Question: T-5 HO vs. PC lighting in a 300g FOWLR setup

I am going to be setting up a 300 gallon (I think the dimensions are 96"x30"x24") FOWLR tank with just a few carnivorous fish. The tank does have a canopy with an open back and the clearance between the top of the tank and the canopy is about 8".

I've heard ups and downs between both types of lighting. One thing I am looking at is maintenance in the long run, such as replacing bulbs. I would need to replace about 8 bulbs either way at a time. I'm probably looking to get 2-48" strips with 4 bulbs in each strip. My budget is about $225 max per strip.


Is one type of lighting brighter than the other? Can you guys give me your opinion on what type of lighting would best fit my situation and which companies/models to look at?

Thank you

spinnerbayt;1619649; said:

If you already have a canopy why not go with a T5HO retro fit kit. Each lamp has its own reflector and you can space them to get good coverage. I would go with several of these....
http://www.hellolights.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1369

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Thanks for the input. I was thinking about the retrofit kits, but I wasn't sure about the ease of installation? With each lamp having it's own reflector does it create a lot more output than the units that come sold as is?

sweeTang21;1619672; said:

I preffer T5 over PC. PC's are fine but they run much hotter then T-5's which increase the frequency of bulb replacements. IMO i would buy the slimpaq T5 unit. Its not an HO or anything but unless your intent is to add coral down the road, a high end lighting system is not needed. The slimpaq (i think thats what there called) or sometimes sold as Aqualight by coralife will have 2 regular T5 bulbs in it. Each 48" will cost about 60 bucks.

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Thanks for the input. As far as the T5 Slimpaq, which unit are you talking about? I'm mainly just seeing replacement bulbs, can you link me to a site?

As of now I wasn't planning on adding coral, but later down the road that could be a possibility...I just don't know. The tank is big and I wanted lighting that was at least decent, decent enough that in the future if I did want some coral I could get some. Any recommendations for this idea?

sweeTang21;1620741; said:

The link for the slimpaq is this:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3733+16770&pcatid=16770

This light wont grow a lot of corals, but will do good on button polyps and mushroom corals, as long as there high enough on the tank. If you want a DIY kit, which is going to give you more bang for your buck, your going to spend a lot more then 250 bucks.

https://diyreef.authsecure.com/shop/index.php?cPath=55&osCsid=83074bdf9a43878ca6abd5d43e186578

Is the link to some good retro kits.

otherwise 2 48inch current nova extreme pros will be sufficient in growing your corals. and here is a link to them

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~SearchStr~pro~action~view~idProduct~CU01081~idCategory~FILTFIT58U~category~48_inch_Current_USA_6x54W_Nova_Extreme_Pro_T5HO_3_10k_3_460nm_Actinics_48in_Units~vendor~.html

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Awesome. Thanks a lot for all your work and help. I'm going to be thinking this over.

Thanks for all of your replies guys. Greatly appreciated.