ATI bulbs + individual reflectors OR 250 hqi MH??

[TRDfan]

Im currently running on a aqua traders quad T5ho system on my tank that has Xenia, GSPs, mushrooms and zoos. Im looking to upgrade my lighting and im debaiting on these 2 options

Option A - 4 ATI bulbs (2 aquablue special, 1 purple+, 1 blue+) and retro fit it to individual reflectors

Option B - get 250 HQI MH + T5 sysmtem from aquatraders ( Odyssea Metal Halide System )

The reason i want to upgrade would be to get better color in my current corals and gradually start getting into SPS. Any thoughts on which option is/might be better over another.

 

[Schism]

Im currently running on a aqua traders quad T5ho system on my tank that has Xenia, GSPs, mushrooms and zoos. Im looking to upgrade my lighting and im debaiting on these 2 options

Option A - 4 ATI bulbs (2 aquablue special, 1 purple+, 1 blue+) and retro fit it to individual reflectors

Option B - get 250 HQI MH + T5 sysmtem from aquatraders ( Odyssea Metal Halide System )

The reason i want to upgrade would be to get better color in my current corals and gradually start getting into SPS. Any thoughts on which option is/might be better over another.

What size tank is this? Im guessing a 30g?

 

[TRDfan]

40 breeder

 

[Schism]

40 breeder

Well if you wanna go SPS then the halide will give you far better growth and color. However if you decide that route i would plan on how your going to deal with the heat first. Also 1 halide will not cover the whole tank. So the corners will be darker.

 

[TRDfan]

could i keep some if any sps with a quad t5ho light system even if i upgraded the bulbs and added individual reflectors?? if not i was thinking of just getting another 2 t5ho bulb fixture and keeping 2 fixtures on top of my DT

 

[Schism]

could i keep some if any sps with a quad t5ho light system even if i upgraded the bulbs and added individual reflectors?? if not i was thinking of just getting another 2 t5ho bulb fixture and keeping 2 fixtures on top of my DT

Yes you could also probably do this however with just the 4 bulb your going to struggle, especially with most acros. 6 bulb would probably do the trick.

 

[Sniperhank]

If i remember correctly, mh ended up being cheaper than the 6-8bulb t5ho units. This might be offset by what is needed to keep the tank cool...im not sure as i went w/ leds.

 

[TRDfan]

Yes you could also probably do this however with just the 4 bulb your going to struggle, especially with most acros. 6 bulb would probably do the trick.

Thanks. This is what i was thinking of too. Maybe ill just get the nova extream 6 bulb unit which already has the individual reflectors already build in.

If i remember correctly, mh ended up being cheaper than the 6-8bulb t5ho units. This might be offset by what is needed to keep the tank cool...im not sure as i went w/ leds.

which led system did you go with and why did u chose it?

 

[Sniperhank]

I run 2 Ecotech Radions above my 55. They are the best, and I paid alot for it. There are other LED options out there that are much more cost effective, like the taotronics LEDs that you can buy off ebay.

 

[bavass]

I am running a nova extreme pro 6x54w T5HO over my 55 SPS are doing great!

 

[TRDfan]

How are the fan quality on them bavass?? plus on the scale of 1-10 what is the fan noise??

 

[carey]

I have the 12 bulb nova extreme pro over my 125g and you can hear the fans. :-( I don't think they are that loud but I am a pretty passive person so it blends into the background for me. lol

I also have a taotronics led fixture. That too has fans that you can hear. Actually louder than the nova fixture, at least to me. lol

 

[bavass]

About the same as 2 computer fans.