220 Gallon...T-5s?

[randyorr]

I have a 220 Gallon (72 L x 24 W x 31 H). I would lke to build a retrofit canopy with all T-5s. I currently am running 6 x 96 watts of PCs. Any recommendations on bulbs/wattage to make my tank really bright and crisp and still get the penetration of light to the bottom of the tank?

 

[randyorr]

Anybody?

 

[Jflip2002]

I think you'll find it hard to find a nice 72" T5 fixture. usually they only go to 48" IIRC. Youd be best with (2) 36" fixtures, of as many bulbs as you can afford. the ATI Fixtures are good, but very pricey IMO. The Tek T5s (check reefgeek.com) are more affordable. you can get a 6x39w T5 fixture with bulbs for $429. So for under $1000, you will have the 12 bulbs. You should be able to keep whatever you want. Theres also a T5 thread in the lighting section, grimm reefer is the man when it comes to T5s.

Hope that helps some.

 

[coker98]

Or you could get retrofits like you wanted. I would try to squeeze about 8 to 10 lights in there. That is probably manageable. You could get the 80 watt bulb retrofits and they are supposed to be about 5 feet long. Just stagger the bulb arragements to get even coverage.

 

[Jflip2002]

Thatd work. but I was in the same boat, and its really the same price, and sometimes cheaper to get the fixtures. Go price em out. Also, if youre buying a bunch of em, email the online store. They'll ususally give you a good deal (salty supply knocked some off for me).

 

[ConcreteReefer]

coker98--

Quit using my Avatar!!

2x48" 10 bulb powermodules would be the cats az..

Teks are ok but not actively cooled & from what I here there reflectors aren't that great... but they are pretty cheap..

 

[tbone28]

Aquatinics Constellation is a 72" fixture with either 12 or 14 bulbs

 

[mrpet]

i did retros 12 80w bulbs on my 375 72"x"48x"25 all run on ic660s
no corals yet just set it up...

 

[randyorr]

mrpet-

tell me more about your setup. how do you have them staggered? how many bulbs on each ballast? can you post a pic of it all lit up?

 

[mcliffy2]

Your best bet is to go with a 5 ft. fixture (80w bulb). Reefgeek sells 8x80w (or you could do 2 6x80w) retro kits.

Sfiligoi and Geissman also make 8x80w units that would work nicely, or you could go for their 12x80w. Another option would be 2 Fauna Marin Solaris 4x80w or 6x80w.

The extra 6" on each end of your tank isnt a big deal (you might have a eurobrace anyway?), and the 80w bulbs have more output per inch than any other T5 bulb. Youll also save a lot on bulbs since an 5 ft. bulb is only a few dollars more than a 3 ft. bulb (so using 3 ft. bulbs would almost double your cost of bulb replacement).

 

[Chris2500DK]

You could fit around 28 24W T5 bulbs if you put them perpendicular to the front glass instead of parallel to it

I'd go with 80W bulbs though, much cheaper all-round.

 

[randyorr]

I decided to go with 12 x 39 watt T5s using three 660 IceCap ballasts. I only have one more question...Do I need to run fans on them or not? I made an oak hood to put them in but I forgot to drill holes for fans. Can I go without fans?

 

[tbone28]

you need fans for T5's. PAR decreases as temp increases. You also extend the life of your bulbs if you cool them. However, you do not want to cool T5's *too*much either. Counter-productive. Ask Grimreefer the best way to cool your bulbs