Let's See Some T5 Only Lite Tanks (remember Just T5 Lite Tanks) :-)

[Ball]

Ball - how long have you had the clam and the T5s? Also is your bulb layout fromt to back?

About 1 month. The layout is back to front.

Ball: what wattage and what size tank, also how deep from water surface to sand bed?

The tank is a 75 gallon. The bulbs are 54 watts each. I dont know off the top of my head how far it is to the sand. Probably about 18" from the surface to the top of the sand. The lights are about 3" - 4" from the water surface.

 

[horkn]

sjim. ok, the prices have come down greatly on the icecap and the tek reflectors is all i can say about that...i wonder why that is..hmmm... competition maybe?

but regardless, 10 dollars less now is still a bit less , especially when you take in to effect that we run 2-8 bulbs over our tanks..


adrinal, i know aqualux has awesome customer service as well.
as far as carrying the good stuff and no pop ups, well aqualux doesnt have any pop ups, and carrys name brand high quality stuff as well...

it comes down to this, if you want inexpensive, t5ho, and good quality to all work in the same sentence together.. aqualux is the only company that has that option with the DIY retro kits they have.....

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Ice Cap prices are right where they started, the SLS has dropped a couple bucks.

Aqualux only lists T5 lighting. I think that is what people mean about selection. Reefgeek has pretty good prices on a number of things, about anything you would want for your reef.

One thing I did notice is Aqualux is running a free shipping deal on orders over 99 bucks (enter free ship for a coupon) so anyone looking for lamps ought to stock up.

 

[zapata41]

i second reefgeek, i ordered my t5 retro from him, GREAT customer service and great prices on everything. its very nice to order all you need for a project from one place rather than 10 different places incuring multiple shipping charges

Tim

 

[adrinal]

adrinal, i know aqualux has awesome customer service as well.
as far as carrying the good stuff and no pop ups, well aqualux doesnt have any pop ups, and carrys name brand high quality stuff as well...

it comes down to this, if you want inexpensive, t5ho, and good quality to all work in the same sentence together.. aqualux is the only company that has that option with the DIY retro kits they have.....

Thanks for the update. I had not thought of the DIY angle
Grim clarified my point for me. I ment for quality (though not neccesarly for those on the cheep) Reef Geek is, pretty much, one stop shopping.

do you have the url for us to compair?

 

[adrinal]

nm got it.

http://www.aqualuxlighting.com/

 

[FastUno]

Adrinal, I also have Tek T5, 54W 4' fixture on a 90g tank. My lights are 3 1/2" off the top of the tank. I was just wondering if you had an issues with lighting & corals?

For instance I will give you some of the issues that I have had:

-Mushrooms- I have red mushrooms that simply dont like the light, they shrivel up & dont look pretty. When I place them in the shade they appear back to normal. This happend on my 55g & the new 90g (24" deep). Mushrooms were always on the floor.
Same goes true with my purple mushrroms. My purple ones are not in shade in my 90g, but have turned an awesome purple now, before in my 55g they were getting paler.

-Torch- when I moved my torch from my 55g, where it was lower in the tank (about 40% from ground on a 20" tank) to about 60% off ground on a 24" it bleached!!! Within 3 days or so it really bleached badly. This time though, the torch was in the back more, more under the aquablues & less under the Blue+, perhaps this is the reason? Never thought this one would bleach, for I have heard it was light loving!

-Pocillipora- This one is up in the air, because I started to use Crystal Sea marinemix salt. Others who have used this reported their Pocilliporas to bleach, so it may have been the salt.
3 frags of poc bleached on me though. IS ANYONE ABLE TO KEEP POCILLIPORA UNDER T5's? Just want to know if it was the salt or lights.

-Toadstool- I have 2 of these. One of them, the one that used to be lower in my 55g tank started to get lighter, when I brought it down it started getting some color back, but not completely. When moved to my 90g it went back to normal. I noticed this also about the time that I used Crystal Sea salt & have heard others report their toadstools completely bleaching.

Colt- Could be salt? This one completely bleached. Since moved to 90g it has gained some color back.

-Green brain- Again always on the bottom of the tank. Another coral that does not appreciate the direct light. It has better color now that its in a deeper tank.

-Maze brain- Another one that started to get white. It has always been at the bottom. Since being moved to my 90 it has gained color back.

-Monti cap- I have had this cap on the same rock work & height in my 55 & 90g. On my 55g it started to get lighter & lighter over time. Now in my new 90g (which is about 4" deeper) it has assumed an AWESOME thick rich color. Interesting enough, I had a second piece that was higher in my 55g tank, but shaded by a PVC pipe. This one never got lighter. They are both the same awesome color now.

Hope I don't scare anyone! I have many other corals that are really AWESOME in color & doing just fine, I will list a few:
-galaxia- loves the light & is growing
-frogspawn- awesome green color
-fuzzy green mushroom- they are on top & love the light, have grown 3-4x
-Rics- are at bottom & are growing & splitting. When I originally had them at higher, they did not like it.
-Zoos- are all doing fine. I had one set that did not like it at the bottom of my 55 & now are awesome in color & appearance
-Dig cap- growing & doing fine
-Toadstool- The green one I have is doing great, never any problems, it is the yellow one that I had issues with.
GSP- never any problems with
Xenia- doing fine & great purple tint
Red Lobo- doing fine. This one changed color from more of a red to a pink. Its more under the Blue+/Actinic side. Now since the move its a darker pink.
Kenya Tree- Awesome color, never any problems & growing like mad.

 

[plc001]

Is that Aquablue plus you list the aquablue? I'd try a Ge day and a Blue plus if it were me. The GE makes the red and yellow colors look more natural and the blueplus washes out the green color of the GE lamp.

I'm not sure. The packing on the bulb said 'Aquablue+' but the invoice states 'ATI T5 AquaBlue (60/40)'

 

[adrinal]

Fast,

Yes, I have had similar issues from time to time. For me I would say the larger issue is water flow, skimmer break down (and then lazyness to get the new one set up ).

I have a bit more lighting than you, the 6 tec on a 75.

You have a much more varied selection of corals than I. So, I can not comment on all the specific corals.

ZOAs are about the only hard ones to tell. Some of them dig it at the top, some like it at the bottom, in a cave, behind a hermit crab. It can be frusterating to know when to move them and give them time to aclimate. I lost two great looking colonies a way back. Now, I just start them at the bottom or in a sick tank with the HD lights, then move them up.

The 3 SPS corals I have have never had a problem. I started them right at the top.

FROG/HAMMER. Started in the center, and I have never tried anything else. The frog is verysensitive to waterflow and condition. I have some pieces of hammer drop to the bottom and I may be lazy to pick them up.... They do fine on the bottom (BB tank, probably a bit brighter than a sand tank).
I have some sort of brain. I have kept him in other attached tanks, and while my other corals do not mind, he does. I keep him partially shaded, I suspect, with all things being neerly equal, he really likes the t5 or the deep water.
................
Shrooms and rics, fungia, some of my zoa, gsp, pipeorgan... could care less if they are in my refuge with a HD 6500k skrew in bulb or not.
..................
My set up is not the new popular method to go. I still have the 2 blue (not sure which blue), 3 GE Day, 1 atinic combo.

I only run 3 days and 1 atinic for 6 hours a day and run the two blues for 12 hours. My toadstool is almost at the botom and comes out more in the morning and evening. I asume he just does not like the full blast.

For a couple of weeks I kept about half my corals at the top. Mushrooms could care less where they were. Some of the zoa did not dig it. The toadstool was not happy at all.

Well, thats all I can think of. I hope some of this helps.
................................................................................................
Short answer is: T5s are bright enough to bother some corals too high up, and grow any coral if you get them close enough to the surface.
You don't need ALL fancy expensive bulbs.
More importiantly than light, is the water quality and a nice medium to high water flow IMO.

:bum:

 

[brentp]

IS ANYONE ABLE TO KEEP POCILLIPORA UNDER T5's? Just want to know if it was the salt or lights.

I have an ORA pink and a Yellow/Green, both about 12" from the light that are doing fine. I almost killed the pink one about 6 months ago with too much water flow.

 

[gabe3d]

Fastuno,

I have a hot pink pocillopara in my tank for 4 months now and it is doing great. the coloration is good (no purpling up and it is growing) and it is having slight growth. Here is a pic fo it about 2 months ago.

Gabe

 

[The Grim Reefer]

I don't know if this will relate to a pocillapara or not. I got a pink stylophora that arrived broken. I placed one half on one side of the tank and one in the other. They were both within a couple inches of the same height and under the same mix of lamps.

They arrived pretty bright pink but a bit washed out. One of them got a more intense color, about like the pic above. The other darkened up, a more dirty purple color now. The only difference is water flow. The brightly colored half is in the back wash of the flow from a stream powerhead. The other gets low flow, which i am about to correct.

I keep a yellow tipped torch, a bubble coral and anchore coral, green and blue shrooms and a couple of finger leather frags in the sand. Since removing the 6 x 80 overdriven T5's and adding the 150 watt halides.with PC actinics (PAR with T5 145, Halide/PC 98) I have noticed differences in the couple weeks of new lighting.

The bubble coral is spreading out much more
The Anchore is getting more green in it
The torch doesn't extend the tenticles nearly as far
Blue shrooms opening much wider
Green shrooms no change
Finger leathers extend much farther
I also have orange shroom on the sand and withing 6" of the top. Nothing affects these babies.

The Frogspawn is about half way up the rocks and it doesn't swell the polyps as much but is spread just as much as ever.

The yellow Fijiis about 6" from the top and looks much happier. Even in the sand it was only opening a few hours a day. Now it is open 6 or 7 hours and as soon as I move some frags I will return it to the bottom to see what happens.

I think the overdriven T5's were a little too much for a mixed tank 23.5" tall. The SPS all seemed to like them. The Crocea clam will stay on the rocks now too. It used to kick itself into the sand.

 

[adrinal]

Green shrooms no change

I was begining to think nothing short of nuclear anhilation would hurt "green shrooms". But, I was wrong. I threw mine in my sump. Forgot about topping off a few days... ok a week. The water level dropped well below some of the shrooms. That gave them mortality to think about... but no drying them out for 3-4 days wasn't quite enough to kill them

 

[FastUno]

adrinal, yes info does help some..thanks. BTW, I start off with 2 lights on for about 2 hrs, then shut those off & 4 bulbs on for 7hrs, then 2 bulbs for another 2 hrs.

brentp, glad to hear it. Those sound like interesting colors. I will go on a pocillipora rampage & will want all sorts soon, but want to make sure I can handle them.

gabe3d, WOW....EYE POPPING COLORS!!! You have just initiated my hunt for that type of poc. I will probably get small frags of any type just to see how it turns out again.

The Grim Reefer, do you regret the upgrade of lights or are you satisfied. I have gone through these mind battles of wanting to go MH. The only thing that is keeping me back is the darn heat, would need a chiller then. I would probably start off with 150W & at some point introduce 250's if I do so.

At the bottom is a pic of the 26g that I started off with, I had a brown/metalilc green poc (hard to see the green in tihs pic for whatever reason), but it was awesome. Very full & had an interesting green at the tips, but mostly it was brown. It was given to me like that. I had a fish nibble at it for some time & ended up removing the fish. It slowly started to recover & making great progress, until the move into my 55g tank with the new T5's.
It's on left side in a rock covered with coralline.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

I mainly went halide to get away from the oak canopy the T5's were in. Getting the deal Igot on em didn't hurt either

I am liking the way the corals are looking. I may upgrade to a couple 250 watt 14K lamps to pop more color and leave the 10K 150 in the center. I am going to pull the PC actinics for a blueplus and actinic 80 watt T5. The PC'c pop the color pretty well but do little to take the yellow edge off the 10K's.

 

[SLOreefer]

horkn, how did you get a 3x39w kit? i would love to get a similar 3x24w but dont see those ballasts offered. what specifically did you get or do i have to call john to ask for it?

 

[SunnyX]

I have a question. What would be cheaper to run monthly, T5 or MH? Electrical cost wise that is.

 

[brentp]

horkn, how did you get a 3x39w kit? i would love to get a similar 3x24w but dont see those ballasts offered. what specifically did you get or do i have to call john to ask for it?

I bought two 3x80 watt kits from reefgeek. The IC 660 ballasts can run 3 80 watt bulbs so it was cheaper that way. They don't have that kit listed on their site, I asked for it.

They will sell a 3x24 kit if you ask.

 

[jnb]

Beautiful - its all t-5? Listen, I have a tek 6 * 30 over my 65 24 inches deep - I have an open brain green who is getting white - am I to believe that I should try lowering it? It otherwise seems happy. I also have some green mushrooms who are in more direct light but lower and they seem to get too I sort of not rich green rather flushed and a little not so fully open) much compared to the same kind of colony that is a little shaded. The RICS seem to like everything I can give them.

I am going to be updating my system to a 120 AG 24 inch deep and am thinking of going to an 8 bulb tek - the recent entries to this thread confirm in my mind that T-5s are great for all but deeper/most demanding light life - maybe I can quit going over and over about MH. Anyway I will have the 6 bulb tek for sale soon (planting a seed for those interested)

adrinal, yes info does help some..thanks. BTW, I start off with 2 lights on for about 2 hrs, then shut those off & 4 bulbs on for 7hrs, then 2 bulbs for another 2 hrs.

brentp, glad to hear it. Those sound like interesting colors. I will go on a pocillipora rampage & will want all sorts soon, but want to make sure I can handle them.

gabe3d, WOW....EYE POPPING COLORS!!! You have just initiated my hunt for that type of poc. I will probably get small frags of any type just to see how it turns out again.

The Grim Reefer, do you regret the upgrade of lights or are you satisfied. I have gone through these mind battles of wanting to go MH. The only thing that is keeping me back is the darn heat, would need a chiller then. I would probably start off with 150W & at some point introduce 250's if I do so.

At the bottom is a pic of the 26g that I started off with, I had a brown/metalilc green poc (hard to see the green in tihs pic for whatever reason), but it was awesome. Very full & had an interesting green at the tips, but mostly it was brown. It was given to me like that. I had a fish nibble at it for some time & ended up removing the fish. It slowly started to recover & making great progress, until the move into my 55g tank with the new T5's.
It's on left side in a rock covered with coralline.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

horkn, how did you get a 3x39w kit? i would love to get a similar 3x24w but dont see those ballasts offered. what specifically did you get or do i have to call john to ask for it?

You use the Workhorse 5 ballast to run the 3 lamps.