T5's: A cautionary note

[The Grim Reefer]

Thems the ones Matt. Ask Tom about that specific combination of lamps. I imagine he has played around quite a bit and can give you an idea of the look.

 

[mcegelsk]

Thanks Grim, I'll probably take advantage of the Aqualuxlighting.com going out of business sale and get the bulbs cheaper. Any downside, do they use poor quality bulbs or should I go straight Giesemann??? ~Matt

 

[The Grim Reefer]

The ATI lamps were the same as the D&D/Giesmann. I assume that is what Aqualux is selling so I would jump on them.

 

[horkn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7314669#post7314669 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by The Grim Reefer
The ATI lamps were the same as the D&D/Giesmann. I assume that is what Aqualux is selling so I would jump on them.

yep, they are the same bulbs..

 

[horkn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7313728#post7313728 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rickburdeniuk
Does anyone have an alternate source for aqualuxlighting.com's computer designed reflectors? I can't figure out how to add them to my cart and I was really counting on them for my canopy retrofit!

Their wider reflectors were an important peice for me as I was going to install them now with my T8 and T6 bulbs, with a plan to eventually upgrade to IceCap driven T5's...

just call up aqualux. i did a long time ago, and it went smoothly.

i plan on being able to get 5 or 6 4 foot cdr's yet, so i will just call them...

if not, i will get the IC slrs.. hopefully their plastic clips wont melt when non overdriven:eek1:

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Ice cap is swapping out powder coated metal clips for the plastic if people are having issues.

 

[horkn]

i see that, but they went to plastic so they wouldnt scratch or break bulbs, as well as not rust like the metal ones they have. the powdercoating isnt a viable option due to powdercoat not doing well on flexible parts. it will crack, then rust...

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Using 60" lamps I never had an issue of a lamp breaking from the clips. None of the powdercoated clips ever did rust.

 

[horkn]

once the powdercoat cracks, the steel will rust, because the powdercoated clips are the same SS that the non powdercoated clips are..

powdercoat isnt meant to flex

 

[The Grim Reefer]

I don't know where you get the idea the coating will crack. I just did a quick check and found numerous sites that mention the flexibility of powder coating. If it works on car and truck springs without cracking I doubt a lamp clip will ever be flexed enough to crack it.

 

[davejnz]

My IC SLR's I bought 3.5 months ago have powder coated bulb clips.You wanna talk about some cheap bulb clips,my old(P.O.$h!t)Tek bulb clips rusted out in about 6 months.The reason they rust is electrolysis/galvanic corrosion from useing dissimilar metals.Aluminum is more noble than the cheap alloy the bulb holders are made of(the less noble metal becomes the anode and the aluminum is the cathode in the reaction).The cheap alloy(anode) loses electrons in the process thus causing corrosion..All it takes is just a tiny bit of condensation(electrolyte) on the metals for the process to start.Instead of the cheap fasteners they provide with the reflectors,use marine grade stainless steel fasteners instead.Place a rubber/plastic washer to isolate the bulb holder from the reflector and you can stop this reaction.

 

[perc]

I found another site where I can get a 8x80w retro kit, it comes with a triad ballast. Are these any good? What kind of output do they have on the 80w version?

 

[s3aL]

Well after alot of thinking, I finally ordered my lights from reefgeek.com

4x54w Icecap Retrofit kit
2x54w Tek T5 Retrofit kit

Bulb combo
4x Blueplus
2x Aquablues

This will be going on a 48Lx20Hx24D 100g tank.

I plan to put the 4 Icecap bulbs in the middle and have the 2 Tek T5 retro on each end of the tank so I can keep lower light corals in the sand bed near the front glass or towards the back of the glass.

Im guess I can keep any SPS or clam I desire as long as there near the overdriven bulbs?

I hope I made a wise choice and wont be disapointed once I set it up .

 

[horkn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7320863#post7320863 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by The Grim Reefer
I don't know where you get the idea the coating will crack. I just did a quick check and found numerous sites that mention the flexibility of powder coating. If it works on car and truck springs without cracking I doubt a lamp clip will ever be flexed enough to crack it.

my years of motorsports experience tells me that powdercoating wont last on a very thin flexible item, such as the bulb clips. car springs are much thicker than the clips, and even then i have seen aftermarket car springs tht have cracked powdercoating.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

The only flexing a lamp clip will ever do is when changing out lamps. I figure the life of the powder coat should be about 20 years at that rate. The only time I've ever seen powder coat crack is when the metal it is on is bent and even then it has to be pretty hard bend.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7321984#post7321984 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by perc
I found another site where I can get a 8x80w retro kit, it comes with a triad ballast. Are these any good? What kind of output do they have on the 80w version?

The 80 watt lamps will be driven at 80 watts on triad ballasts. They are good.

 

[horkn]

yeah, the clip will only flex when you take the reflector off the bulb. but even still, as tough as powdercoat is, it can crack. Also there is a reason (or 2) IC went to plastic clips.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7353809#post7353809 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by horkn
yeah, the clip will only flex when you take the reflector off the bulb. but even still, as tough as powdercoat is, it can crack. Also there is a reason (or 2) IC went to plastic clips.

Yeah $$$ Plastic clips are an off the shelf item, they have to have the others powdercoated.

 

[ikn0xl]

Hi Grim,
I wanted to know your comments as to switching over from Nova Extremes over to Teks. I can choose to use either one on my tank and currently I have the Novas but will soon switch over.

Current usa makes their own bulbs so Im wondering how different the colors will be and am extremely confused as to what bulbs I will be using.

I have a
90 gallon standard 48"L and plan on keeping SPS.

With my own eyes I saw that my T5's were brighter than my Hamilton 250 HQI's when it came to judging the tank overall but the halides were brighter in the cneter of the tank.

 

[horkn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7355545#post7355545 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by The Grim Reefer
Yeah $$$ Plastic clips are an off the shelf item, they have to have the others powdercoated.

well, i was thinking more along the lines of "hey we have 7000 of the low grade SS clips that rust, so how do we prevent that?" powdercoating...

well that and those plastic clips sure look pretty crazy to be an off the shelf item.