T5 retro compare.

[jdoenumber2]

I am looking for spific information and i am open for any suggestions. I am looking to purchase new retro kit for my canopy on my 55 gallon. I greatly appreciate any further advice and look foward to reading your input!

TEK

ICE CAP

1)~~~How do they compare to each other?
2)~~~What is the best bulb setup for them?
3)~~~If i could save some $$$ what are my other options?
4)~~~Anyone with any expierence have anything to say?

 

[horkn]

ona 55g, jsut get the tek retro from reekgeek and have greg swap the reflectors out to IC reflectors for inimal $$.

the full IC retro overdrives the bulbs, and that really isnt necesary on a tank like a standard 55g.

the tek retro w tek reflectors would be adequate
upgrading to IC reflectors ont he tek retro is worth 20% more light at the bottom of the tank for a few dollars- acouple dollars per reflector

and the IC retro will runt he 54w t5ho bulbs to around 85watts each. plus you need a fan for the IC retro to make the bulbs last.

bulbs, well, how many are you running? and how blue or white do you want the tank to look?

 

[The Grim Reefer]

What ^^^ said

 

[jdoenumber2]

i would like to have blue and white mixed. probably a little closer to white though. given the options with reef geek what are the best bulb options that i have?

 

[The Grim Reefer]

If he stil has one in stock grab an ATI Sun Pro lamp, 1 UVL Actinic white, 1 UVL super actinic and 1 ATI Blue Plus. That should look very white with a tinge of blue.

 

[jdoenumber2]

How far off of the water whould they be?

 

[The Grim Reefer]

I'd try to keep them 4" up.

 

[jdoenumber2]

It is safe to say that i will see a huge improvement from my current setup. It is a coralife 4x65 with 18 month old bulbs which are about 10 inches above the water.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Uhhh yeah.

 

[hey fishy fishy]

fwiw, take a look at some of the best sps t5 tanks, ie danano/iwan , and they go with just a 50/50 mix of ati aquablue and blueplus

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Having ran about every combination of T5 lamp available it is my opinion that the 50/50 mix sux. Using a sun and given enough lamps a true actinic gives you better color. Just my opinion, color os so subjective.

 

[hey fishy fishy]

dude, kinda harsh to say "sux", then qualify it as your opinion because color is "subjective".

one look at those tanks and regardless of whether or not you like the color is irrelevant, the point is to see what the color looks like and what they are capable of.

i thought you would be more objective considering many a noob will believe you to be the "source" of t5 lighting info.

wouldnt it be a good idea to avoid "sucky" comments, especially without haveing good reason other than that you dont like the color?

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Well forget I mentioned it scooter. I obviously know nothing about T5 lighting and will defer to your expertise

 

[hey fishy fishy]

you may know something about t5 lighting, but know nothing regarding tact nor decorum.



im sure im not the only one that would prefer objective par numbers sans the im better than you cuz i know t5 attitude

not to mention the biased and useless subjective opinions "i dont like that color so it sucks" comments.

im sure that makes sense, so play nice.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8162300#post8162300 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by The Grim Reefer
Well forget I mentioned it scooter. I obviously know nothing about T5 lighting and will defer to your expertise

 

[nautilus808]

Everyone has a right to express how they feel about how all 50/50 bulbs would look . Grim has helped countless people with T5's and has shown patience with all of them. I think we owe him some patiece aswell. So what if he said a bulb combo sucks, dont be so sensitive. For the record , I think all 50/50 would suck.

 

[nemo g]

dont mean to be sticking my fin where it doesnt belong, but ought we not act a little more mature and say "i prefer" or rather "i dont prefer" instead of "sux". i expected more from you (grim) too.

back to the point, what exactly is wrong with a 50-50 mix of blue plus and aquablues?

does this bulb combo "suck"??

<img src="http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-03/totm/images/full-tank.jpg">

or this one?

<img src="http://www.hausriff.ch/media/DIR_142951/147058.jpg">

expressing ones opinion is fine, but we should be mature enough to express them in an articulate manner without reverting to name calling (unless his name is scooter?:lol).

the guy asked for bulb combo options, theres no need to say one color is better than another simply because you prefer it. give the guy the options and let him see what they look like and then let him decide.

which reminds me how useless it is to post bulb combo options without an accompanying photo. silly isnt it? how can you decide if you like it or not without seeing it yourself (which is why i posted the images).

 

[nautilus808]

Nice pics nemo, however, we were discussing the look of a tank with all 50/50 lights. Not 50% aquablues and 50% Blue+

 

[nemo g]

nautilus, reed hey fishys post, he/her said

"look at iwan/danano for a 50/50 mix of ati aquablues and ati blue+"

then grim said

"that 50/50 combination sux".

so a 50/50, or 1:1 ratio, is what grim and fishy were talking about.

 

[hey fishy fishy]

thanks for clearing that up for me g.

btw, im a he