Moving to T5HO?

[jpitch]

I'm thinking about moving to T5HO lighting. My current lighting is the Outer Orbit dual 150w with dual 130w PCs. After some researching I could only find the Nova Extreme Pro with 8x54 T5HO's. My question is this: Is there an upgrade? I mean, is 432w of T5HO greater than 460w of HQI/PCs? My PCs are running 10k instead of actinic and the HQI's just went from Phoenix 14ks to Reeflux 10ks. Help me out before I make another rash decision that I will regret for my next 2 years(or more)!

 

[BZOFIQ]

T5s will run a lot cooler.

I myself bought 72" Nova Extreme Pro with 586W. This is going to be nice for the 180G I am setting up.

 

[Iammatt219]

Check out aquactinics... tehy make some really nice lights

 

[keefsama2003]

Jpitch,

If you need any clarification let me know i have been expierementing with T5's alot lately and i think i have come up with a good bulb combo granted you go with a 5 bulb min

looks real nice and sps grow under the lights as well as clams

and make sure to look for fixture with single bulb reflectors and not one big reflector the individual reflectors work wonders

 

[BZOFIQ]

^^^ care to share?

 

[jpitch]

Thanks for all the responses. I looked into the 8 bulb Nova Extreme pro but I can't tell if they have individual reflectors. I'm even guessing that they don't. I guess my question is if an 8 bulb setup will be a noticable differrence than my outer orbit setup of 2x150w Reeflux 10ks and 2 130w PCs.

Keef, how long have you had your T5 setup? have you tried MHs also?

 

[Iammatt219]

Check out the T5 lighting thread ... Grimreefer has lots of info in that thread with respect to bulbs.

 

[pecan2phat]

Check out the Aquatinics solar flare line. Better then the TEK lights.
These are run with Ice Cap ballast:
http://www.aquactinics.com/images/Solar_Flare.pdf

 

[jpitch]

good god, that t5 thread is a beast. i kinda feel sorry for that Grimreefer guy. looks more like a job that a hobby for him. after reading about 20 pages i think i'm going to hit the Aquactinics TX5 Series 48 inch T5HO Fixture. the constellation is just a bit too pricey for the wife. now to find grim's recommended bulb configuration... /sigh

 

[qy7400]

This should save you some time....from the T5 guru himself....

8 lamp 10K

Blue
Aquasun
Actinic
Blue
Aquasun
UVL 75/25
Aquablue
Blue

8 lamp 14K

Blue
Actinic
Daylight/sun
Blue
Daylight/sun
Blue
Aquablue
Blue


8 lamp 20K

Blue
Actinic
UVL 75/25
Blue
Aquablue
Blue
Actinic
Blue

8 lamp “What did you put in my drink man?” Special
Looks like 20K with heavy actinics. Glows

Blue
UVL Super Actinic
Blue
Pro Color
UVL Super Actinic
Blue
UVL 75/25
Blue

 

[Editour2]

I have a custom fixture from aquactinics. They made my Tenecor Canopy into the fixture. What's of major importance is the individual reflectors. I have 6 bulbs on an 85 gal tank. I have 2 39watt Blue Pro actinics, 2 54watt 10K ocean pros, 1 39 watt 10K ocean pro and 1 39 watt 6.5K sun pro, (Total 264 watts). Tom did a superior job.

 

[jpitch]

And what a turn of events! I played dirty ball and pulled my one ace in the hole just now. I just bought my wife a nice Chevy HHR last week and used the card for my up and coming Aquactinics T5 Constellation 48" Series!!!! Woohoo, about to head to reefgeeks right now to purchase the bulbs. I feel like a 10 year old kid again that's 2 weeks away from christmas!

 

[jpitch]

From Grimreefer I got this configuration:

Front
ATI Blue Plus
UVL 75/25
UVL Super Actinic
ATI Aquablue
Blue Plus
Aquasun
Blue Plus


any thoughts?

 

[Iammatt219]

Sounds like a good bulb combo... For your informatiuon AQuarium Design Network In Huntington can get you the bulbs if you don't want to mail order... and they even can get ati now also

 

[keefsama2003]

Perfect combo on the bulbs

Sorry i didnt get back sooner been real busy with business things.

if you have any other questions shoot me an email

keith@keithandpam.net

 

[jpitch]

fixture sent out, also the bulbs. should get them thursday. god, i can't wait. thanks keef, i'll keep you in mind.

 

[jpitch]

ugh, fixture wasn't sent. the bulbs were. apparrently the constellation series is on back order. called Tom(owner) of aquatinics. he gave me a discount(thru Aquarium Specialty) so now i've upgraded, yet again, to the Solar Flare. ships today so I should get it tommorrow. this is getting expensive. i just pray nothing happens or the Powermodule will be in my hands before i know it. i hope it puts out enough heat to keep me warm when i get kicked outta my house!

 

[keefsama2003]

lol i love the solar flare and tom is a great guy and prices are great

 

[jpitch]

just got the solar flare. Wow, gorgeous! 1 question though. where can i get the hanging bracket for it? i have loc line slightly above the top of the tank so i can't sit it on the rim. right now it's sitting on a couple pieces of Styrofoam for the time being...

just got the aquacontroller jr and it should be arriving in a few days. looking forward to setting it up.

next in line, now, is the calcium reactor. wife is holding fast on that one. won't budge, even a little bit, considering i've spent over 1k the past 3 days. 8(

 

[Spracklcat]

For those so inclined, it is easy and cheap to DIY the T5's using Workhorse ballasts (VERY cheap on ebay) and Icecap Endcaps. If you already have a hood, and you're looking to go inexpensive, it's a good solution.