T5 capabilities- reality or hype?
- Thread starter jmaneyapanda
- Start date
The Grim Reefer
Ready for some NOBALL!!!
Your milage will vary. Iwan changes out at 8 months but he was running on the ragged edge to begin with. He didn;t use parabolic reflectors on his 80 watt lamps. I would imagine he could get a few more months of use now that he has a unit with good reflectors.
I will say it again, A guy who designs lamps told me that by 6 months of use there is a signifigant shift in spectrum, be it fluorescents or halides. The longer you push the lamps the more the shift. The corals might be able to adapt to a slowly changing spectrum over time but what happens when you relamp after 2 years and hit the critters with higher intensity and spectrums they haven't seen in a year?
If you are raising nice SPS and such I would be prepaired to relamp at a year. If you want to push the lamps longer I would consider staggering your replacements. Do like 1 lamp every 2 weeks so you arent shocking your critters.
I will say it again, A guy who designs lamps told me that by 6 months of use there is a signifigant shift in spectrum, be it fluorescents or halides. The longer you push the lamps the more the shift. The corals might be able to adapt to a slowly changing spectrum over time but what happens when you relamp after 2 years and hit the critters with higher intensity and spectrums they haven't seen in a year?
If you are raising nice SPS and such I would be prepaired to relamp at a year. If you want to push the lamps longer I would consider staggering your replacements. Do like 1 lamp every 2 weeks so you arent shocking your critters.
perpetual98
New member
LOL. That's exactly what I was thinking.
RobbyG
Active member
In the stereo world, some people still love Tube Amplifiers, 30 years later and you still can't get them to switch. The case with lighting is pretty much the same as sound, some people will perceive the Light as being better in one way or another and nothing is going to change their minds.
Amen! As an audiophile, there is a definite reason I run a tube amp when I spin vinyl!
Not to get off-topic, but I love this thread! I am planning to get back into reefs this winter after taking a year off ... I miss my tanks!
Due to limited space, I plan to put up a 55-gallon and after reading this thread, am seriously considering a 4-lamp SS fixture! Thanx for the great discussion!
joedirt54
New member
I do read probably 400 or 500 posts for every one I write.
I have run NO, HO, VHO, and PC's. I loved my IC 660 running URI VHO... I just hated switching out bulbs. It just seemed like every six or eight months I would start to see my reef take a bad turn. I corrected it every time with new bulbs.
This whole thread just reminds me of the old PC vs VHO vs MH threads of 5 years ago. PC's were claimed to grow SPS like weeds and last 24 months. And there were plenty of great reefs running them!
I think the biggest thing for me is my new found love of cube tanks...and cubes(open top) less than 2'x2'x2' running a single phoenix 14K HQI are just too simple not to love. Heat is not even an issue with a open top and a single small fan over the sump in the summer.
I have been dreaming of a 3'x3'x3' DIY starphire cube lit with a 400w radium and 4 t5's on the edges. To me, that would provide the ultimate lighting for my eye and any coral I would want around the bottom.
I guess for me, I will continue to use DE MH's because they are just too easy and cheap to clean and replace. I'm sure there will be a number of bulbs on the market as good as the phoenix for half the price. A few of foreign firms are producing DE MH bulbs now because they are cheaper to ship than SE MH bulbs.
Lighting is just a single piece of a much larger system of reef keeping. The very best captive reef could very well be in a plastic swimming pool in the right backyard.
Dirt
I have run NO, HO, VHO, and PC's. I loved my IC 660 running URI VHO... I just hated switching out bulbs. It just seemed like every six or eight months I would start to see my reef take a bad turn. I corrected it every time with new bulbs.
This whole thread just reminds me of the old PC vs VHO vs MH threads of 5 years ago. PC's were claimed to grow SPS like weeds and last 24 months. And there were plenty of great reefs running them!
I think the biggest thing for me is my new found love of cube tanks...and cubes(open top) less than 2'x2'x2' running a single phoenix 14K HQI are just too simple not to love. Heat is not even an issue with a open top and a single small fan over the sump in the summer.
I have been dreaming of a 3'x3'x3' DIY starphire cube lit with a 400w radium and 4 t5's on the edges. To me, that would provide the ultimate lighting for my eye and any coral I would want around the bottom.
I guess for me, I will continue to use DE MH's because they are just too easy and cheap to clean and replace. I'm sure there will be a number of bulbs on the market as good as the phoenix for half the price. A few of foreign firms are producing DE MH bulbs now because they are cheaper to ship than SE MH bulbs.
Lighting is just a single piece of a much larger system of reef keeping. The very best captive reef could very well be in a plastic swimming pool in the right backyard.
Dirt
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Reef_bones
New member
Well I guess I was alittle harsh, I mean how can I disagree about the vho's. I been running them for a couple of years myself. For the first couple of months you can't beat the color and growth, then it peters out. That is why I am switching to t-5. I still like the look of MH the best but I just can't keep my tanks cool with them without a high dollar chiller or a canopy that is just hidiously tall.
We do share one thing, I too love the cubes. I have a 3x3x20high in the works. I just think it looks so much more realistic with an actual rock formation in the middle and sand all around. Thats what I see in the wild at the locations I have been. Round rock formations with open space around and fish galore. My cube will start with 6 39x t-5 and I may take out 2 and put a 250mh right in the middle down the road.
I too have had everything at one time or another. PC just took to many bulbs to get the right light intensity and the light never looked right. VHO is awesome but you go through to many bulbs. I started overdriving NO bulbs to offset some of the VHO cost and it really wasn't much difference in light but it got harder to find the right NO bulbs in my area and when I did it seemed the price was only 5-8 bucks a bulb cheaper than VHO. My only real dislike so far has to be the URI Aquasun bulb. It looks like crap it is so pink. It took 2 50/50's and 2 Actinics just to offset it.
Well I am truly sorry if it seemed I was being critical of you. I just get alittle bent when people start knocking a new thing just because its different from the norm. I have come to realize that all the light in the world wont help if you have water issues, and there are many situations and many lighting types that will work for each..
Peace
KD
The Grim Reefer
Ready for some NOBALL!!!
I have started a project using a uniquarium which has a 48x10x18 tall display area. The tank came with 250 watt halides mounted in a canopy so they are about 11" above the water. I pulled the halides and mounter 4 T5's to the underside of the lid where the halides were. I was only getting a PAR of around 67 on the sand so I need to make a frame so the lamps can be mounted lower down. I decided to throw the halides back in so I could take my time making the T5 frame. 2 250 watt 10K Venture lamps running on a PFO ballast BUT it only has a flat reflector. The color of the lamps looks nice, just a little blue to a pretty crisp white light. Problem is they only put about 28 UMOL's to the sand, what a waste of electricity! I realize nice reflectors would help but even if it doubled the output they would still be sucking wind compared to the T5's. I wouldn't run these Venture lamps if they were free. So much for taking my time.
The Grim Reefer
Ready for some NOBALL!!!
You can have the crappy lamps
Yes, and people were rightly skeptical about T5's three years ago when very few people in the US were using them. All pluses and minuses of T5's have been posted by people who actually have used them. Now it's just a matter if deciding if it is the right type of lighting for your application. So quit comparing T5's to something they are not to prove a point that has been disproved many times over.
Rich Said:
"WRONG. T5s and metal halides are close enough as far as efficieny goes that it doesnt matter. As far as actual photons produced per watt, they are pretty much equal."
Well, that is true Rich, but not in the way you are implying.
A heat lamp of 150 Watts emits the same amount of photons as a 150W MH or 150W of T8, T5, etc. Photons emitted is a worthless measurement for purposes of this discussion. Worthless.
Do you think the heat lamp and the 14k MH are of the same "efficiency" in providing PAR to your coral? Ahhh, PAR, now there's a worthwhile metric. LUX is another decent one, since it usually closely correlated to PAR.
I suppose I should throw a "WRONG WRONG WRONG!" in here somewhere, and something about misinformation "p*ssing me off," but you get the idea.
"WRONG. T5s and metal halides are close enough as far as efficieny goes that it doesnt matter. As far as actual photons produced per watt, they are pretty much equal."
Well, that is true Rich, but not in the way you are implying.
A heat lamp of 150 Watts emits the same amount of photons as a 150W MH or 150W of T8, T5, etc. Photons emitted is a worthless measurement for purposes of this discussion. Worthless.
Do you think the heat lamp and the 14k MH are of the same "efficiency" in providing PAR to your coral? Ahhh, PAR, now there's a worthwhile metric. LUX is another decent one, since it usually closely correlated to PAR.
I suppose I should throw a "WRONG WRONG WRONG!" in here somewhere, and something about misinformation "p*ssing me off," but you get the idea.
