? about T5's

[tami1024]

I currently have 4 65w 10000k's and 2 65w 50/50's and 2 actinic 420/460 PC's. I would like to upgrade to T5's because from what I have been reading they seem to run cooler and are less expensive. My ? is do I have to run 65w or can I go to a lower wattage to get the brightness that I am looking for?

 

[GT3000XX]

T5's wattage are based on the lenght of bulb. Example 36" T5HO's are 39 watts each 48" are 54 watts.

 

[tami1024]

are t5 54w brighter than the 65w pc's that I am currently running?Trying to find something that is just as bright if not brighter that does'nt heat my tank up so much. My 75 is 48" in long.

 

[Puffdragon]

Need to add that the IceCap 660 ballast will overdrive the lights. Not sure of how much for the 36" 39 watt bulbs but the 48" 54 watt bulbs are taken to 80 watts in the IceCap.

 

[divewsharks]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14931840#post14931840 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tami1024
are t5 54w brighter than the 65w pc's that I am currently running?Trying to find something that is just as bright if not brighter that does'nt heat my tank up so much. My 75 is 48" in long.

Yes T5's are brighter and better performing than PC's.
They should not make any significant impact to the heat in your tank.

the wattage is really only important as a way of measuring power used, not output.

Are you considering retros' or a fixture?

 

[dwilly]

The key difference w/ T5's is the ability t have individual reflectors for each bulb. The reflectors provide a 200%+ improvement in the amount of light that goes in to the tank. W/o ind relectors for each bulb, the only advantage of T5's would be that they would last longer (12 - 18 months vs. 6 months for pc's.) You don't need to overdrive the bulbs to get enough light for growing sps corals. If you don't have sps and don't ever intend to get them, you can run fine w/ 4 bulbs, otherwise 6 would be better.

 

[divewsharks]

having 4 bulbs or 6 bulbs doesn't matter much in keeping SPS, it matters in coverage in the tank, allowing more locations to place light-demanding corals. meaning if you have 4 bulbs, you can keep SPS, you would just need to make sure that they are directly under the the bulbs and not too far forward or back, thereby not getting enough light. if you have 6 bulbs you've now increased the area which is getting direct light, and as such you now have a greater area where you can place your SPS.

using 6 bulbs also allows for more bulb options so you can mix/match more bulb combos to achieve the desired color you are looking for.

hope this makes sense..