T5's: A cautionary note
- Thread starter gregt
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johns
Premium Member
So does anyone know for certain whether the Helios bulbs will fit in a premade hood like the Tek Light?
I'm not sure if I interpretted their response to me correctly, but Commodity Axis MAY have been telling me that they wanted to know the length of my T5 bulbs because they wanted to send out the same size to me. Is it possibly they make Helios Superblue T5s at various sizes (46.5", 46", 47", 45.5")? Because that's the way it sounded to me.
I'm not sure if I interpretted their response to me correctly, but Commodity Axis MAY have been telling me that they wanted to know the length of my T5 bulbs because they wanted to send out the same size to me. Is it possibly they make Helios Superblue T5s at various sizes (46.5", 46", 47", 45.5")? Because that's the way it sounded to me.
The Grim Reefer
Ready for some NOBALL!!!
I think they have T5 in 11, 18, 24, 30, a few around 48", 60 and 72". They are supposed to be coming out with a better reflector for the 72" unit. Once that happens they are going to have a hot product. I ran some of those while I was upgrading the halides and they actually look pretty good.
The Grim Reefer
Ready for some NOBALL!!!
johns said:
The Tek takes the ATI lamp which should be 46.5" but let Obi Dad measure his and post. My lamps are the 60" which are 58.5. I am pretty sure the "48" are the same inch and a half under.
Aquactinics
Registered Member
T5 HO dimensions
Here is some info on T5 dimensions.
First, a T5 diameter is 5/8"
Sizes:
24W T5
cap to cap: 21 1/2"
tip to tip : 22 1/8"
w/ non-waterproof endcaps : 22 3/8"
w/ waterproof endcaps: 22 7/8"
39W T5
cap to cap: 33 3/8"
tip to tip : 34"
w/ non-waterproof endcaps : 34 1/4"
w/ waterproof endcaps: 34 3/4"
54W T5
cap to cap: 45 1/8"
tip to tip : 45 3/4"
w/ non-waterproof endcaps : 46"
w/ waterproof endcaps: 46 1/2"
These measurements are for ATI / D&D and Coralvue T5 bulbs.
Tom
Aquactinics
Here is some info on T5 dimensions.
First, a T5 diameter is 5/8"
Sizes:
24W T5
cap to cap: 21 1/2"
tip to tip : 22 1/8"
w/ non-waterproof endcaps : 22 3/8"
w/ waterproof endcaps: 22 7/8"
39W T5
cap to cap: 33 3/8"
tip to tip : 34"
w/ non-waterproof endcaps : 34 1/4"
w/ waterproof endcaps: 34 3/4"
54W T5
cap to cap: 45 1/8"
tip to tip : 45 3/4"
w/ non-waterproof endcaps : 46"
w/ waterproof endcaps: 46 1/2"
These measurements are for ATI / D&D and Coralvue T5 bulbs.
Tom
Aquactinics
Obi-dad
Active member
I just measured my 54w bulbs with a Craftsman tape measure -
ATI/DD = 45 3/4" (same as Tom's post)
Helios = 46 1/2 " -- this is the measurement that websites commonly give to the ATI/DD bulbs...
Just a note to Tom's post, there are different waterproof endcaps. The ones from Helios add less length (they are slightly wider than the bulb and slip on, not the big ones with the standoffs).
ATI/DD = 45 3/4" (same as Tom's post)
Helios = 46 1/2 " -- this is the measurement that websites commonly give to the ATI/DD bulbs...
Just a note to Tom's post, there are different waterproof endcaps. The ones from Helios add less length (they are slightly wider than the bulb and slip on, not the big ones with the standoffs).
johns
Premium Member
Hate to just add more confusion to this mess but I measured the ATI bulbs that I pulled out of my own Tek-Light tonight and got this:
From end cap to end cap (this includes the 2 metal 'caps' on the bulb but NOT pins - this is what Commodity Axis was asking for from me) I got 45 3/8
If I include the pins I get 45 3/4
The tube only (this is minus the entire metal cap) I get 44 1/8
Tom- Did I measure cap to cap the same way you did?
All- Some of you other must have contacted Commodity Axis for these bulbs. Didn'y any of you get asked for these exact measurements?
From end cap to end cap (this includes the 2 metal 'caps' on the bulb but NOT pins - this is what Commodity Axis was asking for from me) I got 45 3/8
If I include the pins I get 45 3/4
The tube only (this is minus the entire metal cap) I get 44 1/8
Tom- Did I measure cap to cap the same way you did?
All- Some of you other must have contacted Commodity Axis for these bulbs. Didn'y any of you get asked for these exact measurements?
Aquactinics
Registered Member
john,
I just remeasured what I have in stock. ( D&D 54W Pure Actinic and D&D 54W Blue+ ). I got 45 1/8" from cap to cap ( Not including the pins. ) ATI might be slightly longer, but they should be exeactly the same as D&D.
Tom
Aquactinics
I just remeasured what I have in stock. ( D&D 54W Pure Actinic and D&D 54W Blue+ ). I got 45 1/8" from cap to cap ( Not including the pins. ) ATI might be slightly longer, but they should be exeactly the same as D&D.
Tom
Aquactinics
FastUno
New member
THE REPORT
Once again I will resort to a list, hopefully to make things more easy to digest & interpret. I will assign corals to one of three categories: corals that were negatively affected after MH exposure (THE NEGATIVE), corals that were positively affected (THE POSITIVE), & corals that appeared neutral (THE NEUTRAL). Not a single coral has died or bleached since the MH addition & I have not added many new corals. I have only added xenia & some orange zoos. In fact I have sold more than what I have added.
Before we get into the list lets just keep a few things in mind. Of all the MH bulbs to choose, the XM 20K's are the least likely to be chosen if coral growth was a major priority. Furthermore, there are a few differences between my MH setup & the normal MH setup. For instance my MH fixture is directly on top of the tank & has a shield, but I believe the overall affect is that more pars are passed to where it's needed the most. I only keep the MH on for 6hrs a day & only 1 of those hours with the T5's on, so the MH run solo for 5hrs. I did this for electrical & heat concerns, but I will be changing this soon by keeping the T5's on for the full 6hrs of MH operation.
The green stuff that was growing on my glass walls I was sure was due to the T5 setup in the past, but now I am not so sure. I had scraped off most of the accumulated growth before the MH fixture was placed & in due time this stuff has grown back. Not as it did with the T5 setup, where it was more of an explosion & covered more area. The first 6 inches from the back top of the tank has no growth, since very little light hits this area. Keep in mind that I still have 2x T5's & keep them on for a total of 7hrs a day though.
I have stopped dosing B-Ionic & am using a home-made 2 part solution now for the sake of savings. I have dosed this new solution for about three weeks now & have not noticed any negative nor positive effects & levels are where they should be. I have also stopped feeding the corals in my tank. I used to dose phyto & direct feed cyclo to certain corals in my tank, but have stopped doing this.
When I first got into this hobby I used to do water changes religiously every week. Then after my upgrade to the 90g I did them every 3-4weeks & now I have not done a water change for well over 2 months. I have been really busy lately & promised myself that I would do a change the second I saw something wrong. Fortunately or unfortunately that time has never come & I am beginning to wonder about the necessity of water changes in an established tank.
With all that being said lets move on to the list.
Once again I will resort to a list, hopefully to make things more easy to digest & interpret. I will assign corals to one of three categories: corals that were negatively affected after MH exposure (THE NEGATIVE), corals that were positively affected (THE POSITIVE), & corals that appeared neutral (THE NEUTRAL). Not a single coral has died or bleached since the MH addition & I have not added many new corals. I have only added xenia & some orange zoos. In fact I have sold more than what I have added.
Before we get into the list lets just keep a few things in mind. Of all the MH bulbs to choose, the XM 20K's are the least likely to be chosen if coral growth was a major priority. Furthermore, there are a few differences between my MH setup & the normal MH setup. For instance my MH fixture is directly on top of the tank & has a shield, but I believe the overall affect is that more pars are passed to where it's needed the most. I only keep the MH on for 6hrs a day & only 1 of those hours with the T5's on, so the MH run solo for 5hrs. I did this for electrical & heat concerns, but I will be changing this soon by keeping the T5's on for the full 6hrs of MH operation.
The green stuff that was growing on my glass walls I was sure was due to the T5 setup in the past, but now I am not so sure. I had scraped off most of the accumulated growth before the MH fixture was placed & in due time this stuff has grown back. Not as it did with the T5 setup, where it was more of an explosion & covered more area. The first 6 inches from the back top of the tank has no growth, since very little light hits this area. Keep in mind that I still have 2x T5's & keep them on for a total of 7hrs a day though.
I have stopped dosing B-Ionic & am using a home-made 2 part solution now for the sake of savings. I have dosed this new solution for about three weeks now & have not noticed any negative nor positive effects & levels are where they should be. I have also stopped feeding the corals in my tank. I used to dose phyto & direct feed cyclo to certain corals in my tank, but have stopped doing this.
When I first got into this hobby I used to do water changes religiously every week. Then after my upgrade to the 90g I did them every 3-4weeks & now I have not done a water change for well over 2 months. I have been really busy lately & promised myself that I would do a change the second I saw something wrong. Fortunately or unfortunately that time has never come & I am beginning to wonder about the necessity of water changes in an established tank.
With all that being said lets move on to the list.
FastUno
New member
THE NEGATIVE:
-Orange Monti Cap: Not such a big negative, but worthy of note. I have compared this monti to others & have yet to find one that was as dark, rich, & colorful as mine under the T5's. It appears that I have more growth now with the MH, but the newer growth areas are lighter than the darker center. It might be the nature of the monti itself & I have seen many monti's with this characteristic & look. My monti now is starting to look more like the others that I have seen & less like the hard to believe color that I had before. Although I would much rather have the latter.
Purple mushrooms: These are the mushrooms that were turning paler in my 55g & that did well on the floor of my 90g. Now they are a more duller purple & again look more natural & more like what I have seen out there. I much prefer the darker purple look. There is a single purple mushroom much higher than all the rest & that one has retained much more of its darker purple color. I can easily move the mushrooms that are on the floor, but have not done so because I wanted to see the full scope of the effects. I think it's much easier to move things up in a tank rather than to screen or find shading for them (at least the way my tank is setup). The mushrooms look bigger & healthier though.
THE POSITIVE:
Just a note on this before the list. Certain corals grow exponentially & sometimes it's a little more difficult to judge whether there is faster growth or whether the growth is the same but just exponential. In other words, the more growth you have the faster the growth appears the next time it's ascertained.
-Galaxia: This coral is one of the highest in the tank. I have received this one very patchy with dead spots in certain areas. Now it appears that those areas that had tentacles have so many more tentacles. It's an explosion of tentacles that it covers the dead spots in between & makes it appear more fuller. I don't understand how this coral grows for it does not seem to be covering any new surface areas. Just more growth of tentacles in existing areas.
-Maze Brain: Yahooooo this baby is back! Remember the pics of the pale Maze I posted last with the T5's? It has regained its natural color & beauty back. All this too even after I stopped direct feeding. I was sure that I was going to loose this one. No growth here, but then again they grow REALLY slow.
-Red Lobo: This one I was worried to loose with the T5's then when I placed under the shade it had gotten better. With the T5's there were days when it looked amazing & others not so well. Now It looks the same when I have only the T5's on, but when I turn on the MH...WOW. It expands itself so nicely & looks gorgeous. Can't believe I contemplated selling this one. My eye has been on this lobo & I was waiting for at least a single day when the MH would be on & it would look bad. This never happened, not even a single day. It appears larger & with more expanded flesh now. It appears like it has the potential to go places now & I can't wait for it to divide.
Orange & Green Zoos- It has taken a few weeks what it took months for me to grow. This is an explosion & now I can see how these can take over a tank. Time to frag & sell! My zoos grew under T5's too, but not at this rate. Now I see what others mean when they are worried that zoos can take over a tank.
Frogspawn- What I had noticed with the frogspawn, torch, candy cane, & green wellsophylia brain in the T5 system is that they exhibited atrophy. The first three appeared to loose flesh at the base, although all else looked healthy. Now with the Frogspawn there is soooooooo much more flesh on the base & that makes me feel that the coral is healthier. Other than that the coral looks more expanded & fleshier on the outside, but no major branching to report. This coral still retains its natural beautiful color, which I thought was going to become less colorful under the 20K XM's.
Colt coral: This is the one that completely bleached under the T5's & then very slowly gained its color back under the T5's in a lower position. There had been no indication of growth under the T5's. Now finally it looks more healthier with signs of growth.
The following corals exhibited faster/more growth, but probably is due to exponential growth rates:
Orange & purple monti (I could swear to you the growth rate of the orange is faster under the MH, but I will be skeptical), GSP (another swear), blastos & kenya tree.
THE NEUTRAL:
-Green Fuzzy Mushrooms- Someone made me an offer that I could not refuse, but while they were under the MH they appeared the same as they were under the T5's.
I still have only one of this mushroom & it also appears the same. No substantial growth & still looks very pretty.
-Ricordias- seems more expanded & fleshier, but no noticeable growth or splitting.
Xenia- Same
Toadstools- Same. Although, when I first placed the MH on the green stool looked like it had a really good attraction & looked healthier & better. Looking at it now it looks the same, but my damsel is picking on my toadstool.
In summation once you go MH you can't go back. I still have my T5 fixture but putting them back on has not even crossed my mind. I am so happy with MH in general & so very happy with my Aquactinics in particular. Basically I just throw the fixtures on the tank & I am done. No worrying about chillers. No biting my nails over coral response as I have done with the T5's. I have more to say on electricity & heat, but will save this for later. When I turn the 2 T5's on, the tank looks colorful, but very dull. When the MH come on the tank comes to life, there is an added level of believability because of the shimmer lines. A very comfortable level is visible, not too much to annoy you & enough to bring out the vibrance in the tank.
Would I feel the same if I only had SPS's given all other similar conditions, probably not. So you will have to read between the lines in this respect. Would I say the same if I had replaced my T5's with VHO's or PC lights, there is the possibility. I recently saw another reefers tanks & his PC neglected softy/LPS tank was much more impressive than his LPS MH system. All his corals appeared very healthy & beautiful in the PC tank. Had I been forced to use the T5's only I would have drilled another tank into the system with PC lights & kept affected corals in this smaller tank or simply gotten rid of affected corals.
-Orange Monti Cap: Not such a big negative, but worthy of note. I have compared this monti to others & have yet to find one that was as dark, rich, & colorful as mine under the T5's. It appears that I have more growth now with the MH, but the newer growth areas are lighter than the darker center. It might be the nature of the monti itself & I have seen many monti's with this characteristic & look. My monti now is starting to look more like the others that I have seen & less like the hard to believe color that I had before. Although I would much rather have the latter.
Purple mushrooms: These are the mushrooms that were turning paler in my 55g & that did well on the floor of my 90g. Now they are a more duller purple & again look more natural & more like what I have seen out there. I much prefer the darker purple look. There is a single purple mushroom much higher than all the rest & that one has retained much more of its darker purple color. I can easily move the mushrooms that are on the floor, but have not done so because I wanted to see the full scope of the effects. I think it's much easier to move things up in a tank rather than to screen or find shading for them (at least the way my tank is setup). The mushrooms look bigger & healthier though.
THE POSITIVE:
Just a note on this before the list. Certain corals grow exponentially & sometimes it's a little more difficult to judge whether there is faster growth or whether the growth is the same but just exponential. In other words, the more growth you have the faster the growth appears the next time it's ascertained.
-Galaxia: This coral is one of the highest in the tank. I have received this one very patchy with dead spots in certain areas. Now it appears that those areas that had tentacles have so many more tentacles. It's an explosion of tentacles that it covers the dead spots in between & makes it appear more fuller. I don't understand how this coral grows for it does not seem to be covering any new surface areas. Just more growth of tentacles in existing areas.
-Maze Brain: Yahooooo this baby is back! Remember the pics of the pale Maze I posted last with the T5's? It has regained its natural color & beauty back. All this too even after I stopped direct feeding. I was sure that I was going to loose this one. No growth here, but then again they grow REALLY slow.
-Red Lobo: This one I was worried to loose with the T5's then when I placed under the shade it had gotten better. With the T5's there were days when it looked amazing & others not so well. Now It looks the same when I have only the T5's on, but when I turn on the MH...WOW. It expands itself so nicely & looks gorgeous. Can't believe I contemplated selling this one. My eye has been on this lobo & I was waiting for at least a single day when the MH would be on & it would look bad. This never happened, not even a single day. It appears larger & with more expanded flesh now. It appears like it has the potential to go places now & I can't wait for it to divide.
Orange & Green Zoos- It has taken a few weeks what it took months for me to grow. This is an explosion & now I can see how these can take over a tank. Time to frag & sell! My zoos grew under T5's too, but not at this rate. Now I see what others mean when they are worried that zoos can take over a tank.
Frogspawn- What I had noticed with the frogspawn, torch, candy cane, & green wellsophylia brain in the T5 system is that they exhibited atrophy. The first three appeared to loose flesh at the base, although all else looked healthy. Now with the Frogspawn there is soooooooo much more flesh on the base & that makes me feel that the coral is healthier. Other than that the coral looks more expanded & fleshier on the outside, but no major branching to report. This coral still retains its natural beautiful color, which I thought was going to become less colorful under the 20K XM's.
Colt coral: This is the one that completely bleached under the T5's & then very slowly gained its color back under the T5's in a lower position. There had been no indication of growth under the T5's. Now finally it looks more healthier with signs of growth.
The following corals exhibited faster/more growth, but probably is due to exponential growth rates:
Orange & purple monti (I could swear to you the growth rate of the orange is faster under the MH, but I will be skeptical), GSP (another swear), blastos & kenya tree.
THE NEUTRAL:
-Green Fuzzy Mushrooms- Someone made me an offer that I could not refuse, but while they were under the MH they appeared the same as they were under the T5's.
I still have only one of this mushroom & it also appears the same. No substantial growth & still looks very pretty.
-Ricordias- seems more expanded & fleshier, but no noticeable growth or splitting.
Xenia- Same
Toadstools- Same. Although, when I first placed the MH on the green stool looked like it had a really good attraction & looked healthier & better. Looking at it now it looks the same, but my damsel is picking on my toadstool.
In summation once you go MH you can't go back. I still have my T5 fixture but putting them back on has not even crossed my mind. I am so happy with MH in general & so very happy with my Aquactinics in particular. Basically I just throw the fixtures on the tank & I am done. No worrying about chillers. No biting my nails over coral response as I have done with the T5's. I have more to say on electricity & heat, but will save this for later. When I turn the 2 T5's on, the tank looks colorful, but very dull. When the MH come on the tank comes to life, there is an added level of believability because of the shimmer lines. A very comfortable level is visible, not too much to annoy you & enough to bring out the vibrance in the tank.
Would I feel the same if I only had SPS's given all other similar conditions, probably not. So you will have to read between the lines in this respect. Would I say the same if I had replaced my T5's with VHO's or PC lights, there is the possibility. I recently saw another reefers tanks & his PC neglected softy/LPS tank was much more impressive than his LPS MH system. All his corals appeared very healthy & beautiful in the PC tank. Had I been forced to use the T5's only I would have drilled another tank into the system with PC lights & kept affected corals in this smaller tank or simply gotten rid of affected corals.
FastUno
New member
Actually I reached the conclusion quite some time ago based on others who have gone from T5 to MH, but I just had to experience it for myself. Others who have made the switch reported their troubles to go away & I was hoping the same would be true for me.
Keep in mind that there were many corals that did well & grew under T5's too. For instance the frogspawn split into new heads during T5 use, but exhibited atrophy at the base of the coral head. With the MH there is a heck of a lot more flesh that grew back, but I have not observed any new heads dividing.
I think T5's are still a great resource & would compliment a more experienced reefer well, especially one who is more vigilant & has time for observations & planning for alternate courses of action. I for one am not such a reefer. I have that set it & forget it mentality.
Also, one interesting thing to note is that throughout this thread there have been certain individuals who have confided in me certain problems they have experienced & who have nonetheless neglected posting their concerns in this thread. I suppose not everyone wants to be the bad spoke in the T5 wheel.
Keep in mind that there were many corals that did well & grew under T5's too. For instance the frogspawn split into new heads during T5 use, but exhibited atrophy at the base of the coral head. With the MH there is a heck of a lot more flesh that grew back, but I have not observed any new heads dividing.
I think T5's are still a great resource & would compliment a more experienced reefer well, especially one who is more vigilant & has time for observations & planning for alternate courses of action. I for one am not such a reefer. I have that set it & forget it mentality.
Also, one interesting thing to note is that throughout this thread there have been certain individuals who have confided in me certain problems they have experienced & who have nonetheless neglected posting their concerns in this thread. I suppose not everyone wants to be the bad spoke in the T5 wheel.
After going from PC to t5 a for a few months i have to say there are some coral issues... But i have found that changing the location of affected corals has fixed them for the most part...
The only exception may be some mushrooms, even in the shade some of them (blue and purple) have never regained their size or expansion... Although i am not very distressed over this as i am content on letting stay on bottom of the tank hiding in the shadows rather taking over like they were trying to do with PC's...
i think one issue with t5's is that when aquascape it helps to create overhangs to create shaded areas for lower light corals... That has seem to work for me anyway... My ricoridia open up nicely now.
I think i agree that halides are a better light in many respects but for me the cost of running them was too much... My t5's are rated at 156 watts, a halide system would be at least twice that (two 150's plus actinics)... Hopefully the bulbs can make 12-18 months like advertised before needing replacement... long term cost was big factor for me...
Here in Maine during the summer our hottest days are 90 or so degrees, my t5 lit tank never went above 84 degrees with just a small fan blowing over the surface... I suspect with halides i would need a chiller but i am not sure and did not want to risk it...
FastUno: Do you have any heat issues with halides?
As far as enough light with t5's, i think there is, they are visually brighter then pc's of twice the wattage... But not as bright or cool looking as halides i admit.... I love looking at halide lit tanks but i am happy with t5's.
They are bright enough to get growth out a 2 1/2 inch crocea...
The white shell at the top is new growth from about june...
The only exception may be some mushrooms, even in the shade some of them (blue and purple) have never regained their size or expansion... Although i am not very distressed over this as i am content on letting stay on bottom of the tank hiding in the shadows rather taking over like they were trying to do with PC's...
i think one issue with t5's is that when aquascape it helps to create overhangs to create shaded areas for lower light corals... That has seem to work for me anyway... My ricoridia open up nicely now.
I think i agree that halides are a better light in many respects but for me the cost of running them was too much... My t5's are rated at 156 watts, a halide system would be at least twice that (two 150's plus actinics)... Hopefully the bulbs can make 12-18 months like advertised before needing replacement... long term cost was big factor for me...
Here in Maine during the summer our hottest days are 90 or so degrees, my t5 lit tank never went above 84 degrees with just a small fan blowing over the surface... I suspect with halides i would need a chiller but i am not sure and did not want to risk it...
FastUno: Do you have any heat issues with halides?
As far as enough light with t5's, i think there is, they are visually brighter then pc's of twice the wattage... But not as bright or cool looking as halides i admit.... I love looking at halide lit tanks but i am happy with t5's.
They are bright enough to get growth out a 2 1/2 inch crocea...
The white shell at the top is new growth from about june...
FastUno
New member
Drewpy, I agree with you on the aquascaping part. I also went with T5's for the same concerns you have, basically heating & electrical costs. My current MH system puts out the same amount of heat as my T5 fixture, they were designed to do this.
This summer we have been in the 90-100 range & the tank temperature has not gone above 84 on the hottest of days. This is with one clip on fan running & the AC on in the Livingroom.
Normally it sits between 80-82. This morning I decided to get some extra viewing time with the MH & decided to turn them on at 10:30am & right now the tank temp reads 80.5.
Funny you should mention your Crocea, I noticed the same thing with mine today.
This summer we have been in the 90-100 range & the tank temperature has not gone above 84 on the hottest of days. This is with one clip on fan running & the AC on in the Livingroom.
Normally it sits between 80-82. This morning I decided to get some extra viewing time with the MH & decided to turn them on at 10:30am & right now the tank temp reads 80.5.
Funny you should mention your Crocea, I noticed the same thing with mine today.
Yeah, i looked into halides and i figured they may be managable without a chiller... But no a/c here... Not with a 20ft cathedral type ceiling in our living room
And i didn't want to chance it...
The room changes temperature a lot during the summer and with lots of windows can become as hot as outside....
I have worked with halide lamps (for lighting work areas) and those ones at least got really, really, hot... So that scared me off of halides...
How did you design yours to put off less heat?
And i didn't want to chance it...The room changes temperature a lot during the summer and with lots of windows can become as hot as outside....
I have worked with halide lamps (for lighting work areas) and those ones at least got really, really, hot... So that scared me off of halides...
How did you design yours to put off less heat?
Codeman00
Premium Member
I totally agree with Drewpy on the fact that T5s are affecting softies, but its no surprise really because the T5s carry PAR so far down in the tank! Halides don't do this. Based upon UNO's caution, I did create overhangs and most of the softies sit in the shade. After a few weeks of getting used to the light, the are all open and very happy..but they are not in the direct light. Really, that part doesn't bother me at all.
The part that does bother me is the growth (or lack there of) of some SPS. My green digatata grows...but nothing else seems too...and this is with 4 T5s and 2 VHO's. After adding the last VHO, I'm now up to 436 watts! And the more light I crank up, the more my softies detach themselves and back away. Might as well get halides and have growth of everything for the same amount of watts and most likely (with 175s and and some VHOs), the same amount of heat.
The part that does bother me is the growth (or lack there of) of some SPS. My green digatata grows...but nothing else seems too...and this is with 4 T5s and 2 VHO's. After adding the last VHO, I'm now up to 436 watts! And the more light I crank up, the more my softies detach themselves and back away. Might as well get halides and have growth of everything for the same amount of watts and most likely (with 175s and and some VHOs), the same amount of heat.
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