<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10259068#post10259068 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by salmon alley
That's why I'm trying to hash out how many supplemental T5s people are using. If you end up with 216W of supplemental T5 why not just go to a second 250W MH?
I'm hoping that 2 x 3' T5s should provide enough supplemental light over a 48" tank.
On the subject of power conservation: Can someone give us an idea on how much power the light mover itself draws?
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10257651#post10257651 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gtrestoration
In my systems if I feel there's a need to add supplemental lights I might as well just add the additional MH instead and eliminate the mover. My reasoning is long term savings in both power consumption as well as bulb maintenance.
SteveU
The point is, in case you havent realized by now, that the tank would normally have dual 250watt halides AND 4x54wattT5s (or at least 2x54wattT5s). The usual I see for a SPS 120/125g is in the 750 watt range. Im getting away with half that. The light mover does allow me to get away with one light where two would be needed. If I were to eliminate the T5s, I would have to use a bluer halide, and then due to the output loss, I would have to have a 400 watt bulb. The use of the 10,000K halide gives me the highest efficiency from a halide, and the blue+ T5s are much more efficient at making blue light than any halide. That combo ratio, for starters, is perhaps the best 'bang for the buck' lighting you can get.
The T5s are what really makes the system work better from the illumination POV as well as viewing. The T5s along the whole tank prevent the light levels from dropping below 100 microMols. Most of the tank, even at the sand, wont drop below 150 with the T5s (only the back corners that are otherwise in total shadow). Without them, there are many spots in the tank that with the 250 alone would drop down to 10-20 microMols. The T5s keep this minimum level up so that corals dont think its total darkness. Then, the halide goes back and forth to give the corals a 'blast' of high output to really charge their photosynthetic cells with energy. The color choice is so that when the bulb is not directly over a certain spot, the tank will be blue.
I COULD just run a pheonix for the halide, and then use a full spectrum T5 solution as well with say... 2x blue+, 1x super actinic, 1x midday or something like that, but I truly believe that as far as growth and pigmentation goes, the fuller spectrum of the UShio will help out more, and if I do want more output, I can swap in my G-man 14,500K for about 20% more output even. To me, the peak that a pheonix would make, although high in PAR, is very monochromatic, so to me, the ushio is just better for this. IT also means that before and after the halide comes on, the T5s will have that 'night club' actinic look for viewing. With the pheonix and a full spectrum compliment of T5s, I would only have daylight and daylight when using the bulbs by themselves.
I will most likely be swapping out the PFO pendant for the lumenarcDE pendant too for better coverage/spread with the halide. I started putting in the T5 fixtures, and I can just barely fit a 14" wide reflector in there... so I will. If not that, I suppose I could order the 'stealth' which is only 11" wide... but I already have the 14" pendant.
I chatted with Julian Sprung on it this last weekend, and he thinks its a wonderful idea. The T5s keeping up the minimum light levels, the halide on the mover, and the ability to halve what my wattage would be for a 125g otherwise. Sanjay was in the conversation as well, and by the end of the conference, was asking the Gualala guy for the motor to add to the light rail over his 500g. He will keep all three lumnarcs/400s, but just have them move back and forth about a foot or so.
