Lighting choice

[badazztealcobra]

Can I use my extra Power compact ballast to light the t5's.

No.

And I also agree with Saleen and Mnestroy, if you go MH, supplement with VHO. T5's get drowned out by MH lighting..... We have a T5 on my sister in laws tank and when the MH kick on you cant tell theres any supplementation. When you turn the VHO's on and off on my tank its a definite difference......

Ive seen Bill's LED's as well and theyre definitely cool, Im just personally waiting until theyre more proven... Some people have no issues with them, then people like jglackin had them and they couldnt keep his high demand SPS going... Then he got a T5 and theyre all doing better....

I would also say look for an 8 bulb T5 with a 24" wide tank. I just put one over my 36x24x24, the fit is perfect....

 

[larder]

 Can I use my extra Power compact ballast to light the t5's.

Actually, you can. I asked this question about a month ago, and several people have done it. There is also some info on the web about this. You just have to get the wiring diagrams and make sure you don't overload the ballast.

 

[Helter Skilter]

yah go with mh and if yoiu have room supliment with vho's.. Best option out there.

+4

 

[canar]

I just finished a 48 LED retro from http://www.rapidled.com/servlet/the-25/48-Premium-LED-Do-dsh-It-dsh-Yourself/Detail.

WOW. The Lux is twice my 400 watt radiums and the amp draw is 1.4.

A six bulb T5 will cost you 120 a year just in bulb replacement.

Id go with a DYI LED two bulb T5 combo. I'm switching over my whole system. Its a 4-5 year payback.

Bill

YOu obviously have not paid much attention to all the problems Jim had with the LED's. Halides are still the way to go. Maybe some day the LED's will work but it is not there yet..

 

[A Reef Scene]

Are the wiring diagrams specific to the ballast or the company that made the light fixture?

 

[wld1783]

YOu obviously have not paid much attention to all the problems Jim had with the LED's. Halides are still the way to go. Maybe some day the LED's will work but it is not there yet..

They work for me and my SPS grow under them. I went from 17.5 amps to less than 5 with the only heat from 6 32" T5s on a 330 gal tank.

The proof is in the pudding.

Bill

 

[canar]

Lets see those pictures again in about 6-8 months plz

 

[wld1783]

Lets see those pictures again in about 6-8 months plz

These pics are after 5 months.

I've grown frags with LEDs. It was sorta cool to see a coraline shadow of the frag on the frag plug. The lense over my frag tank was only 20 degrees. The trick is you have to have some blue and supplement with actinic bulbs.

Also I have had better results with the Mean Well Driver over the BuckPuck.

MH VHO/T5 combos work well but they are expensive in the long run.

Most corals are able to adapt to different lighting. Heres a link to the Cree LED specs. Compare the spectrum to a MH bulb and you will find they are close. I reall don't have to wait 8 months to be sold as I see growth only after a couple of months.

http://ledsupply.com/docs/cree-xre.pdf

Bill

 

[A Reef Scene]

I was looking on the fullham web site, are t5 lights for aquariums the same as the t5 ho?

 

[kawicivic]

If I remember correctly, jglackin had ok results up front but the LEDs did not live up to their life expectancy and therefore had no return as their initial up front cost was too high to be offsetted considering their short life. I am glad we have people out there willing to take the leaps of faith as they are the ones that drive change, however my advice would be to stick to what is proven at this point unless you are financially sound enough to experiment.

 

[A Reef Scene]

anyone?

 

[wld1783]

If I remember correctly, jglackin had ok results up front but the LEDs did not live up to their life expectancy and therefore had no return as their initial up front cost was too high to be offsetted considering their short life. I am glad we have people out there willing to take the leaps of faith as they are the ones that drive change, however my advice would be to stick to what is proven at this point unless you are financially sound enough to experiment.

Well said. I have had problems with the buckpucks burning out, each one drives 6 LEDs at a cost of $15. This is why I switched to the meanwell driver.

If the LEDs last 5 years I'll be even on direct electrical costs and bulb replacement. The indirect cost of other lighting is heat and the cost of cooling your home and or tank. The compact florescence bulbs I installed in my 24 foot ceiling were rated for 7 years. After two years I have to replace 3. Its a bit of a hassle as I cant reach 24 feet even with my 6 foot ladder. I plan on replacing all these bulbs with LED bulbs from smart home. We have LEDs in our newer jets and they produce a nice crisp light. I just hope they last.

LEDs on a reeftank may have some financial risk if they burn out prematurely. For my self who used to have two dedicated 20amp circuits solely to lighting, feel the risk reward ratio is worth it.

Once I build 4 more I’ll have 3 250 watt icecap ballasts, 2 400 watt blueline ballasts and 5 spider light reflectors FS.

Bill

 

[wld1783]

I was looking on the fullham web site, are t5 lights for aquariums the same as the t5 ho?

T5s are considered HO. VHO very high output bulbs are loosing in popularity.

Bill

 

[Whaledriver]

The cheapest would be a Icecap ballast with VHO. You can use regular fluorescent bulbs that cost under $5 a bulb and overdrive them. ?You just have to change them every 6 months. VHO is out of fashion but will grow anything including clams.

I also have T5s but it cost about $100 a year to replace the bulbs. The cheapest T5's are Aquatraders for under $100 but you cant expect the fixture to last more than say 4 years. Its almost priced to be a disposable fixture since it comes with good actinic bulbs and you just need 2 good full spectrum bulbs.

 

[A Reef Scene]

I was going to use a PFO, VHO ballast to drive 4, 36 inch T5's and workhorse 5 ballasts to run 2 to 4 more.

 

[cas]

WOW. The Lux is twice my 400 watt radiums and the amp draw is 1.4.

Bill

Bill, Lux is a measure of lighting as seen by the human eye. It does not indicate whether or not the light being produced is the correct type of lighting for corals. You want to measure the PAR output to get an indication if the light is good for corals.

 

[wld1783]

Bill, Lux is a measure of lighting as seen by the human eye. It does not indicate whether or not the light being produced is the correct type of lighting for corals. You want to measure the PAR output to get an indication if the light is good for corals.

Very true but another RC member brought over a PAR meter and we compared the two readings. The measurements taken with a Lux meter paralleled the Par meter. This was with 3 different 250 and 400 watt MH bulbs, VHO, T5 and DYI LEDs. Also these Cree LEDs according to the spec sheet produce a wavelength conducive to coral growth. The spectrum is a bit tight so I augment with T5s.

Also the coverage is not as good as a 400MH wih a Luminarc or spiderlight reflector.

I generally use the LUX meter not to judge the quality of a bulb for growth, but to determine if its starting to loose its MOJO over time.

I cant speak for everyone but in my system I'm getting good growth. Some corals browned out others look better and more colourful. My only concern is reliability and if they will last the 11 years they say. A 400 watt MH LED equivalent is close to $600 and a full day of soldering. If I decide to go back I’ll defiantly post the reasons.

So far I’m moderately optimistic.

Bill