T5's: A cautionary note
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tjay
Premium Member
Well that is what I sort of thought but the fact is it didnt happen until I turned them on.
Phosphates are 0 to a trace, nitrate 0, nitrite 0, amonia 0
So go figure. The only other change was three weeks ago from oceanic salt to instant ocean. A test of fresh mixed water and in the tank show no phosphate coming from the salt.
Phosphates are 0 to a trace, nitrate 0, nitrite 0, amonia 0
So go figure. The only other change was three weeks ago from oceanic salt to instant ocean. A test of fresh mixed water and in the tank show no phosphate coming from the salt.
Aaron
New member
tjay... makes perfect sense:
the light makes algea grow since algae feeds from light and nutrients... add more light, guess what!
so the moral of the story... is if you are predisposed to have the algae, no matter how "slowly" you add the light, you will get the algae anyway... just "slower"... hehe
Do water changes. I had the same problem with green slime, could not figure out the issue. did some major water changes and it settled down after a month or so. Not gone but now only 10% of what it was. Mind you I run skimmerless with a DSB so your milage may vary.
the light makes algea grow since algae feeds from light and nutrients... add more light, guess what!
so the moral of the story... is if you are predisposed to have the algae, no matter how "slowly" you add the light, you will get the algae anyway... just "slower"... hehe
Do water changes. I had the same problem with green slime, could not figure out the issue. did some major water changes and it settled down after a month or so. Not gone but now only 10% of what it was. Mind you I run skimmerless with a DSB so your milage may vary.
tjay
Premium Member
I do skim, do 15 gallon water changes weekly on a 90 gallon tank full of rock and 3 inch sand bed.
So it really is perplexing, this tank is going on 5 months now and other than the usual brown algae at the begining I never had a problem in here until now, but hey thanks for the input I guess we have ventured off topic.
So it really is perplexing, this tank is going on 5 months now and other than the usual brown algae at the begining I never had a problem in here until now, but hey thanks for the input I guess we have ventured off topic.
rdmpe
New member
tjay - sorry if this is buried in the thread, I went back but didn't see it...
What light fixture do you have. You have four 54w t5s plus some MH in one fixture?
I'm looking at stuff like the 72" maristar which has 3x250 MH and 4x39w T5. So I'm wondering if there are other fixtures with HH and more T5's or did you go with a retrofit system?
What light fixture do you have. You have four 54w t5s plus some MH in one fixture?
I'm looking at stuff like the 72" maristar which has 3x250 MH and 4x39w T5. So I'm wondering if there are other fixtures with HH and more T5's or did you go with a retrofit system?
tjay
Premium Member
I actually had this one made on a variant of one at www.aquauniverse.com
I added the extra two T5 ballast and sockets to the standard metal halide T5 retro.
Also had them throw on 24 moon lights, I have no clue why. Well actually I do they were free so what the heck.
I added the extra two T5 ballast and sockets to the standard metal halide T5 retro.
Also had them throw on 24 moon lights, I have no clue why. Well actually I do they were free so what the heck.
The Grim Reefer
Ready for some NOBALL!!!
My current setup is a metal halide system I am in the middle of upgrading. My temporary lighting is using 5 105 watt T5's laying on the tank so I can take my time with the halides. You are right about the color of Helios T5's, these things look great. The three pics in my gallery labeled temp T5 are under Helios lamps. The 5 and 6 foot Helios T5's come with external ballasts so they might not have the longevity issues their shorter lamps did, dunno.
That pic is under the Helios lamp. The foster and smith lamp gives a similar color but nothing close to the same intensity. I am going to run the Helios in my hailde fixture just for grins to see if the ballast will hold up but I've already got the stuff to just pull the lamps out of the Helios fixture and mount using regular
That pic is under the Helios lamp. The foster and smith lamp gives a similar color but nothing close to the same intensity. I am going to run the Helios in my hailde fixture just for grins to see if the ballast will hold up but I've already got the stuff to just pull the lamps out of the Helios fixture and mount using regular
The Grim Reefer
Ready for some NOBALL!!!
Should look sweet if you like blue. I gotta get my but in gear and get the 14K's into the hood with a couple of these things. I am using the EVC's which I think are bluer than phoenix but it should give an idea of how they will look. There is the possibility of these superblue T5's in VHO wattages too, that could be crazy.
The Grim Reefer
Ready for some NOBALL!!!
Aaron said:
No, the pic is the Helios superblue. The foster and smith light is not nearly as intense but does have a nice look.
rdmpe
New member
Actually I probably tend to like a little more of a white light look than the very blue look. Maybe it would be better for me to go with 10K or somewhere between 10K and 14K...The Grim Reefer said:
Grim - from your experience with both T5 and MH do you think the color diff between TJay's pictures is pretty representative of the differences between the two systems?
Considering his first pics are MH (any supplem??) and the second pics are 2 daylight T5 and two actinic T5, it seems that the colors are a lot better under the MH.
After spending all last night reading through the 60+ pages of this thread, I'm now almost confused as ever. I have a 65gal tank I'm planning for, and was almost set with going for 2-250HQI and 2 vho's for supplement. But now I'm leaning towards T5s. Being a 36" tank with center brace and 24" tall is what lead me to 2-250s. But I think I can get by with 2-VHOs URI Super actinics and 4-39w T5s with Blueplus and AquaBlue. How does this sound? Plans are a mixed tank. I saw lots of discussion about 54w T5s, but not much on 39W. Could someone (grim, odi dad, codeman00, kroe, ddawson) please advise on what they would do with this tank, both on amount of lights and color combinations. Thank you!!!!
Chip
Chip
Codeman00
Premium Member
rharlow, I understand your confusion and I almost wish this thread could be removed from RC. I'm going to state my "opinions" here and anyone has a chance to disagree...
No offense to FastUno, but it seems like he had a bad experience with T5s because he was one of the first to really try them on a part "softy" tank didn't realize how much light they actually put out. He's been using all kinds of screening methods and going through hell trying to get his corals acclimated. Plus, he had weird green coralline growing on the back glass and blamed that on T5s. FastUno, like a lot of other people thought that you need the same number or more T5s than VHOs because of this misleading "wattage per gallon" rule. The fact is that these T5s but out some serious light and the wattage per gallon rule isn't applicable. I really think that these T5s have gotten a bad rap because of his tank ...others are having better experiences with them.
But now, there are several of us, that aren't having the same problems he did....but I've learned some from him and others here. Instead of 3", my 5 lamps are 8-9 inches off the tank surface (I have a 20" tall tank). I made sure I had 3 ballasts so I can run any number of lights in case I run into acclimation problems etc. So far, I haven't had the degree of problems that FastUno had. Yes, there are some softies like a green striped, one purple, and an orange ricordia that don't like to be in the direct T5 light, even on the sand bed..I put them partially in the shade instead. My yellow/green kenya tree didnt like being halfway up in the tank...he started to shrivel and now on the sandbed he's doing great. I put my frogspawn 12" from the surface and he loves the light. I put my orange and green digita instantly 8-10" from the surace and they are happy campers. No screen method or using books, etc.
Here's some random thoughts about T5s (fact, opinion, etc).
1) 4 lamps will have enough power for your tank (but none of mine are actinics). If you use a couple of actinics..you might need 6. Either way, I would make sure to have a couple to a few ballasts to work with the photoperiod just in case
2) Your tank will look different colorwise with T5s than others and you need to realize that before hand.
3) The big problem with T5s is to get the flouresce that you get with other lighting. I supplemented mine with a VHO, but you almost need 2 VHOs when the other 4 T5s are burning. There are seem to be some good T5 actinics out now...so maybe this issue will get better. I still keep comparing my tank colors to others...but am beginning to realize that being unique is not a bad thing.
4) I have no heat issues at all....with a 3" fan, my tank stays at 80-81 degrees.
5) I have green corralline on my rocks..but so do my other 2 friends and we ordered live rock together from the same place. So I cant blame green corraline on the T5s. I dont have corralline on the back glass. (not yet anyway).
6) My electricall usage right now is probabably the equivalent of 250W a day from my 48" long, 20" deep tank (taking photoperiods into consideration). With halides, it could be twice as much or more. My bulbs will last twice or more times as long as the halides.
Conclusion... I'm still on the fence here. I almost wish I would have went with halides so I could be like everyone else and my corals would have the colors that they do in other tanks. On the other hand, Im glad I didnt have to have a chiller, etc and my tank does have a unique look, but not enough flouresce as I want and some colors don't pop out like my friends tanks. I can't really comment about growth because my tank is so new. I wish I could have gone with halides..but when I think about buying a chiller, I'm back happy with my decision.
I'll let Grim and the others fill in what I left out here. Good luck and feel free to ask more questions.
No offense to FastUno, but it seems like he had a bad experience with T5s because he was one of the first to really try them on a part "softy" tank didn't realize how much light they actually put out. He's been using all kinds of screening methods and going through hell trying to get his corals acclimated. Plus, he had weird green coralline growing on the back glass and blamed that on T5s. FastUno, like a lot of other people thought that you need the same number or more T5s than VHOs because of this misleading "wattage per gallon" rule. The fact is that these T5s but out some serious light and the wattage per gallon rule isn't applicable. I really think that these T5s have gotten a bad rap because of his tank ...others are having better experiences with them.
But now, there are several of us, that aren't having the same problems he did....but I've learned some from him and others here. Instead of 3", my 5 lamps are 8-9 inches off the tank surface (I have a 20" tall tank). I made sure I had 3 ballasts so I can run any number of lights in case I run into acclimation problems etc. So far, I haven't had the degree of problems that FastUno had. Yes, there are some softies like a green striped, one purple, and an orange ricordia that don't like to be in the direct T5 light, even on the sand bed..I put them partially in the shade instead. My yellow/green kenya tree didnt like being halfway up in the tank...he started to shrivel and now on the sandbed he's doing great. I put my frogspawn 12" from the surface and he loves the light. I put my orange and green digita instantly 8-10" from the surace and they are happy campers. No screen method or using books, etc.
Here's some random thoughts about T5s (fact, opinion, etc).
1) 4 lamps will have enough power for your tank (but none of mine are actinics). If you use a couple of actinics..you might need 6. Either way, I would make sure to have a couple to a few ballasts to work with the photoperiod just in case
2) Your tank will look different colorwise with T5s than others and you need to realize that before hand.
3) The big problem with T5s is to get the flouresce that you get with other lighting. I supplemented mine with a VHO, but you almost need 2 VHOs when the other 4 T5s are burning. There are seem to be some good T5 actinics out now...so maybe this issue will get better. I still keep comparing my tank colors to others...but am beginning to realize that being unique is not a bad thing.
4) I have no heat issues at all....with a 3" fan, my tank stays at 80-81 degrees.
5) I have green corralline on my rocks..but so do my other 2 friends and we ordered live rock together from the same place. So I cant blame green corraline on the T5s. I dont have corralline on the back glass. (not yet anyway).
6) My electricall usage right now is probabably the equivalent of 250W a day from my 48" long, 20" deep tank (taking photoperiods into consideration). With halides, it could be twice as much or more. My bulbs will last twice or more times as long as the halides.
Conclusion... I'm still on the fence here. I almost wish I would have went with halides so I could be like everyone else and my corals would have the colors that they do in other tanks. On the other hand, Im glad I didnt have to have a chiller, etc and my tank does have a unique look, but not enough flouresce as I want and some colors don't pop out like my friends tanks. I can't really comment about growth because my tank is so new. I wish I could have gone with halides..but when I think about buying a chiller, I'm back happy with my decision.
I'll let Grim and the others fill in what I left out here. Good luck and feel free to ask more questions.
Obi-dad
Active member
rharlow, welcome to RC! I have a softies tank with only 2 39w T5's on it, one daylight and one blue+. It is brighter than most tanks you see in LFSs. The anemones (more light demanding than most softies) are growing and splitting, and every thing is doing very well. I have no sps in there, but one large closed brain that is doing great. My stonies tank has 6 54w T5's. I think a mixed tank with 4 bulbs would be fine.
tjay
Premium Member
great points all
I have suggested this thread to others, and I think it is a good resource for people evaluating T5. I am a fan of T5s myself and think hands down they beat VHO and PC lighting so in my opinion that is not even a contest.
When it comes to MH vs T5 then that is another story. Truth is when T5 has been around as long as MH then my guess is they will improve and maybe even match MH. MH has just had more time to be tweaked and advanced to the hobby.
For me the best solution to this quandry was get a MH and T5 retro, this allows me to play with both while I decide what I want.
It is funny how you look at so many things and they all say high lighting until you get MH then start seeing all the things that need low light.
If I were just going to do softies or LPS I think I would have stuck with T5, now I know I want to atleast try a clam and some SPS are creeping into my mind. They are a few months away though as I want my tank to settle a bit more before adding them.
As far as wattage goes, I was running 4 24 wat T5 on my main before my current set up, and things were doing fine. I am moving that bank of lights over to my QT tank. No you could not keep SPS or Clams with that light, but Xenia, shrooms, star polyps and even a pearl bubble coral (resurected from a dead skeleton ) were all growing under that light in my 90.
Just seems to me to get the best of both worlds, MH and T5 combo with lots of ballasts and switches makes it easy to experiment until you get what you want.
I have suggested this thread to others, and I think it is a good resource for people evaluating T5. I am a fan of T5s myself and think hands down they beat VHO and PC lighting so in my opinion that is not even a contest.
When it comes to MH vs T5 then that is another story. Truth is when T5 has been around as long as MH then my guess is they will improve and maybe even match MH. MH has just had more time to be tweaked and advanced to the hobby.
For me the best solution to this quandry was get a MH and T5 retro, this allows me to play with both while I decide what I want.
It is funny how you look at so many things and they all say high lighting until you get MH then start seeing all the things that need low light.
If I were just going to do softies or LPS I think I would have stuck with T5, now I know I want to atleast try a clam and some SPS are creeping into my mind. They are a few months away though as I want my tank to settle a bit more before adding them.
As far as wattage goes, I was running 4 24 wat T5 on my main before my current set up, and things were doing fine. I am moving that bank of lights over to my QT tank. No you could not keep SPS or Clams with that light, but Xenia, shrooms, star polyps and even a pearl bubble coral (resurected from a dead skeleton ) were all growing under that light in my 90.
Just seems to me to get the best of both worlds, MH and T5 combo with lots of ballasts and switches makes it easy to experiment until you get what you want.
Fido
New member
I just ordered my 8 bulb 36" Tek T5 unit from ReefGeek, so I'll let you all know how it goes. It should be here around Friday of next week. I'm going to run probably (front to back) Actinic, AquaBlue, ActinicBlue+, Daylight, AquaBlue, ActinicBlue+, AquaBlue, Actinic. Lots of screening to start and we'll see what happens.
Wish me luck
Wish me luck
The Grim Reefer
Ready for some NOBALL!!!
rdmpe said:
It really depends on the system. My 10K halides and and PC actinics didn't produce the colors my temp system does. I am not sure about the exact lights Tjay had on in the second pic. Was it T5's and actinics or just T5's? What brand of lamps ect.
I hope the new halides make a big difference on my system. I was working on them til 2 AM this morning. I can't believe the fixture I have. Instead of wire nuts the thing uses junction blocks to make wire connections. Pretty sweet to work with once I get the wiring for the 6 PC mag ballasts that were in the thing out of my way. You just loosen the screw and pull the wire out.
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