T5 lighting opinions?

[ChemE]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9577885#post9577885 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MercZ
There arent many that length due to the good bulbs only going to 48". There is the constellation made by Aquatinics that is 72" and probably your best bet unless you due duel retro's. Go to Aquatinics.com and look at it.

This used to be accurate but now you can get ATI Aquablues, ATI Bluepluses, and Giesemann Actinic+ all in 60" bulbs from ReefGeek. I could have sworn the UVL had 60" bulbs out but I don't find them on ReefGeek's site tonight.

 

[MercZ]

Your probably right but I have had the same trouble with finding good 60" bulbs for T5's as I wanted to put a 60" aquarium in replace of my 40 T but after researching it did not seem good to try and use a 48" on a 60" tank.

 

[MercZ]

ChemE,
You are right I just rechecked Reefgeek and there are ATI as well as Giesman bulbs in 60". So I retract the constellation idea. Go with the 60" Ice Cap retro. You'll be happy.

 

[Nick A]

Thanks for the advice. I'm not really sure of how this 60" light will be able to light up all 96 inches though. Should I get some extra lighting or something later on in case theres some dark spots?

So when I do order this light, what bulbs should I be getting? I was thinking of 1 6500k, 1 11k, and 1 super actinic... or 2 11k's and 1 super actinic.

 

[MercZ]

I thought you were talking about a 72" tank. That would be too much space on the sides missing light. I would try poss 2 sets of 36" retro's. You may be able work it to were you can cover 75"+. Then you would only have 7" on each side without direct light. For the bulbs try Either ATI Blue+/UVL AquaSun/Giesman Pure Actinic or ATI Blue+/GE Daylight/Giesman Pure Actinic. Some may say go with UVL Super Actinic but I like the color from the Giesman Actinic better. With those combo's you wont have too much blue.

 

[Nick A]

Lol... well now I'm thinking now of getting 4 36" 2x39w retro's:
regular 36"
Does anyone know the difference between those and the Tek versions?
tek version

 

[ChemE]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9578453#post9578453 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Nick A
Thanks for the advice. I'm not really sure of how this 60" light will be able to light up all 96 inches though. Should I get some extra lighting or something later on in case theres some dark spots?

So when I do order this light, what bulbs should I be getting? I was thinking of 1 6500k, 1 11k, and 1 super actinic... or 2 11k's and 1 super actinic.

I was proposing that you use 4 5' lamps staggered so that they are offset by 1'. This would produce 6" on each side of the tank without a lamp directly above it. This will produce 3 different looks in truth though.

I'd probably go with 2 4x39 Tek retros from ReefGeek. The IceCap SLR's outperform the Tek reflectors by about 10% so they are money well spent as they are a $2/reflector upgrade.
http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5...:_4-39W_T5_HO_Fluorescents_by_Sunlight_Supply

I don't like the IceCap retrofit at 4x39 because the 660 overdrives the lamps which is extra watts and extra light but not as efficient on a PAR/watt basis.

For bulbs I'd go with ATI Blueplus, ATI Aquablue, Giesemann 6000K daylight, and then either UVL Super Actinic or Giesemann Actinic+. The old GE 6500K starfire bulbs were great but the new ones are washed out with no pop; steer clear of them.

 

[Nick A]

Oh, I see.... since I was planning on having 4 36" fixtures: 2 on the front of the tank and 2 in the rear. Like this diagram, which is not to scale. Also each red rectangle is 2 lamps....8 lamps in total

At first I thought each lamp/reflector is connected to each other, not each reflector/lamp separated...lol