The T5 Q&a Thread - split

[TropTrea]

Grim I have a 210 with 8 t5s let's say a pretty even mix of sps lps and softies. Wondering what uvl bulbs would you suggest? Looking for color that will pop but also want good growth.
thanks in advance Nate

I have used UL's bulbs for years and I can give you a recomendation however I will also say that I now have a preference to the ATI Bulbs.

UL's 454 Blue is there closest equivelent to ATI's blue plus bulb however it does have more green and yellow in it than the UL bulb. If your using strictly UL bulbs I would go with 6 of them with they being your only bulb on the dawn to dusk circuit. The other two bulbs that I would then use on your mid day cycle would be the from there fuller spectrum line. I personly like the UL 14,000K Aqua Blue however it does not have any red in it. I strongly recommend it as your 7th bulb.

The only UL bulb that does have red in it is there Red Sun or there 10,000K bulbs however I think they produces too much red and you would be better off adding even a GE 6,500K or ATI Purple Plus to cover the red without over doing it.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Ok so I created another thread but then saw this today. this seems like a more appropriate place so here goes. Also I've been directed to the Grim Reaper so hopefully he'll chime in too. Anyway I'vs got a 75 gal build coming up that is gonna be amixed reef but im pretty sure its gonna end up SPS heavy. I've been racking my brain trying to decide between a few different fixtures here's where im at so far.

USED Fixture: A LFS is upgrading and they are selling a 48" aquactinics solar flare seen here: http://www.aquacave.com/48-solar-flare-6-lampbr-complete-t5-fixturebr-by-aquactinics-1585.html# for $400. A person working there at the time believes they are about 5-6yrs old. They do need to be cleaned and probably painted.

USED Fixture: It is a 7-bulb Aquactinic Constellation for $350. The owner has modded that to hold a few LED moonlights also. The fixture is at least 4 years old.
fixture is "as is" and but all bulbs need replacing. Here it is: http://www.aquactinics.com/pages/72-Constellation.html

The other two fixtures I am looking at are new first is a 6-bulb TEK Light
With bulbs $415 Here it is: http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5_...unlight_Supply

Lastly is the Coralvue T5/LED combo $369. Here it is: http://www.aquacave.com/coralvue-6-...wer-1-watt-leds-brhanging-kit--legs-3030.html

Also someone in my area I have people selling a 6 bulb tek for $300, and someone else selling an 8 bulb tek for $325. Im kind of hesitant about the aquactinics fixtures because of thier age. I really don't know much about the coralvue but the LED extra seems appealing. My biggest concern is $. I really don't want to go to high cause well im on a budget of sorts, I have ruled out the ATI's for that reason. My brain is about to explode, everytime I hit the boards I come up with something different.

I'd grab the Constellation if you could get it for around 300. Heck, if you are in New York that could be the one I modded LOL!, I think that's where it's at now. 6 lamp Tek or ATI would be good for a 75.

 

[garygb]

I ordered an ATI Sunpower fixture that is scheduled to be delivered on Tuesday. I believe I recall reading on here that for ATIs it is preferable to keep the acrylic shield in place, correct? I currently have a TEK that the Sunpower will replace, and on the TEK I removed the shield and have a fan blowing across the fixture.

 

[jgraz]

I'd grab the Constellation if you could get it for around 300. Heck, if you are in New York that could be the one I modded LOL!, I think that's where it's at now. 6 lamp Tek or ATI would be good for a 75.

That is in fact the one you sold.

 

[rtparty]

The only UL bulb that does have red in it is there Red Sun or there 10,000K bulbs however I think they produces too much red and you would be better off adding even a GE 6,500K or ATI Purple Plus to cover the red without over doing it.

Just want to clarify this for people. Almost EVERY UVL bulb has red in it. The AquaSun, 75/25, Actinic White and Indigo Sun all have spikes of red in them. The Actinic White bulb is actually a pepto bismol pink to it. We were using that bulb for reds before KZ came out with the Fiji Purple. I even used the 75/25 to increase the red a little bit when needed.

I have used a majority of UVL bulbs and wouldn't use them again. They have low PAR and very poor quality control.

 

[rtparty]

I ordered an ATI Sunpower fixture that is scheduled to be delivered on Tuesday. I believe I recall reading on here that for ATIs it is preferable to keep the acrylic shield in place, correct? I currently have a TEK that the Sunpower will replace, and on the TEK I removed the shield and have a fan blowing across the fixture.

Yes, leave the shield in place on the ATI. Removing it will hinder the cooling.

Great purchase! Acclimate your corals properly so you don't fry them.

 

[mattmaddox573]

ati bulbs

ati bulbs

grim
i recently ordered 6 ati bulbs. 3 aqua blue special, 2 ati blue plus, 1 purple plus. Will this grow sps and maintain quality color in a 70 gal 48 long 18 tall 18 deep tank? obviously i have to pick four of the six lights i ordered. Which would u recomend?

 

[Rudolph]

Grim: I have a new 33 Long and will be fragging softies (rics). 48 x 12 x 12. How many lamps and what kind? More concerned about growth than color in this tank. Thanks

Anyone have any input? Need to order today, so any last second thoughts would be appreciated. Just two bulbs for softie growth. thanks

 

[Froggy]

Thanks! I can't wait to see what the bulb combination looks like on the tank.

I just installed my 8 X 54 watt Tek a couple of hours ago and used Grims bulb recommendation for my 120.

Front
Blue Plus
Purple Plus
Blue Plus
GE 6500
Blue Plus
Purple Plus
Blue Plus
Blue Plus
Back

It took my eyes several minutes to adjust to the different spectrum of the light my eyes were seeing after being used to seeing the halide T5 supp combo I used to have. After that initial adjustment I am very happy with the look of the tank. Dusk dawn is great with the 3 Blue Plus and 1 Purple Plus and with all of the bulbs on the tank is bright with a definite soft blue tone. The GE 6500 does not cause any yellowing of the water that my eyes can see but really brightens the daytime lighting hours. Subtle coral color tones are revealed that just were not visible to my eye too with the T5's. I am very glad I made the switch to T5. I am very glad I went with the 8 bulb unit as well. Thanks Grim. I considered a 6 bulb sunpower just because it was an ATI and hoped I wouldnt regret not getting the ATI. An 8 bulb ATI was just not in the budget. I know the Tek is below the ATI units but I am glad I have 8 bulbs to tailor the spectrum and have total tank coverage.

Just thought I would share my initial thoughts of the bulb combo and bulb coverage.

Thanks to all that helped with my decisions,

Joe

 

[garygb]

Thank you Ryan, will do.

 

[rtparty]

Anyone have any input? Need to order today, so any last second thoughts would be appreciated. Just two bulbs for softie growth. thanks

You're going to have a tough time with only two bulbs.

1 ati blue plus and 1 ati aquablue

 

[jbird0420]

new 60" 80wx8 ATI Sunpower replacing old lighting!

new 60" 80wx8 ATI Sunpower replacing old lighting!

I purchased the 60" 80wx8 ATI Sunpower for my 180g mixed reef.
I have 2x 250w mh's & 2x VHO actinic's I'm replacing. I currently have the MH's and VHO's mounted to the top of my canopy. Which is aprox 18" above the water line.

I was planning on mounting the fixture so it sits about 14" above the water line and move it down a few inches each week from there. I don't want to stress out the corals to bad nor fry them. Does this sound like a good plan of action???

I so excited! I cannot wait for this thing to finally arrive..!

Acclimate your corals properly so you don't fry them.

 

[TropTrea]

Just want to clarify this for people. Almost EVERY UVL bulb has red in it. The AquaSun, 75/25, Actinic White and Indigo Sun all have spikes of red in them. The Actinic White bulb is actually a pepto bismol pink to it. We were using that bulb for reds before KZ came out with the Fiji Purple. I even used the 75/25 to increase the red a little bit when needed.

I have used a majority of UVL bulbs and wouldn't use them again. They have low PAR and very poor quality control.

If you look at UL's advertised spectrum plots they do not show and red on any of there bulbs other than the Red and the Indigo. About 5 years ago I was able to run several of the UL bulbs on a spectrometer. The so called 10,000 K did not show any light in wavelenghts longer than 650 nm (orange), however the 14,000K showed a strong spike 760 nm (deep red).

I did get a second batch of 14,000K bulbs a year later and just visualy looking at them they did not seem like the same bulb. The later ones were more blue when put into a fixture next to the other ones that looked yellow.

Yes questionable quality control on these bulbs as well. I would have expected more red from a 10,000 K than from a 14,000 K. If not for the price I was able to get them, back then, I would not have bought them again. I did purchase them from a wholsaler that was discontinuing handling of these bulbs.

 

[TropTrea]

It is high output. All major T5 fixtures are high output.

No
T-5 refers to the diameter of the bulb being 5/8" as opposed to other sizes like T-8 = 1", and T-12 = 1 1/2"

The HO is a designation for the power the bulbls can handle for a 48" bulb this is ECO = 32 Watts, STD = 40 Watts, HO = 54 Watts, VHO = 110 Watts.

For Aquarium application STD and VHO were available untill the Compact Floresent bulbs came out. Then most suppliers and manufacturers dropped the special VHO bulbs in lew of the Compacts. Later they started making the specialty bulbs HO as well as STD.

On a comparison of the same bulb designs the VHO do produce more light than any of the others, however from an effeciency point the HO far exceeds the other three power styles.

 

[rtparty]

No
T-5 refers to the diameter of the bulb being 5/8" as opposed to other sizes like T-8 = 1", and T-12 = 1 1/2"

The HO is a designation for the power the bulbls can handle for a 48" bulb this is ECO = 32 Watts, STD = 40 Watts, HO = 54 Watts, VHO = 110 Watts.

For Aquarium application STD and VHO were available untill the Compact Floresent bulbs came out. Then most suppliers and manufacturers dropped the special VHO bulbs in lew of the Compacts. Later they started making the specialty bulbs HO as well as STD.

On a comparison of the same bulb designs the VHO do produce more light than any of the others, however from an effeciency point the HO far exceeds the other three power styles.

Uh, yes. Read the whole thing. I don't need a lesson on what T5, T8 or T12 stands for. I already know all of that.

The poster wanted to convert their ATI Powermodule to HO. I responded by saying that it is already HO like ALL the major T5 fixtures are in OUR hobby.

Also, how do you make the color orange? That is a sincere question too. I would like to know how you make "orange" light. I would assume you have to mix red and yellow light to make orange. Therefore if there is orange light there must be some red as well.

 

[rtparty]

I purchased the 60" 80wx8 ATI Sunpower for my 180g mixed reef.
I have 2x 250w mh's & 2x VHO actinic's I'm replacing. I currently have the MH's and VHO's mounted to the top of my canopy. Which is aprox 18" above the water line.

I was planning on mounting the fixture so it sits about 14" above the water line and move it down a few inches each week from there. I don't want to stress out the corals to bad nor fry them. Does this sound like a good plan of action???

I so excited! I cannot wait for this thing to finally arrive..!

Your idea looks good.

 

[jgraz]

Ok well my wife has put the kabosh on my 75 gal new years build. So that is out the window so I am going to convert my 20 gal high frag/ grow out tank to a SPS heavy nano. Right now I have a 120 watt LED fixture pretty much the Chinese fixture rebranded by Apollo LED. It has 30 3 watt blue and 25 3 watt white led. All run at 2 watts. We all know the fixture by now. I also have a current nova 4x24 watt fixture. Which should I go with. I'm also considering a Tek 4x24 and that would be the best way to go right. Sorry bout the led question here but figured I would post here because of the decision between T5 and led. Thanks in advance

 

[jstlsn]

I have been running the following setup over my 75 for about 4 years. I have gotten excellect growth and color from a lot of SPS. However, I have had some trouble keeping the color in some of the LPS (Acan, chalice, etc.). So, I am looking for a new bulb combination to get some of the great color back into my LPS and maintain the color in anything new I might purchase. I still plan on having plenty of SPS. Any suggestions?


Current Setup:
Tek Light 48" Retrofit: 6-54W T5 HO Fluorescents
Ice Cap reflectors
Icecap 430 Ballest overdriving 2 bulbs (see below)

Front
Blue Plus
UVL Super Actinic
UVL Aquasun (OD)
Blue Plus
GE 6500K (OD)
Blue Plus

Thanks
Brad

 

[TropTrea]

Also, how do you make the color orange? That is a sincere question too. I would like to know how you make "orange" light. I would assume you have to mix red and yellow light to make orange. Therefore if there is orange light there must be some red as well.

This is getting down to scemantics and definitions which can vary. No Orange Light is not a mixture of red and yellow light. Light at specific frequnecies is a particular color so orange light could be considered any light at a wave lenght shorter tan 680 nm and still longer than 600 nm. Light at 600 nm is precevied as yellow and visable light at 480 nm or longer is preceived as red.

In reality the human eye is only sees red, green, and blue. Yellow is seen by the eye as equal amounts of red and green light then psyciologicialy considered yellow. But sice everyones rods in there eye are not identical what they preceive as yellow can vary.

Actualy I'll try to attach an old spectrum chart I got years ago to this message that shows the the light spectrum as we see it veses the photosyntetic chemicals in corals. It was part of someones Doctorate papers from the University of Florida about 10 years ago. Hopefully it will show up as I had to reduce its size.

I also founf years ago an interesting chart like this on coral florescense that I'l try to locate.

 

[TropTrea]

Ok well my wife has put the kabosh on my 75 gal new years build. So that is out the window so I am going to convert my 20 gal high frag/ grow out tank to a SPS heavy nano. Right now I have a 120 watt LED fixture pretty much the Chinese fixture rebranded by Apollo LED. It has 30 3 watt blue and 25 3 watt white led. All run at 2 watts. We all know the fixture by now. I also have a current nova 4x24 watt fixture. Which should I go with. I'm also considering a Tek 4x24 and that would be the best way to go right. Sorry bout the led question here but figured I would post here because of the decision between T5 and led. Thanks in advance

You will get mixed resposes probably on the LED set up. Historicaly LED's where very narrow spectrumed however some of the newer ones do have a wider spectrum. On a comparison of light emmitted per watt of power used they are the most effecient. So to me the issue ifs finding that perfect balance with LED's. Ususaly it a combination of Blues, Royal Blues and Whites in the correct ratio.

For the T-5's you I do not think the you will get enough light with the 2 bulb system unless the corals are realy near the top of the tank and you have your light fixture realy close to the water level. The 4 bulb fixture about the least I'd consider for a 20 gallon high tank. With the tank dimensions I doubt it that you could use a 6 bulb fixture.

For bulbs my recomendation would be ATI bulbs 2 Blue Plus, one Purple Plus, and the final bulbs would be either an Aquablue Special or one of the fuller spectrum bulbs dependent upon your personal taste in color.