Replacing the T5's vs. new lights

F

futureeyedoc

New member
So it's that time of year again.... time to start thinking about replacing the bulbs/lights in the tank. The spectrum's definetly starting to fade on the lights I have!

Right now I have a "retrofit" 4x54W T5's (48") over my 33 gallon long. Lots of soft corals - lots of different zoas, xenia, mushrooms, frogspawn, couple of candy canes, few LPS, especially monti's, gsp, kenya tree, etc...
I would really really like to start going more towards LPS but the current lighting just doesn't seem to handle it. Part of it I'm sure is not keeping a drip system with the ca+ levels right ( they deplete really easily), but I'm only running 2 10k's and 2 actinic t5's and think thats part of the problem.

So 2 related questions....

Anyone have any lights that they're looking to sell that would fit my setup? It could be a pre-fab, it just can't be wider than like 13x48. I'd really really like a pair of Halides- even retrofit, as thats what I have on my nanocube and it really is a world of difference....


If not, any suggestions for t5's? I've seen some suggestions before but I really can't justify spending $40-50 per bulb when I can replace the entire fixture for $150-200 with bulbs. I'm looking for the best combo that has some blue/actinic to it while getting the max growing potential.
I'm honestly starting to think just replacing the whole fixture is the way to go- being that mine is retrofit, there's no glass/lens between the fixture and the tank so it's really taken a beating in the year I've owned it!


THANKS in advance for any help!
 
If you've got good reflectors, (4)- T5's should be plenty for anything. I've got a Tek light over a 40B ((4)-39W) and it is defninitely enough light for my LPS and softies. I had a 6 bulb over the 40B, and burned LPS (have a nice dinner plate sized borwned out chalice to show for it and several dead (very expensive) micros...). Geismann lighting is the way to go. I get mine from reefgeek. If you're paying more than $25 on average for T5's, you are are paying way too much. Greg's got a selection of bulbs (ATI, Geismann, and UVL, as well as some others), so you should be able to find whatever you want. I'm running (3)-Pure actinic + and (1)- Actinic + and love the color. It is a bit on the blue side, but that's how I like it;). In the 6 bulb, I've got a few ATI's, UVL's, and Geismann and get a nice mix of colors.
 
any thoughts on these reflectors....
it's individuals german polished reflectors as seen in the pic to the upper right that can be enlarged....

this is the retrofit that came with my aquarium....
 
one more question.... is there actually some variance in length of T5's???

catalina actually lists the length on their 4 footers as 45 and 3/16"

Are all 48" bulbs actually that size or is this their way of trying to screw me over into buying their bulbs????
I know I had bought some replacements before that weren't catalina but I have no idea what the true length would be on the geismans....
 
I think 4 foot T5's are actually shorter than 48", but I'm not sure. I've only got 3' fixtures. Those bulbs are shorter than 36".

That reflector is one of the flat reflectors, so you won't get as much light down to the tank as with the W reflectors. The W's almost wrap around the bulb (at least to the midpoint of the bulb wrt the reflector). I think Tek sells retros, too, with the W reflectors. The ballasts should still be fine. What I've seen a lot is people buying (8) bulb fixtures of like the Nova Extreme's (also a flat back reflector). I think people are increasing the number of bulbs (and long term cost) to get more light from the cheaper fixes. An (8) bulbs Nova is probably still cheaper initially than the Tek lighting, but long term, you'll pay.
 
4-foot T5's are not 48" long. It's not a conspiracy. :p

AFAIK, VHO's come in 48" and 46.5", but T5's are shorter than 48".

And I definitely second gflat's advice - the T5's you already have (with good reflectors) will let you keep anything.
 
Do you have a T5 fixture or do you have a Retro kit in a canopy? 4x54 watts of T5s is more then enough for a 33L. That tank is what 13" tall if I remember right. Infact with good bulbs and good reflectors you could end up with to much light for alot of the stuff you listed. If you have a retro with a single reflector I'd replace it with some Icecaps.
They all them 48"s cause once they have endcaps they are like 48.5". If the bulbs them selves were 48" then they wouldn't fit in a canopy on a 4 foot tank. Same for the 36" T5s. The only T5s that are a weird size is the 80 watters. They a little over 5 foot. So from what I understand with endcaps they won't fit over a 5 foot tank but they are two short for a 6 footer with out staggering them :|
 
If you look at the last link I posted- that's the exact "retrofit" setup I have....

My reflectors are individual- they cover almost 3 sides of the bulb - prolbably about 2/3 to 75% of the sides of the bulbs....


Any thoughts from anyone on if I had 2 sets of these???

http://cgi.ebay.com/48-Watt-WHITE-B...3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66:2|65:1|39:1|240:1318


Would certainly lower the electricity bills and cut down on overheating come summer time....
I'm not sure if it's enough light though, long term efficacy for growing corals, etc...
 
ok, so I may just order the bulbs again from Catalina....

they have some deal where its $46 for 4 bulbs + only $10 shipping...

here's their choices
6500
10k
420nm actinic
460 blue


I was thinking about sticking with 2 - 10k's and 2 actinics....
Any thoughts otherwise... would 1 of each give the best color?
Any reason to go with 6500's over 10k's or blues over actinics?
 
I see a flat reflector under the ballasts, but where are the ones that wrap around the bulb? Do the bulbs run alongide the ballasts?

Below is a link to a picture of what we're talking about.

http://www.aquacave.com/t5-reflectors-withbr-clips-by-sunlight-supply-1065.html

On the ultra cheap bulbs, you may be getting what you pay for. I know several who like what they've gotten from Catalina (especially in respect to customer service- from what I hear, they are untoppable in cust service), but not much beats Geismann in quality and output. Sounds like we need to do some experimenting with a par meter.
 
would 3 pure actinic + and one actinic+ geismann's be enough like you were saying above? I thought you needed some 10k or 67k in there for growth???
When it comes to picking out t5's this is relatively new to me... I feel comfortable picking out my halides but any help you can give me would be great on the t5's....

ultimately I'd like a good balance of really good growth and color.... Some blue but not too much I guess - definetly not a "white" color look....
I have 14k halides over my nano and like the look of that...
 
on the other hand, catalina bulbs usually run $23-29 a piece - so I wouldn't consider them uber cheapo... they just running a special... but I have heard good things about geismanns....
 
Those reflectors look ok. They don't seem to wrap around the bulb as much so they probably don't direct the light as well. As far as bulbs go if your not happy with your current setup I probably wouldn't buy the same brand of bulbs again. I've never heard of catalina before. Doesn't mean they arent good bulbs though. Actinics do nothing for par. They are just for color. Blue T5s do put out par. As far as I know ATI blue Plus bulbs put out the most par as far a blue bulbs go. A 6500k Bulb should have higher par levels then a 10k But the 6500 will of course be more yellow. What bulbs you want really just comes down to what color you want and how much light your trying to get.
 
I'm confused.... how can it be possible that blue puts out more par than actinic? Actinic is shorter wavelength. By definition wavelength is inversely proportional to Energy. So by that reasoning, blue should put out less Par/enery because it is a longer wavelength???
 
LOL sorry I have no idea why really. My guess would be the corals dont use light at that wave length so even though it migh put out par per say the light its self isn't used by our tanks.. I just know all the lighting guys on here have stated it over and over. Most T5 setups I've seen where they are looking for the most Par but still have 14k-20k look tend to use a 6500k, A 75/25 by UVL and a couple of Blue plus bulbs by ATI. I think the 65k was a aquasun but I'm not sure. I just checked ReefGeek where I get mine and the only 6500k they have is a GE, so it might be that.
Again Im not an expert on them. I've only had one tank with nothing but T5s and I replaced them with MH after less then two years. I have been reading up on bulb combo's for smaller tanks though cause I'm considering putting T5s over my frag tank.
You might want to check a thread in the lighing and Equipment forum called T5 Questions and Answers. I warn you though its HUGE. But I'm sure they list any bulb combo for any size tank you could imagine. HTH
Will
 
The catalina fixture you have now (and the reflectors) will be fine for keeping anything. Personally I would just replace the bulbs because I don't think you will see a large improvement with any other retrofit, unless it's overdriven. The Tek reflectors (that's really what you are paying for when buying a retrofit, other than the ballast of course) are second only to IceCaps.

I would go with ATI bulbs, 1x actinic, 2x aquablue specials, 1x 10,000k. Usually run about $23 per bulb from diyreef.com I think. The ATI and Geissmann bulbs with put out a lot more PAR than bulbs such as currents and the like. You will definitely see a difference.
 
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