Michigan Mike
Freedom costs a buckofive
Should be fine, hard to get a 10x54w anymore, I wouldn't worry about a 48" fixture over a 60" long open water tank unless I'm misunderstanding.
The T5 Q&a Thread - split
- Thread starter eagle9252
- Start date
Should be fine, hard to get a 10x54w anymore, I wouldn't worry about a 48" fixture over a 60" long open water tank unless I'm misunderstanding.
Stylo328
New member
Thank you very much.
pherring07
New member
I am seeing that i should have 3 - 5 watts of light per gallon of water. So if my (2) x 4x39 T5 HO is not enough light, how does (2) 8x39 make it better. I am not looking for over kill but if i need to change my lights i only want to do it one time. Also i am seeing a big push on LED lamps now is this something that is lighting the entire tank only or adding to the tank to assist with addition lighting to get a better color range.
Thanks
Thanks
Rogueaccount
New member
Getting 2 30" Coralife T5 fixtures for my 46 Bow. Need new bulbs, what should I run with LPS corals?
Michigan Mike
Freedom costs a buckofive
Use what you have and if & when you upgrade you'll have something to compare it to. Or add more T5,LEDs or halides to what you have. Grow your corals within the limits of your ability and if your limiting factor is lighting, you'll know it.
You may not even really even want to light a tank that size with T5 for long...
Michigan Mike
Freedom costs a buckofive
GIESSEMAN midday is similar to the ge6500 but people that like the bulb tend to prefer he ge6500 because its less red than the other.
For a little more blue use an aquablue special or KZ KORAL Light, for a bit more blue use a coral plus or KZ New Generation.
The coral plus is very popular.
Michigan Mike
Freedom costs a buckofive
Sorry your stuck with coralife 30" 31w bulbs I believe. Know one makes this bulb I'm aware of but Coralife.
For some reason you have 24w bulbs in it , x2
2 blue plus
1 purple plus/ or coral plus
1 coral plus
pherring07
New member
You may not even really even want to light a tank that size with T5 for long...[/QUOTE]
What do you mean? Is it a heat issue on the tank or something else. Im a newbie and this is the lights that came with my setup. So upgrading wont be that bad as long as i do it one time. I do agree with you thou and i should use these for awhile to get a comparison when i do upgrade.
What do you mean? Is it a heat issue on the tank or something else. Im a newbie and this is the lights that came with my setup. So upgrading wont be that bad as long as i do it one time. I do agree with you thou and i should use these for awhile to get a comparison when i do upgrade.
pherring07
New member
What do you mean? Is it a heat issue on the tank or something else. Im a newbie and this is the lights that came with my setup. So upgrading wont be that bad as long as i do it one time. I do agree with you thou and i should use these for awhile to get a comparison when i do upgrade.[/QUOTE]
Rogueaccount
New member
Thanks for the info. I dont like being so limited, i'll be going with another fixture.
TropTrea
New member
[/QUOTE]
I don;t understand the statement that you do do not want to use T-5's on a tank this size either. The only think I can think of is they may be considering that you may want to use LED's in the future. But after working with both I find that mixing T-5's and LED's can give you the best of both Worlds.
If your considering a gradual upgrade then I would stay with your present T-5's initialy. The 2 4 bulb fixtures at 39 watts each would be good starting point for many LPS corals at mid levels in your tank. Then in the future you can add additional lighting either LED or T-5's.
If it were my tank I would run LED's in a DIY set up for predawn to post dusk using 430nm, 454, and 460 nm LED's in equal proportion. This would give a deep blue effect which would make the florescense pop well beyound what they would with any T-5 lighting.
Then you can use your T-5's for a dawn to dusk effect running mostly Blue Plus bulbs that would not only brighten up the tank but also fill in the gaps that are lacking with a Blue Plus set up. Initialy you may want to add a corl plus or two on each side to add more lighting untill you add the mid day lighting.
For mid day you can either add 2 T-5's on each side or run another strip of LED's. With the midday LEd's this will depend a lot on your color preference. But you have the option of adjusting the LED ratio to meet your personal tastes. Neutral White will brighten the tank quickly, Cool Whites will retain a blueish tone, and 454 nm royal blues will add more usable light for the corals. I like the effect of a 50/50 ratio for midday between the royal blues and neutral whites.
The watts per gallon can be very misleading. I initialy had 1,000 watts of 20,000K XM MH's, plus 220 Watts atinic Compacts for a total of 1,220 watts on a 120 gallon tank. When I switched to T-5's 432 watts my tank looked brighter lite than before and I only lost a little of the blue light the coral love. On another smaller tank I went from 156 Watts of T-5's 2 blue plus, 1 Purple plus and 1 Aqua blue plus to 60 Watts of LEd's and the tank is brighter and the florescents is crisper than the T-5's were. Coral growth is slightly slower however than with the T-5's.
So if your looking a Watts per gallon here you have a range of roughly 10 with the MH's and down to 3.6 with T-5's and 1.5 with the LED's. You will get better coral growth with the T-5's but you cannot beat the florescent colors of the LED's. As I want both I suggest mixing the T-5's and LED's.
TropTrea
New member
This difference is a big factor in why many of us use two Purple Plus bulbs with the GE 6,500K. Without the purple plus bulbs the GE actualy produces a yellow cast to many of us. The Purple plus adds enough red and blues to neutralize this. However in a 4 bulb fixture you ususaly cannot add enough blue for this combination. It works best in a 8 bulb fixture with actualy 5 blue plus bulbs, or substituting 1 or 2 blue plus bulbs with atinics.
Yes the coral plus is the least brightest of the full spectum bulbs but it is also the redist of the full spectrum bulbs.
The Aqua blue Special is a nice middle between the GE and Coral Plus but does have a slight blue green hue to it. So again most people want to add Purple Plus to balance our the aqua color.
Michigan Mike
Freedom costs a buckofive
What do you mean? Is it a heat issue on the tank or something else. Im a newbie and this is the lights that came with my setup. So upgrading wont be that bad as long as i do it one time. I do agree with you thou and i should use these for awhile to get a comparison when i do upgrade.[/QUOTE]
Because if you are successful & want to expand your T5 lighting more its going to get expensive doing 12-16 bulb changes every time unless you find bulbs cheaper than I do.
I love T5 but the cost factor does make you think about switching @ times, usually when bulbs are due to be changed...
Michigan Mike
Freedom costs a buckofive
May want the GE as the second from the rear bulb & surrounded by blue pls bulbs.
Back
Blue
Ge6500
Blue
Coral
Front
Should look pretty white still but I'd like this better than using the purple because the coral plus is more blue (than the purple) & the GE & coral bulbs have enough red spectrum already so a purple bulb isn't needed. In the end its up to you though.
Michigan Mike
Freedom costs a buckofive
It really depends on what fixture,bulbs, cooling, etc...
Here's some examples in this thread, long but informative.http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1641235
TropTrea
New member
For a 6 bulb fixture I would put the two purple lus bulbs with the GE. Actualy any time the GE is used I would put in two of the purle plus bulbs to cut the yellow or ivory tint that most see in this bulb compared to what we thingk is ideal reef lighting. Then I would use Blue Plus bulbs for the remaining bulbs.
As far as splitting between mid day and dawn to dusk lighting goes It is personal preference between using 2 blue plus bulbs or a combination of a purple plus and a blue plus. I personlay like the two Blue Plus but others like the combination.
Bulb placement is the GE should be just to the front of center. The purple plus should be one in front and one behind and dependent on your personal choice either directly next to or one slot away from the GE.
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