Metal Halide T5 Hybrid Users Thread

[jda]

You can probably raise that PAR up quite a bit as you lower the fixture. ...might not be necessary, but it is there if you need it to be. You will find that you can give your coral more PAR with MH that you could with the LED and they will respond to it.

In the summer, you might need a larger AC fan like a Vornado... this can keep my tanks cool even on the 100 degree days in July but are unnecessary in the other months.

 

[Mal11224]

You can probably raise that PAR up quite a bit as you lower the fixture. ...might not be necessary, but it is there if you need it to be. You will find that you can give your coral more PAR with MH that you could with the LED and they will respond to it.

In the summer, you might need a larger AC fan like a Vornado... this can keep my tanks cool even on the 100 degree days in July but are unnecessary in the other months.

Thanks for the advice. I know in the summer, will be a challenge. I definitely like the light and my corals seem to as well.
LEDs can mislead you when it comes to par especially when you've run them for so long. I see some people have their MH around 9" or so. I don't want the light so high that the T5s are ineffective. So maybe I will lower the fixture an inch.

 

[jda]

Summer is not any more of a challenge than now... you just need different tools including maybe a dehumidifier if your tank is large. Soon, you can roll your eyes at the overblown posts about heat being an unbearable and unmanageable issue when using T5 or MH.

I keep my DE fixtures about 5-6" off of the water - less spill and more output to the corals. I do keep my SE Radiums about 9-10 inches. You will find a sweet spot. Go slow.

 

[Mal11224]

So, is there a real difference between a Hamilton 20k and a radion 20k? I see the ballast for the radions is electric but is the light more appealing than a regular 20k bulb?

 

[jda]

Radium 20k has a ANSI m80 as a spec ballast at about 330 watts. It can run on electronic, but the color is different and the output is less.

The NEW Hamilton 20k is made to look like a 20k Radium, but can be run on a regular 250w ballast (electronic or magnetic). This is less output than a 20k Radium on m80, but less wattage too.

They both should look pretty similar.

 

[Crabs McJones]

Question for yall.
What lighting schedules are you running? Right now I have the T5's come on at 11AM, then the metal halide comes on at Noon, both stay on till 8 when the halide kicks off and then the t5s kick off at 9. So 10 hours total on the t5 and 8 hours on the metal halide. Is this too much? Too little? Suggestions or leave it the way it is?

 

[Abhishek]

Leave it as it is !

You can try with extending the light period on halides but I doubt you will see a difference .

Regards,
Abhishek

 

[Mal11224]

I’ve set my lights as follows:
T5 on from 9am - 7pm
MH on from 11am - 5pm
Everything seems to be doing well. As with most new things, I wonder if I am under or over utilizing it but had it for about a month now at this setting and things are good. Colors are nice and growth is good.

 

[Mal11224]

Some nice growth on acros. Glad I switched.

 

[Crabs McJones]

Some nice growth on acros. Glad I switched.

What t5s are you running and what halide bulb? Sorry if you've mentioned this already lol

 

[Mal11224]

What t5s are you running and what halide bulb? Sorry if you've mentioned this already lol

Ha ha... might have somewhere. But, I am using 2 X 250w 20K bulbs with 4 blue plus T5s. Corals seems to respond well to this setup. I did, however, start with 2 blue plus and 2 coral plus. Was too light for my taste.

 

[DesertReefT4r]

Here is mine. Lit with only MH 250w PFO pendants and magnetic ballasts. I was running 14k Phoenix but like a bluer look so I just switched to Odyssea 20k bulbs, pics is with 20k bulbs. Years back I rented a PAR meter and conpared the Phoenix 14k to the Odyssea 20k bulbs, I wanted to see if a cheap bulb had just same PAR as a more expensive and proven bulb. I was surprised the 2 bulbs have a very similar output but the 14k did spread the PAR out just a bit more towards the ends on a 4 ft tank.

 

[Crabs McJones]

I run the exact same thing except for a single metal halide bulb. Good to know

Ha ha... might have somewhere. But, I am using 2 X 250w 20K bulbs with 4 blue plus T5s. Corals seems to respond well to this setup. I did, however, start with 2 blue plus and 2 coral plus. Was too light for my taste.

 

[Mal11224]

I run the exact same thing except for a single metal halide bulb. Good to know

How has your growth been? I checked my par levels. My tank is pretty high in the middle, above 320, but pretty even outside of that in the 230 - 260 range. I try to gauge my corals by polyp extension to see if they are happy with the light. I moved pieces around as a result, which seems to work to relieve stress from the light. In hindsight, I wish I had created a more level and wider scape. Mine is kind of tall towards the center. Oh well, will know better for the upgrade. Whenever that is. Lol

 

[Crabs McJones]

How has your growth been? I checked my par levels. My tank is pretty high in the middle, above 320, but pretty even outside of that in the 230 - 260 range. I try to gauge my corals by polyp extension to see if they are happy with the light. I moved pieces around as a result, which seems to work to relieve stress from the light. In hindsight, I wish I had created a more level and wider scape. Mine is kind of tall towards the center. Oh well, will know better for the upgrade. Whenever that is. Lol

Growth has been amazing. Almost to much lol

 

[jda]

10 hours on/off. Halides only.

 

[Jay Norris]

Summer is not any more of a challenge than now... you just need different tools including maybe a dehumidifier if your tank is large. Soon, you can roll your eyes at the overblown posts about heat being an unbearable and unmanageable issue when using T5 or MH.

I keep my DE fixtures about 5-6" off of the water - less spill and more output to the corals. I do keep my SE Radiums about 9-10 inches. You will find a sweet spot. Go slow.

Hi, since you live in a colder climate like Colorado, using a MH/T5 fixture will not be an issue, and will help keep your tank warmer in the winter, but here in South Florida the heat from my old MH/VHO was a vey big problem, which required a chiller, and a A/C unit for my fish room.

 

[jda]

No editing... straight from my camera to the computer. Colors are deep and bright and why I choose Halides. 14k Phoenix on m80 for 10 hours with no other lighting.

Garf Bonsai:


Ice Fire, Saramentosa and a bright green Loripes (Ice Fire has whiter branches, but I cannot get it without editing the photo... the lighter parts are as white as can be):

 

[DSC reef]

No editing... straight from my camera to the computer. Colors are deep and bright and why I choose Halides. 14k Phoenix on m80 for 10 hours with no other lighting.

Garf Bonsai:


Ice Fire, Saramentosa and a bright green Loripes (Ice Fire has whiter branches, but I cannot get it without editing the photo... the lighter parts are as white as can be):

Stunning!

 

[NYCMAN]

Add me to the list of those switching from LEDs to MH/T5s. Started my 72x26x24 2 years ago with 4 GHL Mitras LX7s over it. Loved the programming, clouds, ramp up down, etc. And they made my corals pop. While my SPS growth was good, it was spotty, and generally with easy ones like Birds Nest. So I am going with a 60" Cebu Sun with 3x250W MHs and 4x80W T5s. I got a lot of different bulbs to try and see what I like. I am starting with Hamilton 20000Ks and Geismann 17500Ks. Will try both. BRS recommends the 17500Ks. For the T5's got a mixture of Hamilton and ATI blues, actinics, and purples. I will keep the LX7s on the side in case I want to go back to them, or sell them on ebay.