T5's: A cautionary note
- Thread starter JohnL
- Start date
IZZY'SREEF
New member
First off, welcome back , Grim!!
Thanks for the reply, hahnmeister. So your saying maybe 3 blue+ and 1 aquablue?
If I did this what kind of growth would I expect?
Thanks for the reply, hahnmeister. So your saying maybe 3 blue+ and 1 aquablue?
If I did this what kind of growth would I expect?
The Grim Reefer
Ready for some NOBALL!!!
Send the coralifes back. I tried the 150's over the 24" tank thing.
Either go with a good 150 watt halide system or try something different. If you are going with a ready made fixture I would do a 250 watt halide or an 8 lamp Tek light.
hahnmeister
In Memoriam
Nice to see you back Grim. I see that they lifted your ban. That sure must be nice...the rest of us just have to keep making up new names...lol.
Fishy1
New member
The 4 tube Tek light I have now has brand new bulbs.....2 aqua blues and 2 blue+'s. Would there be enough room to put another 4 tube Tek light beside the one I already have? If so, would the light penetrate well past 18 inches......the tank is 24" deep.....maybe it would look funny to have 2 Tek lights on top of the tank.......what do you think? My monti's have such beautiful color right now, would hate to lose it because of going to MH.....hope I don't make a big mistake with my lighting.....
Thanks for the help,
Janey
Thanks for the help,
Janey
hahnmeister
In Memoriam
Not likely, since a 55g is only 12" front to back. A 6 bulb tek fixture would fit however.
As for the tek reflectors, they arent as good as the IC and aqualux when it gets to about 16" of depth (according to Grim, the teks lose about 20% compared to the others at these depths). So, with tek reflectors, you might see a slight loss before the light hits the bottom 5ish inches of the tank, but that might not be a bad thing. Many people (myself included) have had LPS and other lower light corals simply FRY under the intensity that T5s are able to penetrate with to lower levels in the tank. So perhaps a slight drop is a good thing so you can keep some LPS and shrooms at the bottom of the tank. I know that I cant keep open brains and shrooms in my T5 tank...except under a rock.
Grim, from what I remember, you did some penetration comparisons between T5 and halides, did you have the numbers from those tests? I cant remember where to find them...I just remember you somparing the PAR at various levels from T5s and comparing it to MH...and the T5 had better penetration.
As for the tek reflectors, they arent as good as the IC and aqualux when it gets to about 16" of depth (according to Grim, the teks lose about 20% compared to the others at these depths). So, with tek reflectors, you might see a slight loss before the light hits the bottom 5ish inches of the tank, but that might not be a bad thing. Many people (myself included) have had LPS and other lower light corals simply FRY under the intensity that T5s are able to penetrate with to lower levels in the tank. So perhaps a slight drop is a good thing so you can keep some LPS and shrooms at the bottom of the tank. I know that I cant keep open brains and shrooms in my T5 tank...except under a rock.
Grim, from what I remember, you did some penetration comparisons between T5 and halides, did you have the numbers from those tests? I cant remember where to find them...I just remember you somparing the PAR at various levels from T5s and comparing it to MH...and the T5 had better penetration.
Fishy1
New member
Thanks for the info, hahnmeister......I, too, have trouble with 'shrooms in my 55.....maybe the dropoff would be a good thing
Just wonder if I should sell the 4tube Tek and buy an 8tube so all is in one unit.....not as cost effective buy less power cords floating around. What do you think? Also, what mix of bulbs would be best in an 8tube fixture?
~Janey~
Just wonder if I should sell the 4tube Tek and buy an 8tube so all is in one unit.....not as cost effective buy less power cords floating around. What do you think? Also, what mix of bulbs would be best in an 8tube fixture? ~Janey~
hahnmeister
In Memoriam
The most bulbs you will fit over that 55 with a tek fixture is 6 though...the reflectors are 2" each, so 6 bulbs is it (unless you just get the 8 for a future upgrade to say...a 75g....and just leave 2 of the bulbs out for the time being...dont know if thats good for the ballasts though...
Everyone has their own pref for the spectrum they like. I have posted what I use to get a 14,000K look. My strategy, if you dont have any idea, would be to buy 2 GE 6500K, 2 Geisemann aquablue, 2 blue+, and 2 actinic+ (or wait for the UVL actinics to come out). Then you can mix & match or play with the switches or powercords on the timers to play with the blends until you get something you like.
Or, you could keep the current setup as is, simply swapping out the ballast for a higher power IC660 ballast. That would boost the output considerably without changing fixtures or adding bulbs.
Everyone has their own pref for the spectrum they like. I have posted what I use to get a 14,000K look. My strategy, if you dont have any idea, would be to buy 2 GE 6500K, 2 Geisemann aquablue, 2 blue+, and 2 actinic+ (or wait for the UVL actinics to come out). Then you can mix & match or play with the switches or powercords on the timers to play with the blends until you get something you like.
Or, you could keep the current setup as is, simply swapping out the ballast for a higher power IC660 ballast. That would boost the output considerably without changing fixtures or adding bulbs.
Fishy1
New member
I've already upgraded to a 120 4x2x2 (coming next Friday).......that's why I was wondering about keeping the 4tube Tek or buying an 8tube and selling the 4. I have a Coralife Pro 2 150 doublended MH and 2 96 watt PC still in the box (bought locally so can easily return). My corals are doing so well right now I hate to take a chance with this particular MH fixture and be disappointed.
~Janey~
~Janey~
The Grim Reefer
Ready for some NOBALL!!!
Janey,
What are the deminsions of the tank you are talking about placing 2 Tek light systems on?
What are the deminsions of the tank you are talking about placing 2 Tek light systems on?
The Grim Reefer
Ready for some NOBALL!!!
You notice the reefer is now a skelaton?
The Grim Reefer
Ready for some NOBALL!!!
Gotta find a house before I fill the tank up. I am trying to destroy some Rio pumps (plugged in with the pumps out of water and the impellors locked up for over 30 hours, no luck so far) to keep myself entertained for now.
The Grim Reefer
Ready for some NOBALL!!!
8 normally driven T5's or 6 overdriven. The downside to using 2 seperate Tek lights is that you will have one bank of lights at the front and one at the rear with a gap in the center, where it would be most effective to have the lights. I'd get a new unit.
The Grim Reefer
Ready for some NOBALL!!!
The nice thing about the 60" lamps on a 72" tank is you have lower light areas at the ends for shrooms and such. Just stagger the lamps a bit end to end and you will have an even look across the tank.
Lamp wise my last T5 configuration was 2 Aquablues 1 GE, 2 actinic plus and a pure actinic. It was just a tad blue and poped colors really well. If you like more blue you could substitute a 3rd AB for the GE.
Lamp wise my last T5 configuration was 2 Aquablues 1 GE, 2 actinic plus and a pure actinic. It was just a tad blue and poped colors really well. If you like more blue you could substitute a 3rd AB for the GE.
