T5's: A cautionary note

[FastUno]

Well, look who the devil just dragged in

Nice to see the boys are back in town!

I am having thoughs of a second SPS only tank with some T5's. If I had the room I would set it up toinight, but for now I have to wait till I move.

I am having great success with my main tank now & would not change this setup. Here are some last tank shots before I butcher the monti cap big time & get rid of the ever growing carpet anem.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

I would say 18 at least. You would need to place the lamps close enough together that you wouldn't get color bands so 24 would probably be the way to go.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7228232#post7228232 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tentacles
I am in the planning stages of setting up a tank with dimensions of 72x48x25. Will be mixed with mostly sps. If I were to use 48" bulbs(running front to back) on ice cap slr's, how many do you guys think I would need?

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7229315#post7229315 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by FastUno
Well, look who the devil just dragged in

Nice to see the boys are back in town!

I am having thoughs of a second SPS only tank with some T5's. If I had the room I would set it up toinight, but for now I have to wait till I move.

I am having great success with my main tank now & would not change this setup. Here are some last tank shots before I butcher the monti cap big time & get rid of the ever growing carpet anem.

Looking sweet Uno. I am tankless at the moment, sold the 125 cause I am moving out of state.

 

[rdmpe]

I was hoping to get some of those SuperBlue lamps from commodity axis to use in my Maristar fixture. However, all I hear from them is "should be in next month" - this has gone on since January. I have not been in a hurry, but I am ready to get something new.

So - does anyone know who makes the stock T5 lamps that come in the Maristar? They seem very purple to me.

What would be best as supplement to the 3-250W MH? Right now I'm using 14K pheonix, but I may go back to the 10K, not sure.

Thanks,
Randy

 

[IZZY'SREEF]

What kind of growth should I expect from 3blue+ and 1aquablue(11k)??

 

[mcegelsk]

Hey Guys, I checked out the 72" setup they have at Aquactinics to find out more. It sounds like they are pretty good. Price was about $650 without bulbs. What do you think of the equipment list? Do you know what ballasts they use and are they comparable to the IceCaps? Also what does everyone think of Aquactinics? Thanks. ~Matt


* Aluminum fixture fully powered coated for extended life
* Dual fans ( located on top of the fixture )
* 14 individual Miro IV (95% reflectivity) aluminum reflectors
* 3 switches and power cords for lighting control ( 6 ft cords, but we have a few with 8ft cords if needed )
* Full length splash shield
* Fixture designed to be placed directly on top of tank without heating water
* Standard Aquactinics Warranty

Dimensions : 72" L x 14" W x 3" H

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7230252#post7230252 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rdmpe
I was hoping to get some of those SuperBlue lamps from commodity axis to use in my Maristar fixture. However, all I hear from them is "should be in next month" - this has gone on since January. I have not been in a hurry, but I am ready to get something new.

So - does anyone know who makes the stock T5 lamps that come in the Maristar? They seem very purple to me.

What would be best as supplement to the 3-250W MH? Right now I'm using 14K pheonix, but I may go back to the 10K, not sure.

Thanks,
Randy

The Maristar probably came with an ATI or D&D actinic. Put and actinic plus in the front side of the fixture and see what you think of the combo of the two. The Actinic Plus is a very blue looking lamp that will fluoresce corals pretty good, especially red and blue colors. The pure actinic seems to light up greens really good but nothing else. I had a 2 to 1 AP/Actinic mix and really liked the look.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7230489#post7230489 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mcegelsk
Hey Guys, I checked out the 72" setup they have at Aquactinics to find out more. It sounds like they are pretty good. Price was about $650 without bulbs. What do you think of the equipment list? Do you know what ballasts they use and are they comparable to the IceCaps? Also what does everyone think of Aquactinics? Thanks. ~Matt


* Aluminum fixture fully powered coated for extended life
* Dual fans ( located on top of the fixture )
* 14 individual Miro IV (95% reflectivity) aluminum reflectors
* 3 switches and power cords for lighting control ( 6 ft cords, but we have a few with 8ft cords if needed )
* Full length splash shield
* Fixture designed to be placed directly on top of tank without heating water
* Standard Aquactinics Warranty

Dimensions : 72" L x 14" W x 3" H

Aquactinics has a pretty good rep as far as halide fixtures goes. I know Tom did a lot of research before bringing out the 72" T5 unit but I am not sure what the final product has installed.

I would find out what they are doing for ballasts. The only thing that compares to an Ice Cab ballast is another Ice Cap ballast at this point. I have a knock off of a 660 and it doesn't come close. Hopefully they are using spec T5 ballasts of some kind. I would also rather raise the fixture up a couple inches off the tank than use a splash sheild. Even a clean sheild will cut down the light produced by like 10%, one covered in salt spray will really drop light output.

 

[mcegelsk]

Grim-

I don't suppose that these new UVL bulbs that will be coming out soon would work on it would they? Or are they going to require a completely different equipment setup? Thanks. ~Matt

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Not sure when the lamps will be out. I am not getting too exited about them until they hit the market and we can see what they really look like. I guess I'll have to order a couple and put them against some D&D lamps. I guess ATI is back with new lamps too but I don't know if they are marketing to the US or not.

 

[bourbeaue]

Grim, glad you're back.

I'm thinking of running 4 48" T5's on a 660 and two 48" T5's on a SLS ballast 9not overdrive) on a 21 inch wide tank (30" high). I would like to be able to keep SPS in there.

Would you recommend running one Actinic and one AP on the two normally driven tubes and running daylight (GE) and BP on the four overdriven ones ? Would that be a good config ?

 

[The Grim Reefer]

I am thinking for looks the AP and Actinic would be better on the normal ballast. I would think overdriving a GE, 2 AB's and a A+ would give you enough PAR for SPS and a pretty broad range of spectrum and the actinic/actinic plus will pop the colors, give it a shot.

 

[davejnz]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7230335#post7230335 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by IZZY'SREEF
What kind of growth should I expect from 3blue+ and 1aquablue(11k)??

Growth has too many variables to say for sure.I would think with your tek fixture/tek reflectors,your gonna notice a dropoff in PAR at about the 14"(Grim can give you the exact figures on the tek reflectors).Your tank is kind of deep,about 24" i think.Your setup should make for a nice mixed reef with low to med light corals in the bottom half and high light corals towards the upper half.IME,feeding your corals,especially LPS has more positive impact on growth than does lighting.
BTW,i would consider substitiuting a GE for one of your blue+ to help bring up the PAR.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

What ^ said. I'd keep the high light stuff in the upper half of the tank.

 

[IZZY'SREEF]

Grim and davejnz, your saying that I should run 2B+, one aqua blue and one GE? I had trouble with some corals bleaching with my currrent setup(2aquablues and 2blue+, colors are just starting to come back ) I would be a little afraid to put a GE in the mix. Don't get me wrong, I like the look of 2AB and 2B+, I'm just concerned with color.
Is there anyway to get closer to a 20k look with 4bulbs?
Is there anyone out there having any success with 1aquablue and 3blue+?

 

[kroe]

I had 2xGE 6500K and 2xBluePlus for over a year and liked it, but had that pastel color to my corals. I switched 6 months ago to 3xBluePlus and 1xGE and the pastel color is gone, much better coloration and growth is about the same. It does not have the "artificial" 20k blue look, but is definitely more blue than with half and half.

I don't like aquablues, even one of them. I feel like they wash the whole tank out with white.

 

[bourbeaue]

Thanks Grim.

I will try that combination of bulbs. My tank is 60" long. I was planning on using 48" bulbs and staggering them. Do you think that's a better bet than going with the 60" bulbs ?

Also, I was planning on using the IceCap reflectors. Do you think that's the best reflector for this setup or do you recommend another reflector ?

Thanks Grim.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

The IC reflector is the best. If you overdrive the lamps the 54 watt is brighter than the 80 watt. However on regular T5 ballasts the 80 watt lamps are brighter than the 54.

 

[davejnz]

I run 1 GE,2-blue+,and 1 aquablue on an IC660 with Ic SLR's.They're in my 75gal LPS reef.I keep Blastomussa wellsi(low light coral) on the starboard near the side of the tank.I've never had any bleaching episodes with any opf my corals in the 2.5yrs i've been useing T5's.Its all about acclimation and placement.
BTW,my bulb setup gives me a 12-14k look.

 

[mcegelsk]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7230705#post7230705 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by The Grim Reefer
Aquactinics has a pretty good rep as far as halide fixtures goes. I know Tom did a lot of research before bringing out the 72" T5 unit but I am not sure what the final product has installed.

I would find out what they are doing for ballasts. The only thing that compares to an Ice Cab ballast is another Ice Cap ballast at this point. I have a knock off of a 660 and it doesn't come close. Hopefully they are using spec T5 ballasts of some kind. I would also rather raise the fixture up a couple inches off the tank than use a splash shield. Even a clean shield will cut down the light produced by like 10%, one covered in salt spray will really drop light output.

Grim- I emailed Tom and he said they are using the Workhorse ballasts. I know that I've heard mixed reviews of them. What do you think? Would I be better off just doing the fixture myself and going with IC 660s? Thanks. ~Matt