24" high with 6t5s or 21" with 4t5s?

[fishypapas]

trying to narrow down my tank choices so i can start buying all the pieces.

with the focus being an lps tank, and the fact that i have read how the intensity of t5s can burn both lps and softies (shrooms zoos) i want to make sure i dont buy more than i need and sabatoge my whole set up.

which is the best way to go?

24" high tank with 6 ? or can 4 be enough?

21" high tank with 4 enough? is 6 too much?

and out of curiosity, in a real shallow tank like a 40 long that with sand has only about 12" of water, would 2 t5s be good enough for lps?

thanks again,

fp

 

[Julio]

i would go with 21" and 6 bulbs. The corals will thrive under all thse bulbs.

 

[fishypapas]

from what i have read, that many t'5s and within 18" will cause a lot of lps shrooms and zoos to bleach.

i know sps will do fine, but thats not what im looking to do.

anyone with pictures of their lps and t5 combos?

fp

 

[fishypapas]

t5s and lps tanks anyone?

 

[fishypapas]

?

 

[jay357]

Hey fishypapas:

I have 110 watt VHO URI bulbs over my LPS dominated tank. I have Zooz and LPS corals very high in my tank. I have had no problem with burning or bleaching. I have zooz that occationally are within 1/2 inch of the surface when the water isnt topped off and have great colors in my zoos. I personally have not even seen T5 bulbs yet. But I really like the look of VHO lighting. My LPS corals are really growing good. The drawback is replacing expensive bulbs every 7 months. Costs me 90 bucks every time but thats not all that much when you consider the costs of everything else. Just thought I would throw in my 2 cents for what its worth.


Jay

 

[Julio]

never heard of bleaching with VHO or HO bulbs

 

[fishypapas]

not bleaching with vho or no or pc is unfurtantely irrelevant as i have decided to go with t5s.

cooler, cheaper, bulbs last longer - benefits i can not ignore, at least till i become a millionaire.

fp

 

[Julio]

T5s are HO bulbs. So i really doubt that they will cause any bleaching.

 

[brad23]

Brains do very bad under T5

 

[padixon2]

well, i have T5s on a 24"high tank(2 actinic and 2 10K)

I had a baby hitchhiker candycane come in with another coral, which didnt make it. The candy cane was the diameter of a pencil eraser(i thought it was a pest aptasia thingy). It kept growing and i realized i had myself an LPS. It has been 1 year and this candycane is bigger than a quarter. This weekend I picked up a brain coral and put it on my sand bed. It is doing well so far.
I also have a purple mushrooms within 2 inches of the surface and is not bleaching, same with zoanthids. Seeing is believing i guess.

So long story short, T5s do not burn MY corals.

I would say 4 tubes on a 21 and 24" high is fine, 6 - yeah you might be pushing it on lowerlight demanding corals. Im sure you have all seen those 8tube T5s tanks, and they keep SPS dominant tanks.

Oh, and if you want the VHO actinic BLUE look, make sure you buy the right bulbs. you want the 460 nm actinic. the others will not put out any blue and your tank will be very white. I just replaced my bulbs an hour ago and I am stunned at the difference. and for 67bucks for 4 tubes and shipping...im pretty pleased with the results.

 

[fishypapas]

i never said "t5s WILL bleach" :0), i was asking how many t5s would it take in a given depth.

just trying to figure out if i should or shouldnt get a 6 bulb kit. if i go tek light, i dont want to be stuck with a 4 bulb and wish i had purchased the 6. and if i get the 6, didnt want to hurt or stunt the fauna.

thus the new plan seems to be to buy a 2 bulb retro for the first few months using sparingly and letting my coraline seed with my "no" output twin tube.

then getting another 2 t5's for a while and judge progress and so on.

conlcusion: t5s on a 21"-24" high tank for lps and softies

1. 2 bulbs = no issue
2. 4 bulbs = safe
3. 6 bulbs = at best with caution, at worst a no no

need some more data. for example, can a 6 bulb be beneficial if the lighting is controlled. ie running the bulbs for a certain amount of time in a staggered postion. 2 for 10 hours, 2 for 8 hours, and 2 for 4, or whatever the case may be.

has anyone done this with success?

why bother? in case i want to throw in an sps or two in the future, i would be nice to be able to have enough light for the sps to thrive wouthout harming the lps.

fp

 

[causeofhim]

I am curiuos also. I have heard that the T5s can easily be overdone and be to much for softies and some LPS.

 

[marcel leroux]

I have a 6bulb tek 5 on my 55gal. It is very bright, but my corals love them. No bleaching. Just do some research and place your corals at the appropriate heights. Mushrooms as a rule of thumb should be on the bottom, i even have some up high and have no issues.

 

[redstorm6]

Four is Plenty

Four is Plenty

I think 4 would be very sufficient for what you are trying to accomplish. I have a 4 bulb tek and it is very bright. I am keeping acros under it without any problems.

my 2 cents.

 

[ernordstrom]

I have 4 and all of my corals are doing great. I had to move my candy cane and kenya tree coral to the substrate but other than that everything seems to love the lights.

 

[Jacob D]

I have 6 bulbs over a standard 75g. I keep softies, LPS, and SPS. I don't have any bleaching at all. Your LPS will love the light, color up brightly and grow fast. The real question is how wide is your tank? That will decide how many bulbs you need. For example when only 2 bulbs are on over my tank there are a lot of dark spots. When all 6 are on there is very even light all over.