hahnmeister
In Memoriam
Here's my history...
I used to be a big believer in halide only systems. The amount of blue that VHOs and PC bulbs added just didnt compare to the crisp look of 20,000K bulbs. The thing is, this cuts down the output in a huge way with a halide... often 1/2 when you go from 10,000K to 20,000K. This I could stomach, as corals looked better, grew very well, etc.
Then the logistics of another tank I wanted to set up made me consider T5s because it would be right underneath another tank... so a hot halide would be trouble. So I decided to try T5s.
I thought T5s would be a good 'secondary' lighting setup, not as ideal as halides, but what I needed in this case. As soon as I turned them on I could tell I was wrong about that.
Side by side, against a 6 month old pheonix 14,000K 250wattDE (decent output for a 14,000K... beats some 10,000Ks FWIW), the new 6x39wattT5 (not even running the most efficient setup of bulbs even with two actinics and aquablue bulbs rather than daylight bulbs) matched the look of the pheonix 14,000K... the colors were almost identical. But the output of the T5 setup looked like it was double. This shocked me, considering the T5s were pulling about 244 watts and the halide... 320!
Well, I have a PAR meter and a digital spectrometer, so I did some tests. The T5s had a slightly lower output in the dead center... as is expected... they are a 11"x35" area using the same wattage as a bulb that is what? 1" in diameter by 4" long? So the halide does have the 'hot spot' in the center... but the PAR levels of 600-800 in the center were more than any light loving SPS could even handle. The T5 lit tank generates PAR levels in the 400 range across the whole top of the tank... not just in the center. Thats why I say its a more 'useful' light. I can place light hungry corals anywhere along the top of the tank and they are getting perfect amounts... even, and without the shadows that are generated by the spotlight style of light that comes out of halides (My halides often left corals with one side pale as the intense light would hit the branches, but then block the branches behind and under).
Because the light is more spread out with the T5s, it penetrates better as well. At the bottom of the tank, the PAR levels were in the 200s across the whole bottom, except for the corners where it would drop off to 150. The halide lit tank had a peak of just over 200 in the center, but the rest of the bottom of the tank was getting alot less than the T5 tank... 80-100 for the most part.
This can be a good thing though. Halide offers greater peaks at the top, and shaded areas for lower light corals. Without a taller tank, T5 lit tanks can have too good of coverage for some corals like LPS and softies. In the T5 tank, I have to use screen to block some of the light in the T5 tank or the pipe-organ on the sand will melt. But Im talking a 40B with a single halide... youre talking a 75g with dual halides... Im not sure LPS and softies would have much a place to hide anyways.
I have pics of the comparative systems in the T5 vs MH ultimate faceoff thread FWIW.
The other things is that T5s seem more able to create blue light without significant output drops like with halides. My blue+ bulbs make just as much PAR at 11 months as my aquablues (a dayactinic bulb), and their output is only something like 20% less than a 6500K or 3000K bulb... not the 50% drop you see when going from 10,000Ks to 20,000Ks, not to mention the drop of 40-50% when you go from 3000Ks to 10,000Ks.
In person, the best tanks I see now use a 10,000K halide w/ T5 (running blue+ and actinic bulbs) supplimented in a 2wattMH per 1 watt T5 ratio. The results are astounding... beyond anything I have seen with either MH or T5 alone.
But the logistics of fitting both T5s and MH on a 75g can get a little messy... comprimises have to be made. So its easier to go with just one or the other... and given that choice these days, after seeing how much better my T5 lit tank is doing compared to my MH lit tanks, I would have to go with T5s.
When I change out halides after a year, its the whole bulb... the entire lighting... the light increase and sometimes coloration change can shock many corals. The ability to swap out only some bulbs at a time with T5s is a major bonus. The ability to mix and match individual bulbs to get the spectrum you want is much better than the offerings of even the better halides... You cant find bluer halides that still have a good sunlight spectrum... but you can combine sun bulbs with blue bulbs with T5s (and it looks pretty great too).
Not to mention that a dual 250 system will be anywhere from 600-660 watts when its all said and done... and a T5 setup.... 6 to 8 bulbs at a rated 54watts each, is going to be about 350-480 watts respective... and give you just as much light.
For retro kits, I would look into reefgeek. That Tek kit I listed above is a great option. If you call them, they will swap out the reflectors for the Icecap reflectors for $2 a bulb ($12 more). The icecap reflectors are perhaps the best on the market... they are coated and show gains over the Teks anywhere from 10-20% depending on the depth. They also have an anti-staining coat that prevents the salt spray from corroding the reflectors. This minor upgrade from the Tek retrofit is well worth it.
Heres the kit I would get...
http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5...:_6-54W_T5_HO_Fluorescents_by_Sunlight_Supply
6 bulbs should be enough unless you are running the bluest of setups, or have more than 2 actinic bulbs. You'll see. The great thing is, if you determine you need more, you can just add in another 2 bulb retro and you have 8 bulbs. You shouldnt need it though.
IF you want a full hood option, you are going to be spending $$$ for something good. Its most important to find something with individual parabolic reflectors for each bulb... so those cheapo units on ebay and from Coralife/CurrentUSA are just plain not worth it. The individual reflectors make up a good 60% of a T5s output. Makes you might want to look in to:
Fauna-Marin Ultra-Solaris from Aquarium Obsessed,
ATI powermodule from reefgeek (the top dog it seems, but $$$)
Aquatinics (great bang for the buck system really)
The Tek hoods are alright, but I have one and wouldnt buy one again. The reflectors stain too easily because they are raw aluminum. and the fixture doesnt have any fans, not that T5s put out loads of heat or anything... but they are sensitive to heat and so some sort of active cooling is needed (fans). Not alot, but just enough to keep the bulbs at 95degreesC. The right temp can boost output by 10-20% over fixtures that lack it, and the bulbs will last you a good 2+ years this way. Im at almost 12 months, and my T5s have some good life left... and thats great considering the first 3 months with the Tek was before I modded it with fans for cooling, so who knows how I might have been killing the bulbs.
I used to be a big believer in halide only systems. The amount of blue that VHOs and PC bulbs added just didnt compare to the crisp look of 20,000K bulbs. The thing is, this cuts down the output in a huge way with a halide... often 1/2 when you go from 10,000K to 20,000K. This I could stomach, as corals looked better, grew very well, etc.
Then the logistics of another tank I wanted to set up made me consider T5s because it would be right underneath another tank... so a hot halide would be trouble. So I decided to try T5s.
I thought T5s would be a good 'secondary' lighting setup, not as ideal as halides, but what I needed in this case. As soon as I turned them on I could tell I was wrong about that.
Side by side, against a 6 month old pheonix 14,000K 250wattDE (decent output for a 14,000K... beats some 10,000Ks FWIW), the new 6x39wattT5 (not even running the most efficient setup of bulbs even with two actinics and aquablue bulbs rather than daylight bulbs) matched the look of the pheonix 14,000K... the colors were almost identical. But the output of the T5 setup looked like it was double. This shocked me, considering the T5s were pulling about 244 watts and the halide... 320!
Well, I have a PAR meter and a digital spectrometer, so I did some tests. The T5s had a slightly lower output in the dead center... as is expected... they are a 11"x35" area using the same wattage as a bulb that is what? 1" in diameter by 4" long? So the halide does have the 'hot spot' in the center... but the PAR levels of 600-800 in the center were more than any light loving SPS could even handle. The T5 lit tank generates PAR levels in the 400 range across the whole top of the tank... not just in the center. Thats why I say its a more 'useful' light. I can place light hungry corals anywhere along the top of the tank and they are getting perfect amounts... even, and without the shadows that are generated by the spotlight style of light that comes out of halides (My halides often left corals with one side pale as the intense light would hit the branches, but then block the branches behind and under).
Because the light is more spread out with the T5s, it penetrates better as well. At the bottom of the tank, the PAR levels were in the 200s across the whole bottom, except for the corners where it would drop off to 150. The halide lit tank had a peak of just over 200 in the center, but the rest of the bottom of the tank was getting alot less than the T5 tank... 80-100 for the most part.
This can be a good thing though. Halide offers greater peaks at the top, and shaded areas for lower light corals. Without a taller tank, T5 lit tanks can have too good of coverage for some corals like LPS and softies. In the T5 tank, I have to use screen to block some of the light in the T5 tank or the pipe-organ on the sand will melt. But Im talking a 40B with a single halide... youre talking a 75g with dual halides... Im not sure LPS and softies would have much a place to hide anyways.
I have pics of the comparative systems in the T5 vs MH ultimate faceoff thread FWIW.
The other things is that T5s seem more able to create blue light without significant output drops like with halides. My blue+ bulbs make just as much PAR at 11 months as my aquablues (a dayactinic bulb), and their output is only something like 20% less than a 6500K or 3000K bulb... not the 50% drop you see when going from 10,000Ks to 20,000Ks, not to mention the drop of 40-50% when you go from 3000Ks to 10,000Ks.
In person, the best tanks I see now use a 10,000K halide w/ T5 (running blue+ and actinic bulbs) supplimented in a 2wattMH per 1 watt T5 ratio. The results are astounding... beyond anything I have seen with either MH or T5 alone.
But the logistics of fitting both T5s and MH on a 75g can get a little messy... comprimises have to be made. So its easier to go with just one or the other... and given that choice these days, after seeing how much better my T5 lit tank is doing compared to my MH lit tanks, I would have to go with T5s.
When I change out halides after a year, its the whole bulb... the entire lighting... the light increase and sometimes coloration change can shock many corals. The ability to swap out only some bulbs at a time with T5s is a major bonus. The ability to mix and match individual bulbs to get the spectrum you want is much better than the offerings of even the better halides... You cant find bluer halides that still have a good sunlight spectrum... but you can combine sun bulbs with blue bulbs with T5s (and it looks pretty great too).
Not to mention that a dual 250 system will be anywhere from 600-660 watts when its all said and done... and a T5 setup.... 6 to 8 bulbs at a rated 54watts each, is going to be about 350-480 watts respective... and give you just as much light.
For retro kits, I would look into reefgeek. That Tek kit I listed above is a great option. If you call them, they will swap out the reflectors for the Icecap reflectors for $2 a bulb ($12 more). The icecap reflectors are perhaps the best on the market... they are coated and show gains over the Teks anywhere from 10-20% depending on the depth. They also have an anti-staining coat that prevents the salt spray from corroding the reflectors. This minor upgrade from the Tek retrofit is well worth it.
Heres the kit I would get...
http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5...:_6-54W_T5_HO_Fluorescents_by_Sunlight_Supply
6 bulbs should be enough unless you are running the bluest of setups, or have more than 2 actinic bulbs. You'll see. The great thing is, if you determine you need more, you can just add in another 2 bulb retro and you have 8 bulbs. You shouldnt need it though.
IF you want a full hood option, you are going to be spending $$$ for something good. Its most important to find something with individual parabolic reflectors for each bulb... so those cheapo units on ebay and from Coralife/CurrentUSA are just plain not worth it. The individual reflectors make up a good 60% of a T5s output. Makes you might want to look in to:
Fauna-Marin Ultra-Solaris from Aquarium Obsessed,
ATI powermodule from reefgeek (the top dog it seems, but $$$)
Aquatinics (great bang for the buck system really)
The Tek hoods are alright, but I have one and wouldnt buy one again. The reflectors stain too easily because they are raw aluminum. and the fixture doesnt have any fans, not that T5s put out loads of heat or anything... but they are sensitive to heat and so some sort of active cooling is needed (fans). Not alot, but just enough to keep the bulbs at 95degreesC. The right temp can boost output by 10-20% over fixtures that lack it, and the bulbs will last you a good 2+ years this way. Im at almost 12 months, and my T5s have some good life left... and thats great considering the first 3 months with the Tek was before I modded it with fans for cooling, so who knows how I might have been killing the bulbs.
