sooo . . .more lights?

[joshalicialtjt]

would my bubble and other potential corals be better off if I got another strip like mine? I measured it out and I can fit one more in front of the other and was wondering if the extra wattage would help a lot or since its still just the T5 lighting if it would make any difference at all? thanks so much for the help

 

[mrcrab]

T5 is VERY ggod lighting. It's what most of the Europeans use on their tanks and some of the best looking, color-wise tanks I've seen run on T5's really pops the colors. I run MH's on mine but supplement with T5.

How deep is your tank?

 

[joshalicialtjt]

sent pm but just over 18inches deep
also one by one my fish are having some crazy rapid breathing and I dont know what to do at this late of a time.

 

[JosefDevaty]

Just curious how much you paid for the lighting you have. I would check out some retrofit kits if you are looking at doing multiple T5s. The only reason I say is that I am looking right now at upgrading lighting. For the price I paid for my T5 setup I could have gotten 6 retrofit with individual reflectors instead of 4 with just one large reflector.

 

[cur10u5g30rg3]

I loved the T-5's I had on my 75. It was a TEK 4 bulb fixture. The key to the T-5 lighting is to get good reflector and good combination of bulbs, and a good driver. For 18"s deep you probably would need a good 4 to 6 bulbs across the top for most corals that demand medium to high light. Also, the seem to be best if there is no shield between the bulbs and the water, but this requires alot more cleaning. There is good thread under the lighting section on T-5 lighting.

 

[JUICE!]

Here's my 2 cents. I am running a 4xT5 strip over my 46G plus a 2xT5 strip. I'm not sure how deep the tank is but 18 inches sounds about right.

I just happened to have the 2 bulb one laying around, and got the 4 bulb one for real cheap. Right now I have a bunch of LPS and a couple caps and a monti digi or two in the tank, but mostly LPS. EVerything is living fine and the coloration and growth on the LPS is great! The SPS is a bit to be desired in both growth and coloration.

I'm lazy and don't plan to change the lighting, but if I did I would go one of two ways:

a. Metal halide plus LED or T5 actinic

b. rip the guts of of these fixtures and buy the good reflectors for each individual bulb, and drop down to four bulbs.


I would be getting better results with four bulbs on good reflectors, than 6 bulbs on crappy ones.

But in the end......I have yet to find a T5 combination that pops my tank like MH+VHO.....unless it was a shallow tank

 

[joshalicialtjt]

89 i spent on the lights, i like the setup and it looks good with the mushrooms. i dont really plan on doing anything extreme but was just wondering if the bubble and other softies that i may get would benefit from getting another strip like the one i have

 

[mrcrab]

Re: sooo . . .more lights?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12549356#post12549356 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by joshalicialtjt
would my bubble and other potential corals be better off if I got another strip like mine? I measured it out and I can fit one more in front of the other and was wondering if the extra wattage would help a lot or since its still just the T5 lighting if it would make any difference at all? thanks so much for the help

How many lights in the strip amd what type/color temp.?

If I were you, before spending anymore money, I'd research exactly what you plan on keeping and it's light requirements. Then get the best setup you can. People waste so much money going cheap and then upgrading. Get the best you can the first time.

 

[joshalicialtjt]

well i dont want sps of any kind and this bubble is the only lps i will probably be buying. ill more than likely stick with some shrooms, xenia, maybe a leather. 2 lights in the strip one act one day

 

[mrcrab]

If that's all you want to keep and you're happy with the color of the tank, I reckon you're good with what you've got. Move the bubble closer to the lights every few days until it looks happy.