if I want to completely replace my T5's and is still not 100% proven in the long run (unless someone can show me otherwise). If I went LED I would go for a DIY build as I could get way more light for the price then the commercial systems.
MH might be an option (I don't really do SPS corals so don't need stupidly high amounts of light). This would reduce the cost of bulbs and if I'm correct should use about the same amount of electric as similar wattage T5's (assuming I get an electronic starter)?
So as a hypothetical if you had a budget of about £500 max and needed to light a 5x2x2 softie/LPS tank (and already had the T5's) what would you get and why?
I'am tempted to just keep the T5's and use the money on stocking instead
