Pc Or T5

[Deep Freeze]

Well, I've decided that if I want a marine tank, I want to bring out the color of my fishes. I just don't want to spend a lot on lighting. So, I have found two lighting fixtures that I like. This PChttp/www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~idP...1022~tab~0.html and this T5http/www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~Sea...ts~vendor~.html
I honestly don't know which one to opt for. This will be mainly a FOWLR system, but I may add a few corals down the road if possible. If any of you know of any other preferred lighting fixtures available in 30", than please fill me in, but so far those are my favorites. Also, with these lighting fixtures, what corals if any will I be able to keep? Just keep in mind that I hardly know anything about marine lighting systems.

 

[Deep Freeze]

Anyone?

 

[garuf]

Anyone?

i think the lack of replies could be because powercompacts are almost certainly T5's

 

[jspence1]

Here comes the confusion...... In my opinion T5 and PC are not the same (different lenghts, different pins, different fixtures, different outputs). I went through the same thing a few months ago trying to decide between the two. In the end I opted for the PC's just because They packed more light in the same space. I don't know how much light you need for a marine tank but I'm guessing that you have a 29G tank so the T5 would give 1.65 WPG and the PC 4.48 WPG. I don't know anything about marine lighting but if memory serves me from my light search corals need high light 4+WPG ( remember you can use only 1 bulb in the PC if you don't have corals) I'd also look into the bulbs that your lfs has in stock. You don't want to be special ordering blubs if you can avoid it. The PC bulbs are expensive so be sure to get the fixture with the right bulbs for your set up.


Good luck
John

PS look on amazon.com if your from the US I found my light on there for $30 less than anywhere else. Watch the stores that give you the bulbs for "free" when you purchase the fixture, the bulbs aren't covered if damaged during shipping. 3% of all lights shipped arrived damaged.

 

[Deep Freeze]

Thank you very much John! You've cleared up a lot of my confusion.

 

[SkiFletch]

Next time, post in the saltwater section if you want the oppinions of reefers

I'll assume that your 30" long tank is a standard 29g (30x12x24"). In which case if you wan't to grow corals you'll pretty much have to go with the PC fixture. If you just want to stay FOWLR, go with the dual T5. Even with the relative inefficiency of PC reflectors, the tank should do much better with more than twice the lighting of the PCs.

 

[Deep Freeze]

Next time, post in the saltwater section if you want the oppinions of reefers

I'll assume that your 30" long tank is a standard 29g (30x12x24"). In which case if you wan't to grow corals you'll pretty much have to go with the PC fixture. If you just want to stay FOWLR, go with the dual T5. Even with the relative inefficiency of PC reflectors, the tank should do much better with more than twice the lighting of the PCs.

Okay, I'll put it in the SW section next time Anyway, its not a 29gal, its a 36gal AGA bow front. Would you reccommend this fixture, I know its MH, but I might get it anyway.
http/www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~Sea...ts~vendor~.html

 

[SkiFletch]

Ah the 36 bow, a unique tank. Most bowfronts have center braces across their top... If you purchase a halide fixture like you linked and use the tank un-modified, you'll get a dark spot right under the center of the tank. It's pretty easy to replace the center brace with a strip of acrylic though if you want. I'd reccomend those Current USA fixtures if you want near top of the line products. If you're handy you can make your own halide fixture for significantly less. Up to you

 

[Deep Freeze]

Thanks Ski, I totally forgot about the center brace. Couldn't I just cut it out insted of replacing it with acrylic? Anyway, do you mean like a retrofit kit? What do you have in mind? Oh, and what do you have on your reef? Do you think I would need a chiller with the current fixture? Sorry for all of the questions.

 

[SkiFletch]

Heh, it's ok . I use 2x175watt metal halides over my 65g reef. It's a lot of light... If I ran open-topped, I wouldn't need much in the way of fans, but since I have a tank full of jumping wrasses I have to have an enclosed canopy. Therefore I employ 4x120mm A/C fans which come on with the lights to cool the hood down. The fans push 80CFM each which is a LOT of airflow. But with the fans and a window-mount air conditioner in the room, my temp doesnt seem to be breaching 80F, even at the end of the light cycle.

The reason you cannot remove the brace is because it acts as structural support. Without the brace, the front and back sides of the tank bow away from each other putting undue stress on the silicone joints. This weakens them and causes them to fail longterm. Replacing it with acrylic is really easy and I'll show you how I did it on my 45g with pics this weekend.

And for affordable halide lighting, Just choose an industrial-grade 150 or 175watt metal halide pendant (usually used for outdoor or high-bay lighting) for around $40 and replace the bulb for around $50 and youv'e spent less than half the cost of the CurrentUSA fixture...

 

[Deep Freeze]

Heh, it's ok . I use 2x175watt metal halides over my 65g reef. It's a lot of light... If I ran open-topped, I wouldn't need much in the way of fans, but since I have a tank full of jumping wrasses I have to have an enclosed canopy. Therefore I employ 4x120mm A/C fans which come on with the lights to cool the hood down. The fans push 80CFM each which is a LOT of airflow. But with the fans and a window-mount air conditioner in the room, my temp doesnt seem to be breaching 80F, even at the end of the light cycle.

The reason you cannot remove the brace is because it acts as structural support. Without the brace, the front and back sides of the tank bow away from each other putting undue stress on the silicone joints. This weakens them and causes them to fail longterm. Replacing it with acrylic is really easy and I'll show you how I did it on my 45g with pics this weekend.

And for affordable halide lighting, Just choose an industrial-grade 150 or 175watt metal halide pendant (usually used for outdoor or high-bay lighting) for around $40 and replace the bulb for around $50 and youv'e spent less than half the cost of the CurrentUSA fixture...

So, you had the same situation going on for your 45 gal? Cool, and thank you for willing to show me the pics Also, What do you use to enclose your canopy? As for the industrial MH, what about moonlights? Thanks

 

[SkiFletch]

My canopy is custom made by myself. Its mostly done with plywood and a bunch of cheating with corner molding . The outside is stained and the inside is painted white and then epoxy coated because I wanted it to last forever.

As for moonlights, they serve 2 purposes IMO. Nighttime viewing (if you're into that), and simulating moon cycles for spawning reasons. Nighttime viewing can be done with LED's. You can buy cheap LED moonlights for like $10 on ebay if you want, or you can use a "cold cathode" light commonly used in computers at a similar price point. If your goal is to simulate lunar cycles, you're talking an EXPENSIVE stand-alone unit with controllers on it. Not worth the cash IMO.

 

[Deep Freeze]

As for the moonlights, I just thought it would look cool Did you have a 46gal bow front that you modded?

 

[SkiFletch]

Nope, a standard 45g, although the principle of the mod is identical

 

[Deep Freeze]

Sweet, when are you going to get pics up? Oh, and look what I found. Any idea what type of wood he used? Seems like something I might be able to pull off B)
http/www.reefland.com/forum/lighting/125...h-lighting.html