leds vs t5s

scott89wing · Jan 3, 2014

have a 24 in t5 lights with 3 12000k and 3 blue bulbs need new bulbs what should i put in it to get the look of leds give off or should i just upgrade to leds ?wanna do a clam so will t5 do it or do i need leds ?

GHill762 · Jan 3, 2014

what tank size?

have you considered reefbreeders? the value fixture is pretty affordable..

or even better, you could send your fixture off to dave fason (nano-box reef) and he can retrofit some led's into it, so you can have a hybrid fixture with the best of both worlds..

ReefKeeper09 · Jan 3, 2014

I personally would vote, GO LED's. I have had LED's over all of my reef tanks for 4-5years. The ones I am running over my 20g is the AI Hydra! They are wild bright.

In my Meet & Greet post, I posted a video of my tank. In the video, the tanks LED's are only at 47%! That is the brightness they run at PEAK! Plus, the shimmer effect is remarkable.

Here is the link to my Meet & Greet Thread.

https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/meet-greet-forum/144145-hello-fl.html

What size tank do you have?

mandinga · Jan 3, 2014

If you have a quality unit, 6 t5 bulbs will keep a clam just fine.

How is your tank doing at the moment? If the lighting is performing, then Why switch? The #1 thing your tank needs is stability.

Switching lights to LED isn't really an upgrade...just a change. I have ran every light option on my tanks over the years, including LED, T5, MH, halogen, VHO, and others...had success with all of them. In the end, you should go with what works. Eventually you will get a new tank and need lights then I'd switch.

First time I switched a tank from T5 to LED I did it for a similar reason...bulbs were needing to be replaced...cost for a new leD unit was just slightly more...seems like a logical switch.

After baking my SPS tank in too much light I ended up losing thousands of dollars in coral...enough money that could have bought T5 bulbs for the rest of my life.

scott89wing · Jan 3, 2014

its a 57 gallon corner tank light great just need new bulbs and i figure for what i would spend on 6 bulbs i could probly do a decent led on it if there that much better

scott89wing · Jan 3, 2014

i dont have many corals in yet just some softys like mushrooms n leather devils hand and toad stool and a monti cap n anenome

sqcube4me · Jan 3, 2014

i have been using LEDs for over 5 years and would never go back to T5s .. they will grow anything you have in your tank ..

ronnie · Jan 3, 2014

I had MH - went to T5 - went to DIY LEDs - went to radion G2s - now have the ATI LED/T5 hybrid.

I'd do both. They offer the best of both worlds and flexibility.

scott89wing · Jan 3, 2014

what about the Current USA Orbit Marine LED Light anyone have it or like it?

ronnie · Jan 3, 2014

scott89wing said:
what about the Current USA Orbit Marine LED Light anyone have it or like it?

Great for a fish only

reefndude · Jan 3, 2014

I use t5's with good success. I do plan on supplementing with some leds. Not that my t5's need help, more for the look. I also like t5 led combo.
Like mandinga stated, a quality t5 unit will grow anything you want.

scott89wing · Jan 4, 2014

so put what bulbs in t5 fixture and what get an led strip of some sort ? being a corner 57 gallon tank not much room to do much my t5 tank alot of the space up....

scott89wing · Jan 5, 2014

will one of the leds work on that size of a tank or would i need two

scott89wing · Jan 5, 2014

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would this do a 57 gallon corner tank??????

reefndude · Jan 5, 2014

Ati bulbs, 4 blue+, 1purple+, and 1 coral+ or ge 6500k is a popular combo. As far as that led I could't give you an honest answer.
What t5 fixture do you have?

EricTMah · Jan 5, 2014

Go with LED's!

They will grow everything you have and plus not to mention running costs over the years. ie bulb replacement costs

rgr271 · Jan 5, 2014

Ok, I keep looking for articles about light. Can someone point me in the right direction. I'm in the research phase of starting my first saltwater tank, 46 gal Bowfront. It came with LEDs but I'm clueless to what I need and why.