Aquatic life 48” T5 4 bulb or 2 AI Prime 16HD?

[Angelo Fatica]

Was wondering if anyone can give me insight to this. I have a 60 gallon breeder mixed reef mostly montipora as sps. I am currently running two prime 16s as the lighting and of course they are not very good at covering the whole tank, but the corals seem happy nonetheless. I came across a used AquaticLife 48” 4 bulb fixture (one of the discontinued ones with the timers and moonlights). Was wondering if it would be wise to switch over to the t5 fixture over the primes or stick it out with what’s on there now? The corals seem like they are growing well just not getting the best color out of them. I have the primes about 10” off the water and they’re spaced so that each is centered above a 2ft section. I was concerned that these older t5 fixtures are not powerful enough to keep my sps happy and also concerned about just turning on the t5s and hoping it’s not too much or too little, I seem to have my primes dialed in. Any insight is appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Driftdiver]

Why not add a T5 retro kit along with your AI Primes? Figure out where you think you are deficient and buy T5s that supplement that area.

I was running two 250w MHs along with eight T5s on my 225+. (About to swap LEDs for the MHs). I have friends who have tried most of the top end LED brands and they still run T5s to supplement especially with more focused fixtures or where fixtures are mounted/hung closer to the water. Just an option that may work.

 

[Angelo Fatica]

Why not add a T5 retro kit along with your AI Primes? Figure out where you think you are deficient and buy T5s that supplement that area.

I was running two 250w MHs along with eight T5s on my 225+. (About to swap LEDs for the MHs). I have friends who have tried most of the top end LED brands and they still run T5s to supplement especially with more focused fixtures or where fixtures are mounted/hung closer to the water. Just an option that may work.

totally was thinking of this as well. I was just going off of the fact that I already have the t5 fixture and the primes. The retrofit fixtures are kind of expensive currently as far as I’ve seen, was wondering if there was an option within what I already have.

 

[Angelo Fatica]

Also was looking into adding a reef brite actinic bar for supplemental lighting and color.

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

2 Kessil A360x's on a spectral controller. Higher quality. You can do both though for a really well lit tank. T5/Kessil hybrid is probably the best combo possible.