T5's: A cautionary note

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Grim, in your experiance can you tell me what kind of color shift I will see going from a 6000K Sun bulb to a 11000K Aquablue Special and what are the advantages and disadvantages to this change.
 
You will have more blue or less yellow anyway, depending on your mix of lamps. The aquablue actually has more PAR than the sun so it is a win win situation.
 
This thread and "T5 lighting may be for you" have been the undead of RC threads. Just when you get ready to shovel dirt in their face they sit up and bite you in the neck:O
 
Still cant find these superblue lights anywhere, is there any where besides hellolights that sells them?
 
tjay, they have them at http://www.commodityaxis.com/Home.aspx

I emailed them this past week and they do have some in stock. However, they dont have them listed on their website as far as I can tell, and they dont have anyway to order online or on the phone. Only by mail or if you want to fax your credit card number to them. I'm very reluctant to do business with them because of it. I'm just a regular person and I can accept credit cards through paypal...I'm not sure why they haven't figured it out how to do the same.
 
Hey Codeman, Grim seems to have done some biz with them with no trouble. And the benefit of sending them your cc is that you can dispute the charge if you have a problem with them. If you do it through paypal, I don't think you can dispute the charges through your cc company at that point. So you may actually have better fraud protection using your cc directly. Just my 0.03
 
I'm still skittish to send my credit card number over an ancient fax line. I know that where I work, everyone and their brother can grab a fax before it gets to the appropriate person. Maybe its over cautious, but I prefer to deal over the an SSL or at the least over the phone to sales directly.
 
In all honesty you are probably safer faxing it than sending online. If anything funky appears on the card you dispute it and it is removed immediately until the vendor can prove it was a legit charge.

These guys really do need to get a better system.
 
yeah they need a better system. i want these mega blues, or at least one for now, but man, not until they figure out how to do this online or via phone

hell, i would rather send them a check and wait til they cash it than have my CC numbers floating...

better yet, money order
 
Hey everyone, I'm about to make the plunge into T5 lighting, and I have a few easy questions! I've got a standard 55g tank, and I really, really like the look of an open top, so a canopy is out (and I prefer a pre-fabricated fixture). That being said, I'm basically limited to the Sunlight Supply Tek hood (48"), with 4 bulbs (54w per bulb)... as the six bulb setup just won't fit. I'm really only trying to keep a few moderately sized fish with a bunch of Zoa's in this particular tank. So, before I place my order, I'm curious to get your opinions on what lamps you would use to get the best colors out of the polyps (and keep the fish looking good, although that really isn't light depending). I'm not a big fan of the really yellow looking tank... but looking for some answers from those who know best!

Thanks to all in advance!

Cheers - Jamison
 
Welp, my Tek 36" 8 bulb unit is all set up and everything seems happy so far (good polyp extension, etc). Completely excellent coloration and flourescence with these lamps. I think I'm still going to muck around with lamp placement, but we'll see. I'll give more details later since my pizza is about to arrive :D
 
JamisonRD said:
Hey everyone, I'm about to make the plunge into T5 lighting, and I have a few easy questions! I've got a standard 55g tank, and I really, really like the look of an open top, so a canopy is out (and I prefer a pre-fabricated fixture). That being said, I'm basically limited to the Sunlight Supply Tek hood (48"), with 4 bulbs (54w per bulb)... as the six bulb setup just won't fit. I'm really only trying to keep a few moderately sized fish with a bunch of Zoa's in this particular tank. So, before I place my order, I'm curious to get your opinions on what lamps you would use to get the best colors out of the polyps (and keep the fish looking good, although that really isn't light depending). I'm not a big fan of the really yellow looking tank... but looking for some answers from those who know best!

Thanks to all in advance!

Cheers - Jamison
Click to expand...

You need 2 blue/actinic plus lamps and either 1 GE 6500K daylight and an Aquablue or 2 aquablues, depending on your taste. I would just order 2 of the blueplus lamps, 2 aquablues and a GE so you have a spare lamp. Then you can decide which you prefer and have a lamp should one fail.
 
I have 6 bulbs over a 55 (mix of SLS and IceCap reflectors) and I have had nothing but success. Current mix of lamps is (from back to front):

AquaMedic Actinic
GE 6500
AquaBlue
GE 6500
AquaMedic Actinic
AquaBlue

The SPS frags that I have are all growing. As for the problems that some have had with LPS and softies, I've followed the advice in this thread and acclimated them properly and haven't had any difficulties.
 
Codeman00 said:
tjay, they have them at http://www.commodityaxis.com/Home.aspx

I emailed them this past week and they do have some in stock. However, they dont have them listed on their website as far as I can tell, and they dont have anyway to order online or on the phone. Only by mail or if you want to fax your credit card number to them. I'm very reluctant to do business with them because of it. I'm just a regular person and I can accept credit cards through paypal...I'm not sure why they haven't figured it out how to do the same.
Click to expand...
Is the superblue the Actinic 03 Blue bulb they have listed?
 
Hello,
I have a 70 gal 16" tank wt 440 watts of VHO- 2 50/50 & 2 super actinic by URI. Has worked well for over 10 years but I want to have more SPS and the SPS corals that I have now get OK growth. I have 3 young boys, so any type of pendent lighting is out of the question(no MH). should I add 2 more VHO or add some T5's ? What kind/colors, what brand, and where to order from?
Thanx,
Joshua
 
While I love the look of grims super blues I think I will wait until other vendors pick up these lights. Seems a little like voodoo at the moment. I would like to hear more success stories before taking that jump.
I almost wish I would have went VHO supplemental at the moment cause I am just not happy with the flourece of T5 lighting.
The guy at aquauniverse is sending me a couple of other MH bulbs to try so we will see if that changes my mind.
 
tjay,
I ain't planning on getting rid of my VHO bulbs, I just want to add more light and don't want to use halides, but I want something with alittle more "punch" for supplementation!! Anybody else have an opinion on this- more VHO or T5?
Thanx,
Joshua
 
Pop a couple of Aquablue T5's in with your VHO's. That sould keep your current color balance and add a lot of PAR. Stick with the Tek retros. You need 2 1/2 inches of space per lamp so that might make things a little crowded.
 
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