Well I am dealing with a 30" deep tank and I spoke with a few different people about it and everyone told me I really should go w/ MH's because of the depth. The price point was deff more than I wanted to spend but I think the end result will work best. I didnt want to spend a couple hundred on T5's and not be satisfied. If the tank was more like 24" I rob would have gone T5's. I think eventually I will put 4 T5's in for suplimental lighting. That was I can turn the MH's off and only run them for shorter periods. I think regardless with a 30" deep tank I am stuck throwing alot of light in and will eventually need a chiller regardless. I wish I had 2,400 for some LED's. Those just blow my mind with what you can do with them.
I am still working on the stand!! It will take me a while since I am working on it while homeschooling and such. If you use and Ice Cap 660 ballast with UVL bulbs then it will overdrive the bulbs so instead of a 48" putting out 54W it will put out 80W, you get 60W out of a 36W bulb. Bobby emailed me the same rec. for MH as he did you and I am still giving it some thought. I really don't want the heat output of the MH. Living in Texas would for sure require a chiller and out electric bill is high enough with the swimming pool, ac and such.
good picking it up tomorrow. got a punch list of stuff to go through before I make the big move. Paint my background on the QT tank next. Did you get yours setup? I noticed you mentioned somethig about over driving your T5's. Whats that mean exactly? How much extra wattage can you get out of them?
Hey Karl, Thanks for adding me as a friend. How is the tank coming along? Rhonda
