Adding T5 to LED's

[Reefer525XL]

I wanted to see what you guys suggest as far as number of bulbs and color. My tank is 300g (96"x30"x25") and run 6x OR Arctic T247 but I wanted to add T5 to the mix. The bulbs would need to be 48" long and I was thinking I could run 4 or 8 bulbs. If I went with 4 I would have two bulbs along the back side of the tank and two in the front of the tank with the OR fixtures in the middle of the tank. If I went with 8 T5's then 4 along the back and 4 along the front with the OR fixtures in the middle.

My tank has a canopy so the T5's would be a retrofit kit custom mounted in the canopy to fit behind and in front of the LED fixtures. The only thing holding me back is whether I should go with 4 or 8 bulbs. So if you guys could help me out here and let me know what would be best and what color combination I should go with I would appreciate it.

 

[Ches]

I would do 8 bulbs so you can be able to have a better mix(pair). Like Coral+ and Blue+ in front, Blue+ and Purple+ in the back. Just me. I added T-5s a few weeks ago with my radions, currently running AB Special and Coral+, my Blue+ broke in shipment so waiting on that to find the right color choice.

 

[DDon]

I have a 96" long tank as well (96"×24"×24") and supplement my LEDS (kessil and a DIY fixture) with T-5s. Using 8 48" bulbs, 4 back, 4 front. Running the supplements end to end so essentially 2 bulbs in front and 2 in back the length of the tank. On a tank with 30" depth and the OR fixtures the same configuration should work well. Been playing around with colors and so far my favorite 2 combos have been:

Front:
ATI Blue plus
ATI purple plus
LED
ATI coral plus
ATI blue plus

Front:
ATI blue plus
KZ Fiji purple
LED
ATI blue plus
Geissmann pure actinic

 

[Reefer525XL]

Seems like a mixture of Blue+, Coral+ and Purple+ is the popular choice… Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[Reefer525XL]

I have a 96" long tank as well (96"×24"×24") and supplement my LEDS (kessil and a DIY fixture) with T-5s. Using 8 48" bulbs, 4 back, 4 front. Running the supplements end to end so essentially 2 bulbs in front and 2 in back the length of the tank. On a tank with 30" depth and the OR fixtures the same configuration should work well. Been playing around with colors and so far my favorite 2 combos have been:

Front:
ATI Blue plus
ATI purple plus
LED
ATI coral plus
ATI blue plus

Front:
ATI blue plus
KZ Fiji purple
LED
ATI blue plus
Geissmann pure actinic

How long are you running the LED's & T5's?

 

[DDon]

How long are you running the LED's & T5's?

I run LEDs a total of 12 hours including ramp up and down. For T5s if run half (the blue bulbs) for 9 1/2 hours and the other half for 4 hours. I may increase the white bulbs to 6 hours in the future as I ran it like that previously with good results.

 

[Ian14]

I have a 220 with reef breeder leds. Added two 60 inch let micro-4 leds and it adds great colo/light to the tank. Corals seem to be responding better as well

Glad I did it

 

[Reefer525XL]

I have a 220 with reef breeder leds. Added two 60 inch let micro-4 leds and it adds great colo/light to the tank. Corals seem to be responding better as well

Glad I did it

You added more LED's to your LED's? Or did I misunderstand something?

 

[Reefer525XL]

I run LEDs a total of 12 hours including ramp up and down. For T5s if run half (the blue bulbs) for 9 1/2 hours and the other half for 4 hours. I may increase the white bulbs to 6 hours in the future as I ran it like that previously with good results.

Right now Im also running the LED's for 12 hours @ 45% Blue and 20% White since I cannot ramp up or down with these fixtures, shouldn't be an issue since when there was only MH & T5 they ran at full intensity for X amount of time.

 

[Ron Reefman]

I guess I don't understand, you run your current leds at 45% and 20% and you want to add t5's? Why?

 

[BryanS4]

I wanted to see what you guys suggest as far as number of bulbs and color. My tank is 300g (96"x30"x25") and run 6x OR Arctic T247 but I wanted to add T5 to the mix. The bulbs would need to be 48" long and I was thinking I could run 4 or 8 bulbs. If I went with 4 I would have two bulbs along the back side of the tank and two in the front of the tank with the OR fixtures in the middle of the tank. If I went with 8 T5's then 4 along the back and 4 along the front with the OR fixtures in the middle.

My tank has a canopy so the T5's would be a retrofit kit custom mounted in the canopy to fit behind and in front of the LED fixtures. The only thing holding me back is whether I should go with 4 or 8 bulbs. So if you guys could help me out here and let me know what would be best and what color combination I should go with I would appreciate it.

I run the same LEDs as you on a 6' 125 g tank. I also have two t5's to supplement, Blue Plus in the back and Coral Plus up front. I personally love the color combo.

 

[Reefer525XL]

I guess I don't understand, you run your current leds at 45% and 20% and you want to add t5's? Why?

Why not? For the same reason some people run all 3 (LED, T5 & MH) or T5 & LED.

T5's have a better spread, not just straight down like LED's. For example, if you pick up an SPS frag or small colony lit only by LED most likely the underside of the coral will have no color at all. Now you do the same with a frag or small colony lit by T5 or MH and there will be color on the underside.

 

[Reefer525XL]

I run the same LEDs as you on a 6' 125 g tank. I also have two t5's to supplement, Blue Plus in the back and Coral Plus up front. I personally love the color combo.

At what intensity do you run the LED's?

 

[BryanS4]

At what intensity do you run the LED's?

70/50 BW. My lights sit about 12.5" off the water. With just the LEDs this gives me right at 300 just under the water line and 120 at the sand bed. I haven't gotten my hands on par meter since adding T5's a few months back, so I don't know what new numbers are.

I run the T5's for three hours and have seen better growth and color in my acros.

 

[Reefer525XL]

70/50 BW. My lights sit about 12.5" off the water. With just the LEDs this gives me right at 300 just under the water line and 120 at the sand bed. I haven't gotten my hands on par meter since adding T5's a few months back, so I don't know what new numbers are.

I run the T5's for three hours and have seen better growth and color in my acros.

Did you mount the T5 in a canopy? Did you buy a retro fit kit or did you build one?

 

[BryanS4]

Did you mount the T5 in a canopy? Did you buy a retro fit kit or did you build one?

I just posted a picture in your other thread. A handful of folks in my local club had really good luck with some fixtures off Amazon, Sunblaster, so I gave them a try as well. So far so good.

 

[Reefer525XL]

Thanks… I look them up.