72" T5 HO's?

[sal-t-dawg]

I will be getting my new tank this Monday and am currently mowing over lighting options. The tank is 6' long I am really leaning towards running T5s on it. I have had people suggest using 60" lights and staggering them. I have found a few sites that sell 72" lights as well. Has anyone here ever ran 72" T5s on their tank? What would be the dis/advantages? The 60" lights tend to be lower watts as well as a couple of bucks cheaper.

 

[Esabasard]

I am no expert, but from what I have seen, the major bulb manufacturers are not making 72" bulbs. That would be a major disadvantage of going to that size. The best thing about t5 is the numerous bulb combos out there. If you use a size that is only made by a few companies then you will be locking yourself into a specific bulb type. Also there is a major difference in efficiency between good bulbs and bad bulbs. High quality bulbs will give you more PAR than the cheaper bulbs. So if the 72" bulbs are less efficient then you are just wasting electricity. Higher wattage doesn't always mean higher PAR. Again, I am not an expert, just trying to offer some knowledge I have collected.

 

[sal-t-dawg]

Makes sense. I appreciate it. I think Im gonna sit down and itemize. 60" lights staggered seems to be the way to go. I will probably go with Icecap 660 ballasts. Who has the best prices on lights, ballasts, caps and reflectors?

 

[sal-t-dawg]

Anyone have any Icecap 430's the'd like to part with?

 

[NeveSSL]

For what its worth, there are less 60" bulbs than 48" bulbs, too. But Esabasard is right... if its not an industry standard size, its probably not worth messing with.

Brandon

 

[MVlk]

Sounds like you are leaning to 60" already, but for what it is worth, I have heard shipping on 72" is pretty high. I recall a discussion like this on the T5 forum and Grim recommended 60" hands down.

 

[commonstranger]

Id do 36" staggered but thats just me. Youd be able to spread a better color out on the tank I think.

 

[NeveSSL]

36" staggered? That would be some SERIOUS expense replacing all of those bulbs! Almost double the cost for the same coverage. Why would you do 36"?

Brandon

 

[MVlk]

36" bulbs would be the standard for a 72" fixture. My old Nova Extreme Pro 72" had 2 sets each of 6 x 36" bulbs. Yes it was a hefty expense to replace the bulbs. Not sure how you would keep SPS under less?

 

[NeveSSL]

You can very easily keep SPS under 60" staggered bulbs. Really and truly, its only 6" per side that wouldn't have a bulb directly over it. That's not really very much difference and keeps the bulb replacement cost way down.

Brandon

 

[commonstranger]

Brandon are you questioning me ?????? Go outside your tire is flat and I know nothing about it. LOL Was just throwing another option out there.

 

[NeveSSL]

:lol:

Definitely. And I'm just pointing out that it might be a bit expensive (takes more ballasts, too), but its definitely viable and would give you lots more color combos.

Brandon

 

[waynesworld]

I have a starged 60 on my 72 and worked fine Matter of fact if you have a hood and are looking into Retro's you can call me and I prob have what you need.

 

[luckyfish]

I’ve looked into this as well Carl as I have been thinking about going with T-5s over my 180 if I move away from the LEDs that are on it now. From what I’ve learned most 72” fixtures are going to be 2 banks of 36” T-5s which are actually 34” in length. The 60” are listed as 57.6”. You end up with 78 watts per 6 foot length with the 36” versus 80 watts with the 60”. So, you get more wattage but less linier coverage. Hence I think staggering is the only way to go. Otherwise with the 60” bulbs you have 7.2” on each side that are not lit well (72”-57.6”= 14.4/2=7.2). Additionally, and I’d be interested in every one else’s opinion, I don’t think you get much light out of the first ½ - 1” end of a T-5. From what you wrote you know about the Ice Cap ballasts over driving bulbs. IC 430s will run 2 T-5 bulbs of any length and the 660 will run 3 T-5 bulbs of any length (this is directly from the manufacture). I’m currently using a couple of 430s to overdrive 4 bulbs on my 90 gallon tank but have nothing to compare it to as if it is worth it. From my reading I’ve been surprised that many folks, including the Grim Reefer does not really advocate going with the Ice Caps.

Wayne, I’d love to take a look at you set up sometime as well.