What to you all think about this... (quote from another nameless board)

[jlazo]

"I will probly keep a bit of every thing in my tank, i think that todays PC's are just about as good as MH lighting and i also believe that down the road they will only inprove and become better, i think MH will some day be come outdated, if only for the simple reason of the cost in running them and heat build up problems, and the pains of mounting them. I really think PC will one day be the only way to go. Thats just my opinion, if you ask anyone running pc's now they will tell you they work just fine, then again if you talk to some one who uses MH they will say it's the only way to go, maybe thats because they never really tried the new PC's?"

What is your opinion on the matter?

[Ironreef]

fwiw alot of reefers use pc and mh. if they were given a choice i bet they would rid there pc before there halides if the only thing they wanted was intensity and had to choose

[jlazo]

I was running just Pc's then I got my MH. At first it was a 6500k bulb so I kept 2 actinic PC's, Now that I purchased a 12,000k I do no use my pc's. For a 20 gallon tank the MH is enough!

Does the MH just add intensity? What other benefits are there to running MH?

[organicreefer]

wanna buy my 2x 96 w csl pc setup?;) ill sell it cheap

im running halides and uris

[dattack]

Hey jlazo, you must like that unnamed statement. You thinking of just PC's now?
I would go for all VHO if I am just keeping soft corals. MH and VHO for SPS. ANd I will use PC for anything if organicreefer sells them to me for $20.

[RobG]

I started my tank with "today's" PCs -- A 4 * 55W JBJ Setup. After about 6 months I upgraded to MH and VHO actinic.

My corals look happier, more colorful, I can have a greater variety of livestock, the "shimmering" look you get with MHs is unbeatable.

Needless to say I have tried "new" PCs but I couldn't be happier with the MHs I have now

[rwag]

Robg,

I agree with you 110%, I switched my 4-55w pc's
to two 175w mh and everything looks so much better

Ryan

[jlazo]

"Hey jlazo, you must like that unnamed statement. You thinking of just PC's now?
I would go for all VHO if I am just keeping soft corals. MH and VHO for SPS. "

Nope, I am very happy with my MH. I really love the way all of my coral look, and the tank is beautiful...even when viewed all the way from the sidewalk! People constatly look in to my window when they see the bright light shining through.

[scubadude]

I think that halides are the best way to go with MOST specimens...but I also think that they are getting way too much "hype" and that LPS and softies can be successfully raised w/out them.

jlazo

There are many threads w/light comparisons and the growth rates for SPS are unprecedented compared w/ PCs or VHOs versus MH's. I have seen some SPS grown in NO (normal output flourescents) and they still had some color but they did NOT grow that well. I think what has to ultimately be considered here is the types of corals/fish that you want to keep and each of their lighting requirements. I am like you jlazo I want to keep a wide range of corals in my tank as well...but this is definately a challenge as all of the inhabitants require different light, current, feeding, and other variances. So in short there is no real easy answer to your question IMO