amehel0;1333064; said:
Really, in what way?
To be honest, I wanted T5's when I started (from all the rave I heard), but after doing research I honestly didn't find much difference. In fact T8's seemed quite a bit cheaper, seemed to produce as many lumens or more, seemed to last longer, seemed to produce less heat, seemed to have more bulb options, and I could find them in more stores.
Here's the metrics I considered:
I needed about 18-24 bulbs, given for 2-3x on a 210gal. So that meant ordering a case of them. At the time and brands I looked at a case of (25) T8's 25w 36" was around $70 (6500k). A case of (25) T5's 21w 34" was around $170, currently that seems closer to $190 for 6500k. To me that was big difference given I would need to change these yearly or more frequently.
The lifetime rating of the T8's were nearly 24000 hours, whereas only 2/3rds of that for the T5s at 15000 hours. The lumens of the T8's (2250) seemed on par with the T5's (2100). The spectrums seemed nearly the same, including tri-phosphor. The wattage of the T5's was less, which I liked, but given the less lumens, I would need more bulbs anyway. The size of the T5's was nice, but I had plenty of room in the hood for 24 T8 bulbs, and I kind of feared breaking the thinner T5s when I held one in my hand.
In the end, I personally didn't see what I would be getting for 2-3x the price, in fact I saw more things I would be giving up (ie: more heat, less lifetime, less lumens, and harder to find). Although I'm still a newbie when it comes to lighting, so I probably completely overlooked something I should have compared in the research?
Ed
