I had T5 for a few years 20 years back. Eight new bulbs a year cost a packet though the blue actinic were good. Not many UK hobbyists using MH as our energy costs have increased by leaps and bounds.
Well the bulb cost.. but considering the cost of name brand fixtures and the amount to get proper spread on a densely packed SPS tank, they don't save a ton by not buying bulbs because people generally do not hold onto the same LED long enough. In fact, many add t5's to take care of shadowing.
So it just depends, I would not discount as t5 being more expensive in every case. Depends if a person buys main brand led vs the cheaper brands, if they change bulbs every 6 months or every 12 months (some do 18), and how long they hold on their led's. If they upgrade every gen or even every few gen (which many do, some even upgrade every generation), then cost of LED gets pretty expensive compared to bulbs if they are running a lot of fixtures for coverage.
Now softy/LPS/mixed tanks can get away with less led fixtures ofc which makes led more attractive.
There are other negatives to t5 such as perhaps heating up your house/apartment to consider ofc. That is why I got rid of mine as the house I rent is old and the cooling basically sucks in my house which makes it uncomfortable in summer to have a t5 blasting. Otherwise t5 gave me the most consistent/easy results to grow whatever and bulb cost isn't even a factor to me. I bought my t5 fixture used for $200 and it covers a 4 foot tank to grow anything, cheap as heck way to get happy corals. I now have two radions I bought used for $750 including the hanging stuff and two xr15 isn't enough for SPS dominant so its less powerful then the original t5 (I keep softies/lps now but had a full mix under t5). It would be 4 years of bulb changes to break even (not taking into account electricity cost to be fair). After 4 years, I would want to replace my LED's anyways as the components do wear. That is hoping they don't break after the warranty as the parts are not easily serviceable by just anyone. The t5 components can all be bought and replaced by just about anyone so the fixture should last as long as parts exist.
But you are talking about buying 6 corals... which is an extra cost vs just buying one which again will favor t5/Mh if you don't have to buy 6 just to keep one happy. Bulbs are often cheaper then corals these days.
Idk.. I guess I am saying I would not discount t5 immediately depending on the situation. Especially if you are struggling with understanding par/placement.
Also buying a par meter is probably a better investment then buying 6 corals every time but it still means understanding par.
Oh god that was too long of a post.
