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[APD] Re: PC vs. T5HO?


I'm trying to figure out which would be cheaper and/or most
effective. But I'm dealing with known vs. unknown, PCs vs T5/HOs.
Known quantity:
AH Supply PC 1x55w, 22" long, $42. The combo light would run
about $23 (it's for a microreef). Total: $65
I don't know much about T5/HOs, and what I've seen on the internet
so far just has me confused. Has anyone got recommendations
for hardware -- ballast & wiring, t-5 endcaps.(Also, know any good
sources for bulbs? I've found some decent prices at the link mentioned
below.)

I remain somewhat skeptical about some of the claims made about the new T5 lights. I suppose they could be somewhat more efficient than the PCF lights due to reduced restrike, but if you can only place one per reflector it seems to me the lower efficiency of the PCF lights would be more than made up for by the larger area of bulb you could fit over your tank in a given space -- and placing two T5s in one reflector effectively makes them the same as a PCF bulb. The very long T5 lights I suspect are also very delicate since the glass tube is only 5/8" diameter -- and very long, and thus easy to break. The prices I've seen so far are also so expensive as to make me not even consider trying them on my own tanks. I'm seeing price premiums of about 2x or more for the T5 lights which I think is unrealistic since there is no way they are either enough additional light to be worth that much more (IMHO!).

Has anyone tried the Universal ballast advertised at
<http://www.specialty-lights.com/flballast.html>http://www.specialty-lights.com/flballast.html ? $40. Good deal.

Nope, but it's worth looking at. At the moment I will stick with my PCF lights and my very slow-going in-progress DIY metal halide lights (haven't had much time to DIY lately).

-Bill


*****************************
Waveform Technology
UNIX Systems Administrator

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