t5 question?

[phillipj2]

I am getting a 24 inch deep tank Will a 24watt t5 work. I'm a little worried about par. Any opinions

 

[SAZAMA]

glad to see your back, phil

 

[coralreef321]

that seems to be on a little on the low side for a 2 foot deep tank. but it really depends on what you want to keep and placement in the tank. with that you could get away with low light corals placed near the top of the tank. anything placed at the bottom of the tank will be reaching for light and will probably not make it. I would get something to run several t5 so you can have a a full spectrum of bulbs. honestly at that depth you might be better off with a MH T5 mix. I am running six 18w t5 (108w total) on my 16x16 nano and my soft coral seems to be happy. I would run MH if i could but heat would just completely destroy everything.

 

[phillipj2]

Sorry 4x24w its reefsafes light fixture i think i am going to buy it so i can at least cycle.

 

[phillipj2]

I would love to get a tek light but its too pricy for me. Metal halides are nice but i think with this tank size i might have overheating issues.

 

[coralreef321]

I would not cycle your tank with lights it will give you soooo many problems. leave the lights off until you start adding coral. plus it will save you some money on electricity. 4x24 will work just fine for most soft and a few LPS granted they are not on the very bottom of the tank. you may see them extend a little too far on the very bottom. But as far as SPS goes you would need something not intense.

 

[phillipj2]

The tank is only 24 by 24 deep some say t5's have more par than halides so i am on the fence.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Depends on the kind of T5 fixture. A tek would be the minimum for that tall of a tank if you want much in the way of high light corals. For softies and LPS the cheap fixtures would be OK.

 

[phillipj2]

It's reesafe 24 inch sundial fixture defintly not a tech light. I trust your recomdation grim. I just didn't want to spend the money. So what's your recommendation. I am going ora and acros. I really wanted cool combos like the figi purple link bright blue and 10 k. Plus less heat.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

It's reesafe 24 inch sundial fixture defintly not a tech light. I trust your recomdation grim. I just didn't want to spend the money. So what's your recommendation. I am going ora and acros. I really wanted cool combos like the figi purple link bright blue and 10 k. Plus less heat.

Sundial will work for Acro on top of the rock below the lamps but I wouldn't recommend having them more than about half way down the tank.

Front
ATI Fiji Purple
KZ Fiji Purple
ATI Aquablue
ATI Blue Plus

Thats about the highest output you are going to get with 4 lamps.

 

[phillipj2]

Thanks grim

 

[moevilla]

Welcome back Phil! Still have the green birdsnest you gave me a while back. Good luck with the new set up!

 

[phillipj2]

Thanks guys starting small working my up slowly.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

No kidding, I was wondering what happened to ya. I still have some corals that you gave me so if your in need to restock just let me know and you can go frag some off.

 

[phillipj2]

Thanks jimmy I'm hoping to be up and running in a couple of weeks.