please show me your t5 only sps tanks

stevedola said:
personally, the "T5s are flat" and "mh mades the tank look alive" is total garbage. That may be your opinion but dont try and pass it off as truth. The fact is T5s are an excellent way to light just about any tank. I have seen some T5 tanks that completely blow away similar Mh tanks. The colors are amazing with T5s and so is coral growth.

misinformation is worse than no information.
Click to expand...

Beside not having the shimmering effect, T5 does produce amazing colors. For the short time I did have my ATI the SPS and fish displayed incredible color. The only reason for me to go back to MH is that the T5 did not do well in a 30" tall tank. For my next upgrade I will have a 25" or shorter tank and I will go back to T5.

Note: Friends and family raved about the beautiful colors it produce. I only had the T5 for 2 weeks. When I put the 2x400W MH everyone complained they missed the T5.
 
bolo7735 said:
I only had the T5 for 2 weeks
Click to expand...

No offense but I don't think it's accurate to say you got great colors from T5's only using them 2 weeks. It takes much longer than that for corals to adapt and change to the colors they will eventually be under a type of lighting. It is more accurate IMO to only judge light sources after several months. IME it takes some SPS as long as 4 to 6 months to change to what they eventually will become...it takes AT LEAST 4 to 6 weeks for those that color up quickly.

FWIW, Chris
 
fishdoc11 said:
No offense but I don't think it's accurate to say you got great colors from T5's only using them 2 weeks. It takes much longer than that for corals to adapt and change to the colors they will eventually be under a type of lighting. It is more accurate IMO to only judge light sources after several months. IME it takes some SPS as long as 4 to 6 months to change to what they eventually will become...it takes AT LEAST 4 to 6 weeks for those that color up quickly.

FWIW, Chris
Click to expand...

I would agree with you on this but within 2 weeks the colors did change and colors very vivid. If I had kept the T5 longer my SPS colors would have been more intense. You have to understand my 2 400W MH is so intense it washed out a lot of the colors of the coral. For that short period I did have the T5 on it made a big improvement. I wouldn't have believe it either if I didn't see it with my own eyes.
 
bolo7735 said:
I would agree with you on this but within 2 weeks the colors did change and colors very vivid. If I had kept the T5 longer my SPS colors would have been more intense. You have to understand my 2 400W MH is so intense it washed out a lot of the colors of the coral. For that short period I did have the T5 on it made a big improvement. I wouldn't have believe it either if I didn't see it with my own eyes.
Click to expand...

I may have missed this earlier, if so, I apologize. Why did you go back to MH?

....NEVER MIND.... Sorry I see the reason now....
 
Switched from 2 x 250 Radium/Gallaxy combo to a 6 bulb ATI PM. I have been running the PM for about 4-5 months now. So far I am loving T5s versus MHs.

IMG_5465.jpg
 
Gondore said:
Switched from 2 x 250 Radium/Gallaxy combo to a 6 bulb ATI PM. I have been running the PM for about 4-5 months now. So far I am loving T5s versus MHs.

IMG_5465.jpg
Click to expand...

Any tips on bulb combo to get colour like this from my 6 x 80w ATI Sunpower unit?

I currently have front to back:

ATI Blue Plus, ATI Aquablue Special, ATI Blue Plus, ATI Purple Plus, ATI Aquablue Special, ATI Blue Plus

My light unit is about 4" from the water surface.

I just don't seem to get the intense colour i'm seeing in these pics. By that I mean overall to the naked eye look, not just corals.

Also should I keep the perspex splashguard on the unit?
Thanks
 
Silfer said:
Any tips on bulb combo to get colour like this from my 6 x 80w ATI Sunpower unit?

I currently have front to back:

ATI Blue Plus, ATI Aquablue Special, ATI Blue Plus, ATI Purple Plus, ATI Aquablue Special, ATI Blue Plus

My light unit is about 4" from the water surface.

I just don't seem to get the intense colour i'm seeing in these pics. By that I mean overall to the naked eye look, not just corals.

Also should I keep the perspex splashguard on the unit?
Thanks
Click to expand...

We are actually running a very similar bulb combo. Only difference between our combos is that I am running a Actinic White instead of a Purple Plus and I have a Blue+ and an Aquablue Special in my 2nd and 5th slots. I would actually prefer moving away from the Actinic White to the Purple Plus I just haven't purshased the bulb yet.

I would keep the splashguard in place. This is not only used for protecting your bulbs from splashes but more importantely it's used to actively cool the bulbs which will result in higher output. This may be the reason your fixture isn't producing as much light. Also, what fan setting are you running your fixture on?

I am running my fixture about 5-6 inches off the water on a 24 inch deep tank.

My lighting schedule is as follows:
12:00 pm - 11 pm 2 bulbs are on (blue+ and aquablue special)
2:00 pm - 8:00 pm all six bulbs are on

I tend to get the best results running all 6 bulbs for around 6 hours.
 
cshutchinson said:
If anyone can help here, I am ready to take the plunge and give this a go...

My tank dimensions are 72 x 36 x 24 and currently equipped as seen in my signature.
Click to expand...

I am actually wanting to upgrade to those exact dimensions, just haven't found the perfect tank yet. I was planning on running the 60'' 10 bulb ATI Powermodule. Going with two 36'' units would cost you a lot more in bulbs and having two units hung side-by-side doesn't look as good as a single fixture to me.
 
Gondore said:
I am actually wanting to upgrade to those exact dimensions, just haven't found the perfect tank yet. I was planning on running the 60'' 10 bulb ATI Powermodule. Going with two 36'' units would cost you a lot more in bulbs and having two units hung side-by-side doesn't look as good as a single fixture to me.
Click to expand...

Thank you, this was what I was thinking, and 6" on each end should be ok without direct lighting.
 
cshutchinson said:
Thank you, this was what I was thinking, and 6" on each end should be ok without direct lighting.
Click to expand...

You will definitely lose some par on the ends but I am running a 36'' PM on my 48'' tank. As you can see the spread is still very good. I sort of like having a few lower light areas for lps.
 
cshutchinson said:
Thank you, this was what I was thinking, and 6" on each end should be ok without direct lighting.
Click to expand...

you should be fine with a 60" fixture. just put the less light loving corals on the edges, you need space for growth anyways and at least the light is not hitting the side glass directly so there should be less cleaning!
 
Gondore said:
You will definitely lose some par on the ends but I am running a 36'' PM on my 48'' tank. As you can see the spread is still very good. I sort of like having a few lower light areas for lps.
Click to expand...

Is this the bulb arrangement you suggest?

ATI Blue Plus,
ATI Aquablue Special,
ATI Blue Plus,
ATI Aquablue Special
ATI Blue Plus,
ATI Purple Plus
ATI Blue Plus,
ATI Aquablue Special
ATI Blue Plus,
ATI Aquablue Special
 
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