Dimmable T5 / LED Hybrid worth the extra cost?

[eagerreefer]

Hey all,

Upgrading my mixed reef tank soon and thinking I'm going to need to upgrade my lighting as well. Moving from Lagoon 25 (24"x17"x12") to the Lagoon 50 EXT (30"x24"x16"). Currently running a single Kessil 360x and I'm already noticing some shadowing on my SPS and I'm sure it will be worse in the bigger tank. I'm thinking about going 24" T5 / LED for better spread. Aquatic life has a dimmable fixture for $500 or a standard fixture for about half of that. Do the benefits of having dimmable T5 justify the cost? Or could I achieve a similar result simply from shorting the T5 schedule?

More broadly, what do your T5 / LED schedules look like? Do you run one or the other as a dominant light source or do you take a more balanced approach?

Thanks!

 

[ianryd]

I have the Aquatic life (non-dimming) T5 hybrid combined with AI Hydras. My Hydras come on at 9 am, ramp up for an hour, then my T5 kicks on from noon to 6. Then my Hydras ramp down at 8 to all blues for a few hours for night time viewing. The way I run them I saw no need for dimmable T5.

 

[blasterman]

Most hybrid owners adjust their LEDs and dont fuss with dimmable T5 ballasts. That's the main advantage of having a hybrid.

 

[CanuckReefer]

I run my T5's full on 10 hours, my Led's are programmable and ramp up dawn and dusk an hour or two before and after, works for me over the last year or so....