Should I switch to T5 Lighting?

Bacchus_fl

Bacchus_fl

New member
Hey Guys,

Need some opinions. So I spilt a little water on my Icecap VHO ballast. I thought it just blew the fuse but as soon as I replaced it, it tripped again right away. The case is rivetted together so I assumed there is no fixing it but I am far from an expert. So if there is a way to fix please help me out.

Anyway if I do have to replace the ballast I was wondering if I should just replace the whole thing with T5 lights. Are there advantages to switching? I just replaced the 60" VHO bulbs but the VHO ballast alone cost almost as much as a 60" T5 retro fit and atinic bulbs. Any thought?

Thanks in advance!

J
 
If you are talking about going with all T5's then yes I would definitely do it. I have 6 over my tank and my colors and growth are way better than I had under halides. Plus you have a lot of variety when it comes to getting just the right color for your tank.
 
I should have mentioned that the tank is currently running on 2x400W MH. I was just using the VHO as atinic supplement.
 
Why are you thinking of replacing? 400w MH is intense, likely you will not see near the amount of growth you get now with T5's.
 
I am going to keep the MH because I also just replaced those bulbs and I have had good success with them. I custom built my hood so I don't have any problems with heat.
 
If the ice cap ballast is out of warranty I might be able to fix it for you. My shop is in new smyrna and I am very handy with electronics. let me know if you decide to keep the VHO's and want me to take a look at your fried ballast.

~Will.
 
I agree, I'm definitely not going to be replacing the MHs. I was just talking about replacing my 2 60" VHOs with 2 60" T5s. Just to use as atinic supplement and to allow me to phase my lights on and off to simulate morning and night.

T5s seem to be very popular now and really affordable. I just don't know anything about them. When looking at replacing my IcaCap ballast I noticed that for around the same price I could switch to T5s. I just don't know if that is the right thing to do.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15402005#post15402005 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Bacchus_fl
I agree, I'm definitely not going to be replacing the HM's. I was just talking about replacing my 2 60" VHOs with 2 60" T5s. Just to use as actinic supplement and to allow me to phase my lights on and off to simulate morning and night.

T5s seem to be very popular now and really affordable. I just don't know anything about them. When looking at replacing my IceCap ballast I noticed that for around the same price I could switch to T5s. I just don't know if that is the right thing to do.
Click to expand...

I run 3 - 48" T-5's about 30 minutes before the MH's start to turn on and about 30 minutes afterwards and have them off while MH's are on. Works just fine for me. I'm running them on an IceCap 660.

I'm considering not running them at all now due to the 9 PowerBrite bars (all blue) I'm using. I really like these lights a lot and they really make the corals pop with color. The nice thing about them as well is that they barely use power and don't produce much heat. They are a bit pricey though. In any case, good luck with your decision.
 
Thanks Pacific Reef, that thread was exactly what I was looking for. Obviously everybody has their own opinion but I always like to side with the majority. Looks like I will be buying a new IceCap Ballast.

So does anybody have an extra IceCap 430 laying around they would like to sell?
 
It sounds like you've made your decision but I'd still like to weigh in on the side of T5 lighting.

You're running 800W of MH bulbs putting off heat with additional power with VHO.

If you switched to a T5 system you'd be running maximum 8 bulbs x 80W (you could probably even use 54W but lets say your tank is liong) which only weighs in at 640W. You'll be using less power even at a maximum configuration, along with a much smaller heat output. If you include the right reflector there is no reason, unless your 125g is uncommonly deep that you won't see the same, if not better results as 2 MH bulbs. If you go with 54W bulbs that are 4' long instead of 5' you're looking at a total of 432W - Just a tad more than running one MH bulb!

From that standpoint you are using less power so you are paying less and impacting the environment a tiny tad less.

I don't know if your tank favors a specific coral more than another, but I'm guessing with 400W MHs you're leaning towards SPS. With T5s you can customize towards what you want most out of corals, especially sps, in the way of growth or color or a fine balance of both.

Quality T5 bulbs last at least 10 months, some even 12 and will be replaced less often than MH. Yes thats at a maximum 8 bulbs versus two, but the cost of T5 bulbs is around $25 per so thats roughly $200 a year. In terms of MH you're looking at $60-80 per bulb every 6-8 months. The cost equivalent and lifespan put the bulbs roughly at the same cost per month- without including the cost of running VHOs alongside the MH.

Now, lighting IS very subjective. When you and I look at say, the color blue, we probably both perceive it a little differently. How one tank looks from another is all about lighting, as well. The question you'd probably ask is why should I bother to change? If you look beyond energy savings and the cost of things, one reason would be for your corals.

Some research is suggesting that 400W MH in shallower tanks is overkill. It changes the color in some corals (anyone ever feel they suffer from too much green?) not always for the better in the eye of aesthetics. There are also some corals that don't do well even when acclimated to such strong PAR and T5 end up being very good overall for the mixed reef tank, especially for softer corals.

Before making a final decision I would recommend taking a look at other reefer's tanks who do have T5s and judge for yourself if the potential savings and longevity of a new system look good enough to your eyes to warrant the switch.
 
I would definetly switch the VHO actinics for T5's. You get 3 times the par value usually using only half the watts of vho.May I suggest the best bulbs to go with your halides will be the URI Super Actinic T5s for color. By the way once you have 400 watts you will not me happy with anything less.I love T5s and believe in them but to say there close to 400s is nuts.With 400s you can achieve colors that are just not possible with 250s or T5s.Also I have never seen a tank that suffered from too much light only the opposite. l
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15410968#post15410968 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Bacchus_fl
Thanks Pacific Reef, that thread was exactly what I was looking for. Obviously everybody has their own opinion but I always like to side with the majority. Looks like I will be buying a new IceCap Ballast.

So does anybody have an extra IceCap 430 laying around they would like to sell?
Click to expand...

I was in the same boat. I think if you are going all T5 then that's different. It was also hard for me to find a retro kit reflector and bulbs longer than 4 feet in T5.
 
Also most people that go 400w in a shallow tank will run a 20k bulb to get those colors to pop. The 20k has less par thus bumping up to the 400w ballast.
 
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