I looked at the PC fixtures and they are a little less than the T5's but I was just wondering what the difference was and what would be the best choice for a 20 gallon nano?
Lighting PC's or T5's?
- Thread starter pacersfan09
- Start date
I looked at grins down and dirty shopping guide and it has powercompacts listed as low lighting. And i realize that there isnt much point to keep FOWLR nano is there cuz all you can keep is like 3 fish. I dont know give me your input please.
T5=MH in output in less than 18" of water.
CF put out about 1/2 the light of T5/MH if your lucky. To the naked eye, it doesn't seem that big of a difference, but the actual PAR wattage that comes off the lights is quite different.
CF put out about 1/2 the light of T5/MH if your lucky. To the naked eye, it doesn't seem that big of a difference, but the actual PAR wattage that comes off the lights is quite different.
T5 will deffinatly give you a better light source, because of the small tank size you could get by with pcs and still keep a good selection of corals, including some sps higher in the water column directly under the lights, but t5s would be a better way to go if you can.
There is a world or differences in T5 options out there. You might want to link us to what you're considering so we can make recommendations.
Really? First I have heard of a "terrible" T5HO. Are you just referring to cheap fixtures/ballast or are you saying there are T5HOs that only put out the same PAR wattage as a CF? I would agree there are some cheap fixtures/ballast out there, but I think even the worst T5 bulb can beat the best CF bulb. Just curious...
He didn't mention HO bulbs. He can answer for himself but for me the best of the t5 world includes not only HO bulbs but indivdiual reflectors and quality ballasts. The worst are nothing more than basic flourscent hoods with thin bulbs.
Ahhhh.. gotcha.. many people today just say "T5" when they refer to "T5HO". Most of the time I ask.. but the one time I assume.. well you know. 