MH supplemented by T-5

[Big E]

I was at a fellow reefers recently & when I got home to view my tank I was shocked at how dark it looked from my Radiums. So I'd like to give it a bit more punch. I have a couple of 175mh I could put in there, but there's not that much room & I really don't want the added heat.

I was considering the T-5 6500k bulbs. I've scanned quit a few threads on the T-5's, but just wanted to clarify a few things. From what I gather these don't perform as well when hot, so do I need to keep these completely away from my MH? Does anyone have these in the same hood with MH's?

I know I could go with VHO also, but I was interested in the 65k temp. Not sure if VHO has a bulb that is similar. Does VHO suffer from the same heat deficiencies that T-5's do?

Any thoughts opinions are welcome.............thanks

 

[Bruddah Chrispy]

tagging along

tagging along

I was planning on supplementing my 2x250w Ushio 10kks with a couple of T-5 Actinics, so I'm interested in the responses you get.

 

[slipknottin]

T5s have a pretty high running temp. Theyll be fine near a MH bulb.

 

[moonpod]

in general, fluorescents get less effecient in terms of light production as they get too hot. the light produced falls off, the bulb cools light production icreases until a balance is acheived. That being said, T5's per se have a higher running temp then say a VHO cause it's a similar quantity of light coming out of a smaller surface area. Makes sense right? MH on the other hand, if you keep the bulbs too cool will actually color shift--not desirable. I highly doubt that you'll have a significant problem w/this issue using T5 supplementation though you're the first I've heard of thinking of supplementing 20ks w/daylight T5s. In Europe quite a few of the newer fixtures have HQI and T5 combos.

 

[moonpod]

For example:
http://www.sewatec.de/product_info.php/products_id/1186

 

[Big E]

Okay, so basically as long as I keep the usual ventilation inside the hood the T-5 shouldn't overheat? I think I read in one of the threads it shouldn't get above 35C. I'm going to put a temp probe in my hood & see what the temp is mid-day.

My hood is similar to those advertised in that link. Only difference is that I've got the 400w MH. It's quite compact & the T-5's will be very close to the MH's.

I'm not sure what that combo will do but it's more for viewing than anything else. I thought it would be fun to experiment.

 

[peanut95]

WOW... T5s way back in the day.:rollface: