T5 Lighting May Be For You

[The Grim Reefer]

Yeeeeooooouuuuuch!!!!

Go rob a street light and get some blue sunglasses

Hey you could get T6's from Big Al's and overdrive them with an Ice Cap ballast. The T5 reflectors will fit if you can get them. You just have to spread the bulb clip a tad.

 

[Coralover]

Yeah, I've already checked with them... but once you add import duties and pay taxes, the price would jump to at least $500 cdn.... bit outta my range!

Tim

Damn I wish you lived close to me. Im selling my 36" Tek Light: 4-39W T5 HO with 4 bulbs(2 blue plus and 2 daylights) for $280.00, and it's brand new. I just opened it to see if it worked and it looks great but want a something a little brither, I still have the box too. I payed like $345.00 for everything with tax and shipping.

The only reason I haven't used them is cause im waiting to move so I can set up my tank.

 

[Timbor]

where do you live??

 

[Ti]

Yeeeeooooouuuuuch!!!!

Go rob a street light and get some blue sunglasses

Hey you could get T6's from Big Al's and overdrive them with an Ice Cap ballast. The T5 reflectors will fit if you can get them. You just have to spread the bulb clip a tad.

that could be a pretty spanking set up there.

 

[Coralover]

San diego.:/

 

[Timbor]

lol... thats pretty much the farthest away in the US you can get form here!

Tim

 

[Ehydo]

Timbor,

The 192watts of PC would be better than 78 watts T5 definately. I have on my 29, which is 30 inches long, 2 65 watt PC bulbs. My tank does fine with some hard corals.
I also have a 72 Gallon with 8 54 watt T5s without individial reflectors. The 72 is much brighter than the 29 will ever be.

I have no clams but am willing to try one in the 72 with the T5s so I cannot tell you about that situation.

 

[rjwilson37]

Hey RJ, perhaps you can give me some advice here...
I'm planning on setting up a 35 gal. reef tank this summer (36"long), and I'm trying to figure out what to use for lighting.

Tim

Lighting is a very tough question, and it is expensive. Since your on a budget, the PC lighting may be a good choice for you, but you need to consider the replacement bulbs of 2 times $25 every 8-10 months. My T5 bulbs are replaced every 16-18 months, which for 4 bulbs is a little over $100. What are the dimensions of the 35g tank your setting up?

Lighting is pretty much your most expensive cost when setting up a new aquarium depending on what you want to keep. I love the color and look of my tank under the T5's especially compared to Power Compacts. My tank is only 20" high, so T5's work well for me to keep anything I want in the tank as far as lighting is concerned. I probably should have went with a 6 bulb setup instead of the 4 bulb setup, but it is working well and I don't need to change it.

Lighting is a cost you only want to have to spend once, or your waisting money by buying one thing and moving to another. I switched lighting 3 times from PC's to 24" T5's over my 29g and then moved to a 55g and needed the 36" T5's.

Ohhh... The special individual reflector's is what makes T5's work so well, without the reflector's they are pretty much no where near Power Compacts because of all the lost light not being reflected. If you had a retro and painted the inside of the hood white, it reflects alot and it is better than no reflection at all.

 

[Timbor]

How would the T5's work if there was just one curved aluminum reflector for all the bulbs, instead of individual reflectors? Would they still be nearly as effective?

My 35gal is 36"long*12"wide*18" deep. In a tank like that, what would I not be able to keep with 192watts of pc, compared to a 4 bulb T5 setup?

Tim

 

[artc1688]

picture

picture

I am currently using the cheap 6X55w T5 fixture from eBay.
Wish I have the money to buy a tek light but my current setup should be fine for now..

my GSP (both green and purple) are growing like crazy. Bubble coral is 2x larger than when I first put into the tank. zoa are growing everywhere... back of the tank, on the side....

check out the picture and you can see the results... Love T5 lights..

 

[rjwilson37]

How would the T5's work if there was just one curved aluminum reflector for all the bulbs, instead of individual reflectors? Would they still be nearly as effective?

My 35gal is 36"long*12"wide*18" deep. In a tank like that, what would I not be able to keep with 192watts of pc, compared to a 4 bulb T5 setup?

Tim

I think with that tank only being 18" high and having the 196w of PC's you could do just about anything you wanted. Just make sure you keep the SPS type corals towards the top of the tank and have good flow if you want to try your hand at some SPS. You should also sort of follow a rule of thumb in stocking and setting up your tank, and that is to take your time. After about 2-3 months of the setup you can try some hardy soft corals, then after about 5-6 months you could try your hand at some hardy LPS corals and maybe some medium difficulty soft corals. Then when your tank is 10-12 months and you get your calcium stabalized at around 400-420, you can try a clam and some SPS.

Good Luck!

Very nice picture artc1688!

 

[Timbor]

Yeah, I think I'll save myself the money and look into putting a sump in. RJ, I see you have a 20high for your sump... I have a spare 20 high sitting around that I could use as a sump. Do you have any plans/pictures I could see that could help me design a sump/fuge for myself?

Tim

 

[rjwilson37]

The dimensions of this design are for a Euroreef ES5-2 on the right with a 3" riser instead of a 2" riser for the skimmer, and a Mag 7 return pump on the left. This still left enough room for a 4.7 gallon refuge in the middle.

 

[Ehydo]

RJ,

How do you like that euroreef skimmer first of all and how often do you change your t5 bulbs?

 

[rjwilson37]

I will be changing my bulbs out at the 16-17 month mark and will do it one bulb at a time each week, to not shock the corals from a complete bulb switch over.

I love my Euroreef skimmer, it work great and removes a lot of green sludge (skimmate) over a 2-3 day period. I clean the collection cup about every 2-3 days, so it does not get to nasty smelling under my tank. It collects about 1/4 to 1/3 full every 2-3 days of skimmate and I have it set to collect a medium skimmate.

 

[DFL18]

Rj, do you know why the sunlight supply retro kit with icecap 6060's is roughly 200 cheaper than the icecap retro. is it just the difference in reflectors?

 

[brentp]

It's the cost of the ballasts.

 

[Ehydo]

Thanks RJ, on more question though. How much room do you need to clear to remove the cup on the skimmer.

And I was planning on changing the bulbs 1 at a time also. It just made so much sense.

 

[rjwilson37]

You just loosen the skimmer cup fitting and it slides right off.

The Euroreef skimmer cup does not require anymore room than what is needed for the unit itself. I mean you will want room so that your table to take it out of the sump and clean it as well the height I needed to add for the 3" riser it sits on. I made a custom stand that is 34" tall, so I have not problems fitting the skimmer in my cabinet.

 

[Timbor]

Your sump design looks pretty good... I just may attempt to use it. Two questions:

I've seen a few designs with 3 baffles after the skimmer section, and yours just has 2. Does this really make any difference in reducing bubbles?

Also, how is the flow inside your refugium? Does most of the water just run over the top, or does it get to circulate a fair bit before going into the return chamber?

Thanks,

Tim