Tony Romano
Member
Nice
Halides vs. T5's
- Thread starter fender4string
- Start date
mightyevil
New member
I have read about the ATI fixture but I cant find a dealer except outside the US and call me naive but I dont trust it.
Thanks for the info on that thread I will check it out as soon as I can.
slathrum
Member
If you have the option to go without a hood, MH with Lumenarc reflectors suspended or on a light rack look awesome and the heat issues aren't as bad. If I didn't have cats that would try to jump up there, I'd do it myself. I was using 7 54 watt T5's retro'd into a canopy over my 135 (72 x 18 x 25). Basically more than enough for LPS and softies and I had a couple SPS frags growing well too. If heat wasn't so much an issue, I'd definitely go for MH. Anyone that doesn't think T5's are cooler is mistaken. Maybe the heat is spread out of the length of the bulb, but the simple fact is that the bulb overall does not produce as much heat. Also, I wouldn't try dimming your T5's unless you know that you have a dimming ballast, which most are not. Dimmable ballasts are quite expensive and not very common.
James77
Team RC
Watt for watt, T5s produce the same amount of heat as MHs. If there were a 100 watt T5, it would produce as much heat as a 100 watt halide.
That said, you need less watts of T5s over a typical tank, and they require cooling to perform optimally. Because of that, little heat is imparted to the tank. My ATI PM would cool the bulbs and blow the hot air completely away from the tank- almost no heat was imparted.
Comparing that to MHs in an improperly vented hood would not be a fair comparison. Properly cooled/vented halides do not cause the heat problems that many people speak of(ie -that a chiller is an absolute MUST).
mightyevil
New member
)
I see what you mean now...
Well I dont know, I guess I will have to research a lot more now because the more I try to get help the more confusing it gets, I mean everyone has great opinions on T5s as well as Halides.
The thing is that T5s seem the cheaper way to go and it seems that they perform as well as Halides...the plus with spending a little more money is the shimmer effect which is awasome and completely worth the extra cash for some, I just dont know what where I fall in just yet...Will I sacrifice myself for shimmer or will I satisfy for T5s and put the extra cash into good use
D live sand or live rock or skimmer etc...
)
I see what you mean now...
Well I dont know, I guess I will have to research a lot more now because the more I try to get help the more confusing it gets, I mean everyone has great opinions on T5s as well as Halides.
The thing is that T5s seem the cheaper way to go and it seems that they perform as well as Halides...the plus with spending a little more money is the shimmer effect which is awasome and completely worth the extra cash for some, I just dont know what where I fall in just yet...Will I sacrifice myself for shimmer or will I satisfy for T5s and put the extra cash into good use
D live sand or live rock or skimmer etc...)
mightyevil
New member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14885267#post14885267 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by James77
Reefgeek.com is an ATI dealer, right in California
Thanks for this info James I appreciate it!
james3370
Premium Member
as far as "shimmer" goes, my biocube 8 w/ power compacts has a bit of shimmer to it because of the surface aggitation generated from the hydor flo deflector i have on the return
my new build, i am doing 15w of leds for shimmer supplementation coupled w/ the hydor flo deflector on the return & the multiple loc-lines on the over the top closed loop return to keep the water surface aggitated
all told, my diy moonlights & t5 shimmer supplementation bar cost about $75-100 & will last for about 5-10yrs
me personally, i'd only do halides on a tank that was longer than 60" cause then you run into having to do multiples of shorter t5s which can make it cost prohibitive
my new build, i am doing 15w of leds for shimmer supplementation coupled w/ the hydor flo deflector on the return & the multiple loc-lines on the over the top closed loop return to keep the water surface aggitated
all told, my diy moonlights & t5 shimmer supplementation bar cost about $75-100 & will last for about 5-10yrs
me personally, i'd only do halides on a tank that was longer than 60" cause then you run into having to do multiples of shorter t5s which can make it cost prohibitive
Last edited:
Tony Romano
Member
How does one make a T5 shimmer bar?
james3370
Premium Member
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1587273
my build thread post (w/ short vid clip):
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=14884253#post14884253
Tony Romano
Member
I don't get the shimmer - very bright LEDs at different points?
How is dimming controlled? Looks like very nifty stuff BTW.
My controller has all sorts of nifty things for dimming, moon phase, storms etc.
How is dimming controlled? Looks like very nifty stuff BTW.
My controller has all sorts of nifty things for dimming, moon phase, storms etc.
james3370
Premium Member
the shimmer will come from the surface aqqitation & the single point light sources of the LEDs. my biocube 8 has the hydor on the return & the waves it creates gives a shimmer effect
the dimming on mine is only on the blues. they are powered thru a dimmable buckpuck that has an external pot. since they were just moonlights, i went dimmable to turn them down so as for them to not be so bright. they will be a "set it & forget it" thing
i might incorporate the leds into my surise/sunset timing....haven't decided yet. mainly i did the whole thing for the moonlights, but figured since it was such a relatively inexpensive & easy project, i might as well add the whites to hopefully get the desired shimmer effect while i was doing it
Tony Romano
Member
Interesting stuff - I love gizmos!
james3370
Premium Member
parts list for mine:
* (1 lot) of (5) 1 watt blue LEDs for moonlights - about $15 shipped
* (1 lot) of (5) 3 watt white LEDs for shimmer - about $17 shipped
* (2) 20 volt / 1 amp wall warts to power each string - about $16 shipped
* (1) 350mA Dimable Buckpuck for the blue LEDs - $19.99 + shipping
* (1) 500mA Standard Buckpuck for the white LEDs - $14.99 + shipping
* (1) project box to hold wiring & buckpucks - $4
* (2) female power plugs for the power supplies to plug into - $3.50/each
for the heatsink to mount the LEDs to, i used some aluminum stock i picked up from lowes. it was 3/4" wide "u-channel" that was 3ft long. it was about $10. i also used 6-32 screws & nuts & small nylon washers to mount the LEDs to the aluminum bar that i also picked up at lowes
* (1 lot) of (5) 1 watt blue LEDs for moonlights - about $15 shipped
* (1 lot) of (5) 3 watt white LEDs for shimmer - about $17 shipped
* (2) 20 volt / 1 amp wall warts to power each string - about $16 shipped
* (1) 350mA Dimable Buckpuck for the blue LEDs - $19.99 + shipping
* (1) 500mA Standard Buckpuck for the white LEDs - $14.99 + shipping
* (1) project box to hold wiring & buckpucks - $4
* (2) female power plugs for the power supplies to plug into - $3.50/each
for the heatsink to mount the LEDs to, i used some aluminum stock i picked up from lowes. it was 3/4" wide "u-channel" that was 3ft long. it was about $10. i also used 6-32 screws & nuts & small nylon washers to mount the LEDs to the aluminum bar that i also picked up at lowes
reefdude135
New member
That's the same issue I have James.... a 6' tank means 6x80 T5 at a minimum. I could achieve the same with 3x175 MH placed, 6" above the water....
P.S. (480w of T5 vs. 525 halide... not much savings there).
reefdude135
New member
RedFish, are you saying that T5 ran hotter for you than MH?
Tony Romano
Member
I still can't get past the 250 Watt pumching straight down vs 54 watt.
However i do believe we are discussing which very good way to use. If i were starting over I suspect I would do T5s.
However i do believe we are discussing which very good way to use. If i were starting over I suspect I would do T5s.
slathrum
Member
Sorry, a watt is never equal to a watt when efficiency is involved. There is no fair comparison between two completely different technologies. Heat is a byproduct of the way the electricity is used. Take your standard aquarium heater. You can see the elements glow when they heat up, yet it does not produce nearly as much light as its equivalent wattage T5 or MH. Fans or not, because of it's design a MH watt for watt will produce more heat.
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