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

[Obi-dad]

I finally got my 75g canopy wired and went for the Radium look. I have on the Icecap:

1 sun
1 11k
2 blue+

On the Triad:
1 blue+
1 actinic

Very blue, and very bright.

I see over 700 PAR at 5 inches below the surface of the water. I am going to have to be very careful moving my stonies from my 29g - that tank has one 175w MH and a 55w PC, and the PAR 5 inches below the surface is only 310 - and that is right below the center of the MH bulb. The readings in the MH tank go way down as you move away from the center of the bulb, whereas the readings in the T5 tank stay very high until you get close to the edge of the tank. Way cool.

 

[Codeman00]

Well, that post definitely backs up FastUno's theory that these T5s are much brighter than previously thought. Would you mind taking some other PAR measurements of the 4 bulb and and 2 bulb combos at shallow and deep? I assume you have the 54W lights (overdriving 4 of them with the IceCap).

Please let us know if you could.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Grim,

I had read something from an engineer that was a 'lighting expert' that fluourescent bulbs do not shift spectrum like halides but that the bluer bulbs lose brightness quicker than the daylight bulbs. I don't know if what he wrote was true or not.

Brent

I've talked with a guy that engineers aquarium lamps and he says they do shift. I have heard it both ways but this guy does a lot of testing and has the equipment to determine what the output of the lamps are so I am putting my money on him.

I have also heard stories about algea blooms with older fluorescent lamps that will go away after fresh lamps are put in. I know certain algaes thrive in cetrain spectrums of light so that seems to back up the color shift theory.

 

[horkn]

horkn, Andy from Icecap is saying the bulbs on an Icecap only have to be replaced at 2 years. Are you saying that is wrong?

at least one guy brentp i think runs all icecap stuff, and has shortened t5ho life...but he is in the minority


i ma saying they wont increase or decrease in life expectancy over a non overdriven t5ho unit....

 

[horkn]

and grim, i have heard of the same algal bloom wioth old bulbs too, hell i have seen it myself when my tank was FO years ago

 

[brentp]

at least one guy brentp i think runs all icecap stuff, and has shortened t5ho life...but he is in the minority

I'm going on 8 months with the original bulbs and I'm measuring the same lumens I did 4 months ago. No sign of shortened life here. I'm running 6, 80 watt bulbs on 2 IC660's.

 

[Nuhtty]

Anyone know where I can find the best price on Tek Light?

I am going to go with the 6x39w model for my 65gallon

 

[horkn]

sorry, not brentp.. some other guy, who runs an aquarium in cali, maybe brentm.. or something like that...

 

[sjm817]

Anyone know where I can find the best price on Tek Light?

I am going to go with the 6x39w model for my 65gallon

reefGeek They throw in 3 daylight bulbs for free.

 

[horkn]

http://www.reefgeek.com/products/category_indexes/1-15_lighting_sls_-_t5_tek_light.html
http://www.aqualuxlighting.com/susutekli.html

aqualux matches price.....so just tell them you saw it for 339 on reefgeek. and dont forget to mention the 10% reef central discount....i think he may still have free shipping on orders over 100 dollars...

remember, you need to buy the bulbs too, so figure that in too

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Why would a guy who isn't a sponsor on RC have an RC discount?

Why go with a non reefcentral sponsor who will only match the sponsors price, reefgeek helps pay to keep this site running.

 

[sjm817]

Besides ReefGeek, another very good RC sponsor vendor is Premium Aquatics. They have the same $339 price as ReefGeek, but no free bulbs. Both are very highly rated vendors. I've bought a TON of stuff from PA, and they are far and away the best vendor I've ever had the pleasure of doing business with.

 

[horkn]

Why would a guy who isn't a sponsor on RC have an RC discount?

Why go with a non reefcentral sponsor who will only match the sponsors price, reefgeek helps pay to keep this site running.

its all about the price....plus i had awesome customer service and quick no issue shipping....


and yeah, he has a discount for RC....

if you want to make that point, i suggest you donate to RC...

i will when i have extra $$......

 

[The Grim Reefer]

The sponsors don't donate, they pay to have their business advertised here.

It's one thing to offer an alternative site for a new or unavailable product or even a much lower price but to use a price match on the very same item as tool to try to get people to use an outdide vendor over a sponsor is bush league. You getting commissions or what?

 

[drock59]

"bush league": i dont know where this saying came from but i love it! Agreed Mr. Grim.

 

[RedEyeReef]

I've never heard of Bush League T5's before, are they brighter, cheaper, and work for ever??? :lol:

 

[The Grim Reefer]

I've never heard of Bush League T5's before, are they brighter, cheaper, and work for ever??? :lol:

Only if you align them with magnetic north

 

[jnb]

t-5 overpowered

t-5 overpowered

I talked with reefgeek as I am about to upgrade to a new tank and am thinking of going from my 6 bulbs tek to 8 bulb. I asked him about the retro with icecap and he seemed overall, sort of suggesting to not overpower as it compromises bulb life - I wonder if the issue is settled as I would not mind kicking power up a notch for more brightness - I want the best I can get out of t-5 without compromising bulb life.

Also, not clear on the best reflectors - it seem I have heard that the tek reflectors pit if hit a little with splash and may not reflect quite as well as another (icecap?).

I hope someone can give me their experienced opinion on these issues.

Thanks

 

[adrinal]

edit: in response to the next post.

Doh, I read things backwards and typed things sidways.

retarded but happy,
Adrinal

:rollface:

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Re: t-5 overpowered

Re: t-5 overpowered

I talked with reefgeek as I am about to upgrade to a new tank and am thinking of going from my 6 bulbs tek to 8 bulb. I asked him about the retro with icecap and he seemed overall, sort of suggesting to not overpower as it compromises bulb life - I wonder if the issue is settled as I would not mind kicking power up a notch for more brightness - I want the best I can get out of t-5 without compromising bulb life.

Also, not clear on the best reflectors - it seem I have heard that the tek reflectors pit if hit a little with splash and may not reflect quite as well as another (icecap?).

I hope someone can give me their experienced opinion on these issues.

Thanks

The Ice Cap SLR reflector is better than the Tek by about 20% (if I remember right)at 18" of water.

According to Ice Cap, who has been running tests on T5's for abut 2 years, Overdriving the lamps with their ballasts will not decrease the life as long as you don't over heat the lamps. I had a couple that were weak after 14 months but I can trace that to me not running fans when I first started the system. The two bas lamps were at the front of the canopy where things got the hotest.