# Metal Halide Vs T5's



## Chiefa (Jan 16, 2010)

Hi all,

Setting up a 4x2x2 and I’m not sure about lighting..
I was initially going to get 4x54w T5's, however after doing some research and looking into Metal Halides I’m wondering if this is the best way to go.

I have looked at the MH&T5 combo units and have a few questions...

Do the MH's consume much more electricity (looking to only have them on for a couple of hours a day - short bursts) 

How long on average do the bulbs for each last?

The heat difference between T5's and MH's - Can I run them in a canopy? Do I need a fan?
I have read a few posts that T5 units can run hot too??

The units I have looked at contain 2x250w MH and 2x54w T5's can I run it with only one Metal Halide on, and will that affect the unit or the ballast?

If I choose the 4x54w T5's should I be looking for individual reflectors?

Thanks...


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## aquatic_clay (Aug 17, 2009)

With T5's you might need a fan under your canopy depending on how well ventilated it is. Using MH or the T5 MH combo you'll definitely need a fan. MH lights get HOT! Usually the T5 MH combo fixtures are pretty high quality so I would think that it should have separate power cords so you could run different times on each lamp like a noon burst that you're wanting to do. If you go all T5's individual reflectors will help, but are not completely nessaccary. Personally if I could find a T5 MH combo in my price range I would do it in a heartbeat.


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## Chiefa (Jan 16, 2010)

Thanks Aquaclay,

Sounds like I may need to put some type of fan in there regardless of which units I get.
I possibly have a choice between a 2x250MH/2x54wT5 or 2x150MH/4x24CF or 4x54wT5.

Not sure how old the 150w unit is. Can much go wrong with them? The other two are within a year old.
Is the 250w unit overkill? Don’t know if I need 600w of lighting in a 430ltr tank . Can i ran the units with lower rated bulbs? 150w perhaps? Also how long do the bulbs last. I like the 250w unit...

They are all around the same price give or take $75

I’m concerned about the temps in the canopy as i would like to keep the canopy on the tank. Will a fan be enough, all the units will need to sit directly on the glass 
Also what about water temps will they rise considerably when the MH come on? Can the cover glass crack?

Other than that, is there anything else i should be concerned with?


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## aquatic_clay (Aug 17, 2009)

I'm not sure about running different watt bulbs in them I would wait for some to chime in that has tried it.

As far as I know the most that could go wrong with them would be a ballast going out. but they're supposed to pretty easy to fix.

You should be fine with that much light as long as you keep up with ferts and co2. The more light you have the more ferts and co2 you'll need. That should help combat algae outbreaks along with consistent waterchanges.

I haven't heard of glass tops breaking from heat from the lights but I could be wrong. If it get's too hot you could always add another fan and have 2 running. 1 fan blowing air in and another one blowing air out seems like it should keep it pretty well ventilated.

It might be better to go with the lower wattage to help save on electricity bills and help conserve ferts and co2 a bit more. That and 6 watts per gallon is a lot of light.


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## Chiefa (Jan 16, 2010)

Thanks "Aquatic Clay"

I have decided to go with the 2x150/4x24wCF Combo. I think it is two years old so hope it's ok. My mate said he replaced the MH bulbs about 8 months ago so not sure if they are still good?
It works out cheaper for the light, light bulbs and electricity not to mention the ferts and CO2 
You were right about not being able to reduce the wattage of the globe. (Has something to do with the ballast)

I also found this little chart, breaks down the different types of lights and efficiency. http://www.eleekinc.com/eleekchart.jpg

Also worked out the fan situation, DIY converted PC fan.

All in all a productive morning thanks again.


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## husonfirst (Sep 27, 2009)

MH does consume more electricity. I would not put one in a canopy because of the heat. MH bulbs usually have to be replaced every 9 months.


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## TAB (Feb 7, 2009)

lots of bad info in this thread.


1, no one can say for sure if you will need a fan or even a chiller. There are just too many factors to determine that. a large t 5 set up can put out just as much if not more heat.


Watt for watt, MH put out more light then T5

When it comes to MH bulbs, once again it really depends. Who made the bulb, the ballest you are running, lenght of time its lit, the number of times it lit...

generally speaking, you will get about a year out of a bulb before you see a drastic change in the out put of light. Color shift on the other hand can happen in as few of three months. 

T5/ CFs really need to be replaced every 6 months.


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## ashappard (Jun 3, 2006)

+1 TAB, thanks for clearing some of that up.

suspended MH pendants are the easiest to install, look nice and heat management is easier as well.
I can say that MH is *brighter* compared to equivalent wattage of T5. Believe it 

spectrum shift is an issue, but a good ballast will manage that as well as help with longer bulb life. 
In my experience efficiency is like this (best to worst) MH - T5 - PC - CF spiral - incandescent

since I went to all MH in my fishroom, my electricity usage has decreased. My tanks are also brighter, which in some ways is a downside for the added trimming and need for attention to regular dosing. Emersed plants love the MH

one advantage of T5 over MH is spread and sizing. for an odd sized tank (36" for example), it can be difficult to cover the substrate with a single MH bulb _and_ have minimal spillover due to fixture height. but maybe not quite large enough tank to need another MH bulb. Here, it may be better to use T5 or a MH/T5 combo. MH/T5 combo is also nice for people who like to start the day at a lower intensity, then turn MH on later. I see it as an aesthetics issue in that case, I've never seen real benefit for the plants in siestas or noon-burst methods. Maybe a stability benefit, for people who want a longer photoperiod but dont want to wrangle an MH tank on a long photoperiod.

someday I hope to install plasma lighting.. then maybe I'll turn my back on MH. I suspect it will be a while though, little too pricey now.


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## Chiefa (Jan 16, 2010)

Thanks guys for the information.

As you can see from my previous posts I was concerned about everything. So i jumped in anyway  
I purchased the Aquaone MG1200 MH/T5 combo 2x150wMH 4x24wPC. A$220 second hand 
Tried it out last night and man these lights are freakin crazy... :cheer2: Very very happy with them.
I have to agree with ashappard they are bright and make the tank look fantastic.
The water is filthy (no filtration), all the bulbs are old/different colours and it still produced great results.
Here's a couple of pics;

























I quickly realised there is no way I could place the light into the slim canopy design that I made. The heat coming off the top of the light is hot to touch and would possibly warp the canopy. 
I think the wise way to go is to leave the canopy off and have an open top tank/canopy. (I can't attach them to the roof, so I'm going open canopy) 
I placed the light on the light stands about 6' above the water, this seemed IMHO to be the minimum height in terms of the heat and spread coming off the lights into the tank? 
I haven't received the power bill yet but I found the heat isn't really that much of an issue. They do get hot, but it seems as long as you have good ventilation it shouldn't really be a problem.

Are there problems if I go lower? Say 4' above the water line, how much will that effect evaporation or heating the tank water?
Will 1x10000k and a 1x8000k be ok to mix? Should I get different variations of the PC's white/blue white/red straight white?
Fans, what tips or tricks are there with placement to get the best flow?

I would like to stress that I am _new_ to the hi-tech aquarium and these are very preliminary observations, but I hope it helps others that are in the situation of trying to choose a light.


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## TAB (Feb 7, 2009)

I generally find, 10k is a good mix of both color and out put, but there are lots of factors to determine what is best for you.

I'm currently running a 14k ushio 150 DE, on my set up, I have a Sun light supply blue wave 3 and a reef optics 3+ reflector. After doing some research and seeing other peoples tanks( in person) I went with the RO3+ and the BW3. I wanted a very focused light, rather then one that was spread out. It took me a couple bulbs before I found the one I liked. Now I might be able to buy another ushio 14k and get the same look. It does not always look that way. Colors can change from lot to lot and even bulb to bulb. 

With out getting really long winded, Its all about your set up and the look you like.


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## ashappard (Jun 3, 2006)

Chiefa said:


> I would like to stress that I am _new_ to the hi-tech aquarium and these are very preliminary observations, but I hope it helps others that are in the situation of trying to choose a light.


in that case, use a short photoperiod until you get the hang of dosing a brightly lit tank.
it will save you unnecessary frustration 

some people have this kind of goal :

show tank, long viewing period
fish may be the focus as much as plants
or maybe layout is the focus - aquascaping

or the goal is like this (less common)

farming / collecting / growing out / cost efficiency
viewing period is less important
fish are less important than plants, maybe no fish

those things factor into equipment and regime choices.
take a look at a few journals here that may match your goal or are close to it
see what info you can glean - ask questions if needed, we're a helpful bunch I think.
we all want different things from our systems, or maybe a combination of different things
applied to more than one aquarium. best of luck, and congrats on the light!


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## Riiz (Jul 19, 2008)

Wow that is alot of light, I went with a 4x54watt Tek fixture, suspended about 5" above my 120gal 4x2x2, and I thought it was bright, haha.

Goodluck, you probably have all the light you will ever need with just the MHs.


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## brackish bro (Jan 22, 2010)

running a metal halide can get costly in electricity and in bulbs in the future. it seems to me that the hobby is taking a turn in lighting going towards the t5ho. i recently just changed over to t5ho from mh and i bought a current nova extreme with 8x54watts 4 feet long and the unit came with built in fans, moonlighting and is a very compact unit. i love it, its like the sun is in my house when i open the canopy!!!


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## TAB (Feb 7, 2009)

actually its cheaper to run MH then it is to run T5s It both power used and in bulb life.


lets use your set up as a example. 

8x54 watts = 432 watts+ what ever the ballest uses. so figure about 450.

2 x 150 DE halides @ about 165 wats each= 330 watts



now bulbs.

2x 150 bulbs every 12 months = @ 75 each= $150/ year

8 t5s every 6 [email protected] $15 each = $240 every 6 months= $480 a year. even if you only replace them once a year, you are still almost $100 more


Assuming you run the MH and the T5s the same length of time. you will use about 1/3 less power and your bulb cost is also about 1/3 of the T5 if you run on the 6 month cycle about 3/5 if you run on the yearly cycle.


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## brackish bro (Jan 22, 2010)

ok see when i say mh i was using 2 250 watt bulbs to equal 500 watts im ''sorry'' i didnt mention that part because in california my bill for just those lights was about 80 dollars


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## londonloco (Sep 25, 2005)

I've had a 120g (4x2x2) set up for 6 years now. When the tank was set up as a reef, I had 2x250W MH pendants. The tank is now set up as a planted tank, 6x54W T5HO. The heat the T5 puts out is considerably less than the MH pendants. I can hold my hand on the acrylic casing on the T5's, I would have burned the heck out of my hand on the MH's. However, I have to admit, the MH light in the tank is very pretty, the shimmer effect is hard to beat.


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