T5 Ho or PC lighting

[clownfish26]

Does Pc lighting penatrate the water as good as T5 Ho lights. I am looking at T5 lighting about 210 w or Pc 260w I like the output of metal holide lights but not the temp and the need for fans. I have a 55 gal tank with 4-40w No flourecsents and want to upgrade within the next six months.

 

[wayne]

No. T5 HO is better, even the rubbish fixtures you get in the US. The german ones with better bulbs and refelctors are grossly superior. PC is pretty 'olde worlde'

 

[wayne]

I am assuming you have a decent fixture with a parabolic reflector per bulb. I've seen some really nasty ones for sale in the US where the bulbs share one big reflector.

 

[dbacksrat]

If you go with T5s, the Tek Lights are really highly rated. They each have their own reflector.
I'm going with a 4x54 fixture over a 4' 75 gallon tank. Purchasing from ebay, here. I don't plan on keeping anything too demanding, so I'm told 4 bulbs would be plenty.
The only confusing thing is figuring out which configuration of bulbs to go with.

 

[TheMainer]

Dbacksrat, if you don't mind me asking, how much are you getting the tek lights from on Ebay? I have recently been looking around online but the best I can find is a 2x54w retro kit for about $104.

 

[dbacksrat]

The fixture is $230.95 with free shipping. The bulbs are $18 a pop, so if I need four, then that's an extra $72. I am buying from the Ebay store "Seeds Etc" because people on Reef Central say that's the cheapest price they've seen for Tek Lights. I linked to the fixture on Ebay in my previous post, on the word "here."