GOT INDIVIDUAL REFLECTORS FOR MY NOVA T5's LOOK

[sytanek]

There are different T5 Lighting Fixtures. LOTS of the T5 fixtures already come with individual parabolic reflectors. The Current Nova Extreme comes with one big reflector, thus the need for this mod. The reason people buy the Current Nova's are that they are 200$ with bulbs compared to 364$ for the Teklight without bulbs. Obviously you get what you pay for, but the Current T5's arent that bad if your running mostly softies and lps. Don't have to much experience with SPS yet, so can't testify how they would do. Also one reason people like the T5's is the relatively low cost of power they draw. I think I may pay 5$ a month more running my lights on a normal schedule. I have heard from many people, especially when you get up says 300 or 400w, that you can expect your power bill to jump up a little bit.


Not stating this is always the case, just from what I've experienced and read.

 

[sytanek]

Oh yeah one last thought, Reefworks is now running Teklight T5's over ALL of their coral, and Chris said they are very happy with them.

also, I like the need for no chiller. lol. Not saying I won't go MH on any system ever, but my T5's put off maybe 1 degree. In fact even when it was 90~ out the other day, I had to run my heater...:/

 

[markandkristen]

thats a good idea i think if you would update the thread maybe each month to show how well your corals do. i had t5s and didnt like the actinics as most have complained about. i did do the vhos for actinic. and running the 250 halides. i run no fan or chiller and my tank gets up to 81 then back down to 79 at night. but i think if you like t5s thats great and i think if you use the individual reflectors your going to get more par. i went with the lumnemax 2 reflectors just for the fact i know they bring more par than spider reflectors...

 

[sytanek]

What type of actinic bulb were you using? Just interested, because there are several different ones available. Thanks for the info on the reflectors!

Did you notice a difference in your power bill with the switch? I'm able to keep my tank at 79.4 without any fluxation. Day or Night the temp is the same.

 

[skinnyjoe1976]

the t5's run electronic ballast correct. halide can also run off electronic ballast. what would be the savings other than the output wattage difference. can get a 250 setup for 200 and some of the t5 i've seen run from the 190 to 500 dollar range for 216 watts. don't see the savings

 

[ryanhayes96]

I RUN 2 10000 k DAYLIGHT BLBS AND 2 ACTINIC BULBS MADE BY CURRENT

 

[sytanek]

You can get one 250 setup, but for a 48" you would need 2 correct?

 

[sytanek]

Abtw your inbox is full. lol

 

[sytanek]

http://www.specialty-lights.com/aquarium-lights-faq-intro.html

Quick contrast of T5 vs MH

 

[ryanhayes96]

im sorry i dont undersand ur question lol

 

[sytanek]

huh, there was a question? lol

BTW Not saying T5's are better than MH, just comparing the 2.

 

[markandkristen]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9779558#post9779558 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sytanek
What type of actinic bulb were you using? Just interested, because there are several different ones available. Thanks for the info on the reflectors!

Did you notice a difference in your power bill with the switch? I'm able to keep my tank at 79.4 without any fluxation. Day or Night the temp is the same.

i used the g-man pure actinics. i tried the current 460nm wich i know that thier is better bulbs in the 460nm range but wasnt reall impressed. i actually only run my actinics for 2 hours a day which are vho super actinics. my 20k xm bring that spectrum as well. i personallly am a metal halide fan for the shimmer affect as well. im using the magnetic ballast so they produce a little more par as well. i think that ati makes a nice bulb for actinics but .... i guess when you get used to vho bulbs for actinic its hard to switch.

 

[ryanhayes96]

you said

You can get one 250 setup, but for a 48" you would need 2 correct?

 

[sytanek]

Oh, I was aking if you would need two 250w mh setups for a 48" long tank.

 

[markandkristen]

ive seen nice tanks with mhs and ive seen nice tanks with t5s i think they both produce good growth. i know marcey said that alot of the sps corals she was getting lately come from the deeper waters which seem to like the 20k spectrum (i believe i understood her to say that). i think the ora coral farms utilize the xm 20k bulbs. i think this i why some are claiming great growth under that spectrum of 20k. i do know that the xm 10k produces awesome par. i am still wondering if par is everything. thats a debate within itself. thats why i said i would like to come back to this thread monthly and show some progress reports. i think sometimes scientific facts should not be the only way to report whether something works or not. obviously your not going to get growth out of a night light however i have seen tanks run off of NO fluorscents and seen sps grow under them.

 

[sytanek]

Thanks for the added info. I may go MH on my next tank, so always interested in more info. I was just under the impression MH costs quite a bit more all around.

 

[thor32766]

the benefits of t5's are the fact of the longevity of the bulb life (18 months for actinic and 24 months for non-atinic) along with the heat and not having to run as many watts. Give you an example in my 220 gallon tank I have a huge carpet, tons of zoas, mushrooms etc. and three pretty large clams and I run 8x54 watt t'5s so 432 watts. on a 30" deep tank. People are usually pretty astonished to hear how very little wattage I have on my tank and what I have in it. I also dont have individual reflectors. so this would be the advantages i guess in a sum.

 

[markandkristen]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9780190#post9780190 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by thor32766
the benefits of t5's are the fact of the longevity of the bulb life (18 months for actinic and 24 months for non-atinic) along with the heat and not having to run as many watts. Give you an example in my 220 gallon tank I have a huge carpet, tons of zoas, mushrooms etc. and three pretty large clams and I run 8x54 watt t'5s so 432 watts. on a 30" deep tank. People are usually pretty astonished to hear how very little wattage I have on my tank and what I have in it. I also dont have individual reflectors. so this would be the advantages i guess in a sum.

thats pretty good on longevity some are saying they are only getting like 6-8 months on actinics. thats good to know

 

[skinnyjoe1976]

depends on the reflector. 1 mh would probaly not be enough. would go 2. my main think is that if t5's did that great of a job why don't we all use them? if lps and softies are what your after than would be a great option. but again a sps dominated tank imo would not have the growth with t5's. just like marcye said ora uses mh and i know drmac corals uses 20xm also. sorry to rant on t5's but mark has a good idea. why dont you start a thread on rc and lets see what the growth would be until src and then maybe sanjay could clear this whole debate up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[ryanhayes96]

i will when i get some sps