Bulb suggestions

[LSUJosh]

I have a 60" 6x 80w tek fixture. It has been running for about 8 months now at 10 hours per day. I was wondering how often I should change the bulbs and if anyone had a recommendation of bulbs to put in it. I want a nice balance of color with great growth.

 

[zachfishman]

There's a big T5HO bulb selection thread in this forum run by grimreefer. In it is lots of discussion on bulb combos, brand comparisons, etc.

EDIT: got it: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1706461&highlight=the+t5

 

[rtparty]

I have a 60" 6x 80w tek fixture. It has been running for about 8 months now at 10 hours per day. I was wondering how often I should change the bulbs and if anyone had a recommendation of bulbs to put in it. I want a nice balance of color with great growth.

Are you running the acrylic shield? If so, remove that. It traps in a ton of heat and kills your performance.

I would also get an external fan to blow on the fixture to help cool it down.

Non-cooled T5's should be replaced every 6 months. With proper cooling you can push it out to 12 months.

For bulbs I would go with 4 ATI Blue Plus, 1 ATI Purple Plus and 1 GE6500k.

 

[LSUJosh]

The acrylic shield has been removed. It seems pretty cooled, the back of the fixture is slightly warm to the touch, they have been on for roughly 3 and half hours now.

 

[rtparty]

The acrylic shield has been removed. It seems pretty cooled, the back of the fixture is slightly warm to the touch, they have been on for roughly 3 and half hours now.

An external fan will improve PAR and bulb life. You get about 20% better PAR when you cool the Tek fixtures.

 

[zachfishman]

An external fan will improve PAR and bulb life. You get about 20% better PAR when you cool the Tek fixtures.

I'm suspicious, how does this occur?

 

[rtparty]

I'm suspicious, how does this occur?

T5's must be kept at an optimal temperature to achieve maximum performance. That temperature is 95F at the cold spot (usually the label end of the bulb).

With no fans, the Teks usually run too hot and that hurts performance.

 

[LSUJosh]

So should I mount fans to the fixture itself or enclose my entire canopy except for some fans forcing all heat out?

 

[rtparty]

So should I mount fans to the fixture itself or enclose my entire canopy except for some fans forcing all heat out?

The clamp on Azoo fans are a nice external fan to use. They clamp right on the tank and you can angle them.