led light vs T5 light

If your going to go with T5ho's than a 2bulb fixture will be plenty! Just make sure to get one with decent reflectors. Current usa (nova), coralife, aquaticlife and marineland all make decent cheap 48" dual t5ho's. Led's are the newest and greatest. I personally don't like them. Thats all strictly a matter of opinion though.

hello Gplus thanks for your suggestion but i don't want a cheap 48' dual T5ho's. i want an quality light fixture with good reflector. i read online about Tek T5 is a good one with good reflector. what your option on the light fixture or any other brand that not cheap.

all the brands I listed are good quality. When I said cheap i meant the price, not the quality. I've been using my 48" Current Nova usa fixture for almost 4 years now with no problems with my ballasts. I had th replace the cooling fan that's it. Check out my recent threads to see pics of the amount of light a dual 48" t5ho can out into a 55. I think you'll find its enough!

hello gplus i check out your thread your tank is nice and the current nova fixture do cover the tank front & back with light. the onlything i would like to know is the fan loud? also do you use CO2 in the tank. i'm thinking about doing a non co2 tank in my 55 gallon tank or can you recommend a quality CO2 system. any suggestion will be help.
thanks

You might want to check out Catalina for lights. You can ask for something custom if you like. I had them build a 3x39 watt 36" into their 8 inch wide fixture so I would have a wider spread over my 18" wide 57 gallon tank. Since you are working with a 13 " wide tank, their standard two bulb would be sufficient. You can have the bulbs running from separate switches (two ballasts) so you have the option of running just one bulb if you choose not to run CO2. Burning two bulbs is probably too much for a non CO2 tank.

http://www.catalinaaquarium.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=71_136&products_id=1419

Don't forget about AH Supply. They have good reflectors. Hoppy even references their T5HO lights in his charts in his Lighting Sticky. You can email them and tell them your intents. I got a very detailed description of several options to go with. I haven't actually bought any of their fixtures yet due to constant mind changing on my part.