The T5 Q&a Thread - split

I wasn't able to find it either, look up post 1709 on page 69. I was pretty shocked how high the readings were. I'm a little skeptical of the readings though. My 250 SE Radiums ran on a m80 ballast at 9 inches above waterline will only give 500 PAR in a very small spot under 5 inches of water.

ATI fixtures are known to throw over 300 PAR at 24" with good bulbs. They are second to none when it comes to T5s.

Sent from my Galaxy S3
 
Sorry about that. Forgot the link, I'd lose my bulbs if they weren't screwed in.
This linkhttp://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1641235

Sunpower 15" above 29g.
8312E6AF_zps5757fd13.jpg
 
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Hey guys,

I need a small piece of advice from the experts. I have a 50g cube 24*24*20, I've been eyeballing the ATI 24 Inch Dimmable SunPower but I'm clueless on whether to go with 4 or the 6 bulb setup. Anyone have a similar setup? Any advice?

ATI 6 bulb 24 Inch Dimmable SunPower over my 26x24x20 tank.
The light coverage is perfect IMO without too much light spill.

ATI2_zps952aa7d6.jpg
 
Instead of starting a new thread I'd though I post here instead. I'm finding a light for my 48x24x12 frag tank. The eggcrate racks will be raised 5" so the corals will basically be sitting under 6 inches of water. My choices went down to the ATI sunpowers dimmable but I'm not sure which one. I was thinking of a 48" 4x54, 48" 6x54, or a 36" 6x39. This tank will be 100% SPS corals. Thanks in advance for any help.

Here is a 6X39 watt sunpower over a 12 inch shallow tank, 4 feet long.

DSC00094.jpg


Light is hung at 13 inches above water line.

Par on sandbed on dark ends was 160-167
Par on sandbed in middle was 256
Par in middle (6 inches under water line) under light was 290
Par in top (10 inches, 2 inches under water line) under light was 366

So in short, depending on bulbs (I used a ATI true actinic) you will be getting close to 300 PAR at 6 inches under water, given your fixture is hanging 13 inches above the tank. You could drop the fixture down more, but do it slowly and be very careful. In the middle of tank, at 2 inches under water line, I was getting 500 PAR when the light was hanging 9 inches above the tank....I wouldn't hang it any lower than 8 inches on your shallow frag tank. I think you would have plenty of light if you get a shorter fixture, it saves you some power usage as well. In the end, PAR on the ends of the tank end up being about 100 less (on the dark edges where the light isn't able to cover). So I would suggest a 6X39 watt fixture...even if 100% sps, some sps like less light, which you could place them on the ends of your tank.


Cheers! Oh and get a 6 bulb fixture - more bulbs is better to get the color to your liking!
 
ATI 6 bulb 24 Inch Dimmable SunPower over my 26x24x20 tank.
The light coverage is perfect IMO without too much light spill.

ATI2_zps952aa7d6.jpg

Do you have a build thread or more pictures somewhere? I may be getting my hands on a 30x29x24 cube(ish) tank and love that rock work!
 
Shallow tanks look good!

I know I keep my SPS in high PAR as my fixture is 2" above tank & SPS is 5-6" below fixture. They are getting good growth.
500 PAR isn't to much for most high light SPS.

New pic of milli. Took a quick growth pic.
3/8/13
img0833millicrop2.jpg

Compared to the pic I took last month(ish)
1/17/13
img0411cropmillimediums.jpg

1 month 3 weeks approx between pics.
 
Zstriker, you posted your tank pic in this thread but your fixture looks about 4" above the tank.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2273529

DSC00523.jpg
Hope you don't mind, its a beautiful tank.[/QUOTE]

Yes, it was about 4 inches above the tank and this is what happened shortly after....



DSC00752JPG_zps6c86b4c3.jpg


My poor blue tenius, bleached! Several other corals suffered as well. Not all SPS enjoy more than 500+ PAR. I ended up having to raise it to 10 inches in order to obtain the results I wanted. I like deeper colors and not so much the pastel look.

Cheers!
 
At the moment I have cheap bulbs (it has a white look):
current usa 12000k
current usa 420nm
current usa 460nm
uvl 10000k(pink tint, dont like)
I want to go with 4 ATI bulbs: aquablue special, 2 blue plus and a purple plus. I have all LPS and softies
Will the difference in PAR have any ill effects(burning) if I change all 4 at once?
I currently change 2 every 6 months to keep fresh bulbs in most the time, is that a good idea?
 
At the moment I have cheap bulbs (it has a white look):
current usa 12000k
current usa 420nm
current usa 460nm
uvl 10000k(pink tint, dont like)
I want to go with 4 ATI bulbs: aquablue special, 2 blue plus and a purple plus. I have all LPS and softies
Will the difference in PAR have any ill effects(burning) if I change all 4 at once?
I currently change 2 every 6 months to keep fresh bulbs in most the time, is that a good idea?

You can switch bulbs and drop the hours you are running the lights a few hours and gradually increase one hour every few days while observing your coral for signs of being upset.
I wouldn't worry to much if you can raise the fixture a couple inches you can do that and slowly drop it.
 
I am looking to replace the bulbs in my ATI PowerModule 8 x 24 fixture. The bulbs I currently run came with the fixture (5 ATI Blue+, 2 AquaBlue Special, 1 Purple+). I am looking to run something similar to the picture below.

T5_zps53f6c878.jpg

photo utilized from Hypes Archipelago thread, located here: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2020480

The following bulbs are utilized.
ATI 24W Blue Plus (two)
ATI 24W Actinic (one)
ATI 24W Purple Plus (one)
ATI 24W Coral Plus (one)
GE 24W 6500k (one)

Problem is, I run two extra bulbs. What would be the best to use and not skew the color too much?
 
I am looking to replace the bulbs in my ATI PowerModule 8 x 24 fixture. The bulbs I currently run came with the fixture (5 ATI Blue+, 2 AquaBlue Special, 1 Purple+). I am looking to run something similar to the picture below.

T5_zps53f6c878.jpg

photo utilized from Hypes Archipelago thread, located here: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2020480

The following bulbs are utilized.
ATI 24W Blue Plus (two)
ATI 24W Actinic (one)
ATI 24W Purple Plus (one)
ATI 24W Coral Plus (one)
GE 24W 6500k (one)

Problem is, I run two extra bulbs. What would be the best to use and not skew the color too much?


That looks like 3 blue, 1 coral plus, 1 purple and 1 ge6500k. I don't see the actinic anywhere.

Anyways, 5 blue, 2 purple and 1 ge6500k should do it.
 
That looks like 3 blue, 1 coral plus, 1 purple and 1 ge6500k. I don't see the actinic anywhere.
I am looking to replace the bulbs in my ATI PowerModule 8 x 24 fixture. The bulbs I currently run came with the fixture (5 ATI Blue+, 2 AquaBlue Special, 1 Purple+). I am looking to run something similar to the picture below.


The following bulbs are utilized.
ATI 24W Blue Plus (two)
ATI 24W Actinic (one)
ATI 24W Purple Plus (one)
ATI 24W Coral Plus (one)
GE 24W 6500k (one)

Problem is, I run two extra bulbs. What would be the best to use and not skew the color too much?


Anyways, 5 blue, 2 purple and 1 ge6500k should do it.
Ditto what Ryan said.

You would want to add 2 more blue plus to that combo.
 
So ditch the Coral Plus altogether?

It's up to you.

5 blue
1 GE
1 purple
1 coral
Not in that order obviously.

Both combos will work fine, I prefer this one. You have plenty of red spectrum with the GE & purple bulb. The coral plus has a little red spectrum but is much more blue looking which I like because the GE & purple has enough red spectrum already.
This will be exactly what you posted above, just substitute the blue LEDs for blue plus bulbs.
Best to have an extra bulb or 2 to play with until you know what you want.
 
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Light is hung at 13 inches above water line.

Par on sandbed on dark ends was 160-167
Par on sandbed in middle was 256
Par in middle (6 inches under water line) under light was 290
Par in top (10 inches, 2 inches under water line) under light was 366

So in short, depending on bulbs (I used a ATI true actinic) you will be getting close to 300 PAR at 6 inches under water, given your fixture is hanging 13 inches above the tank. You could drop the fixture down more, but do it slowly and be very careful. In the middle of tank, at 2 inches under water line, I was getting 500 PAR when the light was hanging 9 inches above the tank....I wouldn't hang it any lower than 8 inches on your shallow frag tank. I think you would have plenty of light if you get a shorter fixture, it saves you some power usage as well. In the end, PAR on the ends of the tank end up being about 100 less (on the dark edges where the light isn't able to cover). So I would suggest a 6X39 watt fixture...even if 100% sps, some sps like less light, which you could place them on the ends of your tank.


Cheers! Oh and get a 6 bulb fixture - more bulbs is better to get the color to your liking!

Thanks for the photo and info. What voltage are your fans set at?

Thanks
 
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