Best MH (400w) system for a 40 gallon breeder?

[crharvel]

Thanks Grins. The LFS has a 150w coralife hang on for $250 but I still am having a hard time justifying the $100 difference for something that has less wattage! But then again I dont hear reefers talking about their T5's like I do their MH's!

 

[Grins]

Have you considered used via Craigslist or better yet your local reef club? I picked up my MH through a local club member. Basically paid for the new bulbs and got the retrofit kit for free.

 

[archer772]

crharvel if you want to here some people talking about ther T-5 setups then go over to http://www.michiganreefers.com/ and http://reefcentral.com/index.php? and ask some questions and you will get a lot of people giving you some info. You are right Grins it is the individual reflectors that really make the T-5's so good but even with the unit he posted it would still be a very good light on that shallow of a tank much better than the PC's in my opinion. You could get retros fairly cheap if you have a canopy to mount them in. Remember with the right ballast you can get up 2 years out of the bulbs so that should be considered in the overall price also

 

[crharvel]

Thanks archer. The cost of bulbs combined with the life expectancy is a great point. If the halide bulbs last considerably longer, this may tip the comparable cost equation.

If the T5's last up to two years, what is the expected life for a halide bulb?

 

[Grins]

Depends how long you run them. About a year though.

 

[Squawkbert]

Re setting T5 fixtures on the glass top - I wouldn't unless they were in a fixture w/ good fans at each end and even then, I'd prop it up 2-3" and see how hot the glass was getting before lowering.

 

[Amphiprion]

A 400w system will most definitely be brighter than any T5 setup you can get over that tank. Believe me, I love my T5s, but the comparison breaks down once you begin to move up to 400w. They are really only comparable to 250w (and there are some 250w that are significantly brighter). BTW, I would not run a T5 fixture without running fans. They run at an optimum temperature and adding fans can increase intensity by up to 25%. I would use a widespread, efficient reflector (lumenarc, maybe a mini would work best). You can then make bulb choices and ballast choices based on color and the amount of PAR. That being said, 400w is unnecessary but not unheard of (trust me) on a tank that size. The pendants, etc. that you listed earlier don't really have a good enough spread for that tank. The lumenarc will allow you a more even spread, so you don't have one gigantic bright spot and really dim side areas.