Question about lighting upgrade.

[JoeyH08]

I have a 90 gallon tank that just has fish in it. It's been running for about three years and I am looking to start including coral into the mix. My lights I have currently are not adequate. It's a Current Marine light that I picked up at a local shop. I was going to buy some AI Primes but now I have an opportunity to get a good deal on some T5 lights. It's a 48 inch aquatic life t5 HO 6 bulb set new in the box and I can get it for less money than one of the 3 AI Primes I was looking to get.

Is this a good opportunity for me? I want to get into SPS and from what I read this will fulfill the requirements but then again the reviews I read could be wrong. Will 6 bulbs get too hot without a chiller?

Thanks!

 

[billdogg]

That fixture will easily allow you to keep anything you want in a 90. The only downsides between that fixture and LED's are the extra heat and the need to replace the tubes at ~$25/ea. every 6 months or so. My AI Sol blues are going on 6 years now and going strong.

 

[JoeyH08]

Do you think the extra heat will require a chiller?

 

[Bpb]

No. You will not need a chiller. If you do, your house is kept hot enough to need one regardless of your lights. That fixture should add maybe 1.5 degrees of heat.

6 month bulb change schedule is absurd. You
Can go 18 months on a set of t5's if they're cooled. 12 months (Black Friday sales) is the absolute earliest I'd change t5 bulbs. Any sooner and you're either experimenting with color combos too excessively, or just flat out wasting your money


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[JoeyH08]

Thanks for the responses!

 

[ThRoewer]

...
6 month bulb change schedule is absurd. You
Can go 18 months on a set of t5's if they're cooled. 12 months (Black Friday sales) is the absolute earliest I'd change t5 bulbs. Any sooner and you're either experimenting with color combos too excessively, or just flat out wasting your money


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Precisely!
BRS actually did a test and came to the conclusion that the change in output and spectrum was not really too much (~10% intensity if I remember correctly and a minute shift in spectrum) after 12 months on a 8h/day schedule. Certainly not enough to toss them out yet.
Changing T5 bulbs after only 6 months would not only be a major waste of money but also generate unnecessary toxic waste.
I would think 18 is definitely doable, especially if run each bulb only 6h/day on a tiered schedule to simulate a more natural intensity profile over the day.

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[Knighthawk]

Black Friday sales make a great time for routine replacements. Lights,carbon,gfo etc. Another thing to note would be stagger the replacement of the bulbs. Do 2 one week and 2 the next and then the final 2 the week after.

The nice thing about T5 is they are tried and true. No messing with settings and ramping up and down. Just plug them in, hang over tank and call it a day.

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[cjpitt80]

Doing Something Similar

Doing Something Similar

I have a 90 gallon tank that just has fish in it. It's been running for about three years and I am looking to start including coral into the mix. My lights I have currently are not adequate. It's a Current Marine light that I picked up at a local shop. I was going to buy some AI Primes but now I have an opportunity to get a good deal on some T5 lights. It's a 48 inch aquatic life t5 HO 6 bulb set new in the box and I can get it for less money than one of the 3 AI Primes I was looking to get.

Is this a good opportunity for me? I want to get into SPS and from what I read this will fulfill the requirements but then again the reviews I read could be wrong. Will 6 bulbs get too hot without a chiller?

Thanks!

I have the Pro version of the Current Marine LEDs (2 lights). I was able to get a steal on a CoraLife dual T5 fixture for $25 (Mismarked). I'm running a ATI Coral +/Blue+ combo to supplement the LEDs. Plan is to upgrade the ballast to take full advantage of the 54W ATIs. Hopefully this will hold me over before I spend $700+ for some new LEDs (black friday sales)