The T5 Q&a Thread - split

[rtparty]

Hey Grim, thanks for the advice on the bulb choices for an ATI 8x80.

I was wondering your thoughts on the Sfiligoi Stealth 8 bulb fixture. The only difference I see is the glass shield that Sfiligoi offers instead of the acrylic shield on the ATI fixture that many claim starts to sag.

Any thoughts? Are these fixtures comparable in performance? Thanks in advance.

Different cooling design and different reflectors. For some reason all the Sfiligoi owners never post numbers for their fixtures. I don't know if it because they are sad to admit that their uber-expensive fixture isn't up to par with an ATI or they just don't have any more money for a PAR meter.

The ATI is a more proven fixture and doesn't cost so much. Sfiligoi has also been known to have terrible customer service in the past. Whether that has been resolved, I do not know.

 

[Jester376]

SPS will be fine anywhere under the fixture. I would actually run the 48" ATI compared to the 60" and I might even look into the 10 bulb Powermodule. Yes it will be more money but you are really pushing your limits with an 8 bulb fixture over a 36" wide tank.

My tank does have a 14 x 8" overflow right in the middle on the back wall.....would u suggest just centering the lights over the 28" wide area and maybe using some other lighting to supplement if there are any dim areas around the overflow area?

 

[semigodd154]

I have a 36 x 37 x 18 rimless inwall cubish tank 2 sides viewable and about 16 1/2 water level i am picking up an ati sunpower 6 bulb fixture next weekend. my question is hanging height for best coverage my tank is mixed a little of everything is the plan it is still young though the current lighting is an old coralife aqualight pro 2x 150 mh and 2x 96 pc 13 inches above the tank but the colors are fugly i want appealing good par and coverage any suggestions?

 

[rtparty]

My tank does have a 14 x 8" overflow right in the middle on the back wall.....would u suggest just centering the lights over the 28" wide area and maybe using some other lighting to supplement if there are any dim areas around the overflow area?

If you only have to light up 28", an 8 bulb unit will be fine.

 

[rtparty]

I have a 36 x 37 x 18 rimless inwall cubish tank 2 sides viewable and about 16 1/2 water level i am picking up an ati sunpower 6 bulb fixture next weekend. my question is hanging height for best coverage my tank is mixed a little of everything is the plan it is still young though the current lighting is an old coralife aqualight pro 2x 150 mh and 2x 96 pc 13 inches above the tank but the colors are fugly i want appealing good par and coverage any suggestions?

Wait, is your tank 37" wide? Like front to back?

If so, you will need another 6 bulb fixture to cover that area.

 

[tegee]

GSMguy asnwered this perfectly. I know some people who have to run them at 12v and others run them at 6v. If your ambient temp is around 70-76F, 9v seems to be best.



Exactly. In my last apartment we didn't have AC here in Utah. During the summer months and constant 95-100F days, I was very tempted to turn my fans up to 12v. I already had a large fan blowing on the tank and fixture though to keep the tank below 81F.



The hotter a bulb gets, the more pressure inside the tube. More heat = less output. Especially when you are using the correct ballasts like ATI does. When the ballasts recognize the added resistance, they don't run the bulbs as hard. You can also overcool them as well and have the same issue. The ballasts will cut some power to help try and protect things. I don't think the ballast knows whether the bulbs are under cooled over over cooled, it just knows the resistance isn't within spec. Therefore, something could be wrong and the ballast goes into a "safety" mode.

If your room is right around 68F all the time, 7.5v shouldn't be too much of an issue. When I was exhaustively testing the different fan speeds I was in a basement where the air was about 64F all the time. I found that 7.5v worked best in that setting but as soon as the fixture was moved up into the 70F house, 9v was a better setting.

ATI used to suggest 4v until they had a slew of bad units showing up. Ballasts were failing at a rampant rate (at least on this forum) and the cause was overheating. I believe ATI suggests 7.5v now but there are too many factors to make a blanket statement like that.

Here is a great thread if you want to know more.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1641235

Starting around page 15 is the talk about what temp the air should be exiting the fixture.

EXCELLENT POST Ryan.......Thank you VERY much for such a detailed explanation.

All the best and happy reefing!

 

[theshiver]

Hey Grimm, I have a Current 8 bulb 54 watt fixture. I was thinking of changing my bulbs from 4 UV Aqua sun & 4 UV Super blue the fixture came with, and going with 2 ATI Aqua blue Special 4 Giesemann Pure Actnic and 2 Kz Fiji Purple. What look do you think I would achieve, and how would you place this setup? Thanks

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Hey Grimm, I have a Current 8 bulb 54 watt fixture. I was thinking of changing my bulbs from 4 UV Aqua sun & 4 UV Super blue the fixture came with, and going with 2 ATI Aqua blue Special 4 Giesemann Pure Actnic and 2 Kz Fiji Purple. What look do you think I would achieve, and how would you place this setup? Thanks

Either would look nasty to me. I'd do 5 ATI Blue Plus, 2 Purple Plus and GE 6500K and sit in amazement of what a nice mix of lamps will do as opposed to what you have now.

 

[theshiver]

Grimm in what order would you run this mix?

 

[Froggy]

Grimm in what order would you run this mix?

front
blue plus
purple plus
blue plus
ge 6500
blue plus
purple plus
blue plus
blue plus
back

This works great for me. You can adjust slightly based on your fixture and dusk/dawn preference. The above gives me a good blend and reccomended to me by Grim earlier.

Joe

 

[theshiver]

Thanks Froggy

 

[ati70cutlass]

Grim,

I just installed a 36 led kit on my 40 breeder but have also kept 2 t5 bulbs. i have 18 white and 18 Rb's. i have no idea what i should stick in there to either add to PAR or go for color. My first instinct was ATI Blue+, or 1 Purple+ and 1 Blue + . please let me know what you think would give me best color and growth. thanks.

 

[souperman]

Pull the Aquablue for an ATI Purple Plus and put that on your dusk/dawn.

I personally would run 3 Blue PLus and 1 Purple for dusk/dawn and then have the GE and Blue Plus come on for day light.

I have this lamp combination in my Tek now in this order:

Front
blue+
purple+
blue+
6500K
blue+
blue+

I like the idea of using 3 blue and a purple for dusk, but that would mean the 6500K would have to either go in the front or very back slot. Would this be an issue? Tank is mostly SPS. New order:

6500K
blue+
blue+
purple+
blue+
blue+

 

[Froggy]

I have this lamp combination in my Tek now in this order:

Front
blue+
purple+
blue+
6500K
blue+
blue+

I like the idea of using 3 blue and a purple for dusk, but that would mean the 6500K would have to either go in the front or very back slot. Would this be an issue? Tank is mostly SPS. New order:

6500K
blue+
blue+
purple+
blue+
blue+

if you do this I would change the order. I would move the purple plus toward the front and the ge to the rear assuming your middle 4 bulbs are on the same bank allowing for 3 B+ and 1 P+. Something like this..
front
blue+
purple+
blue+
blue+
blue+
ge 6500
rear

I think you really want the purple plus toward the front to get its benefit. Not sure if the above will cause banding. Try it and see.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Grim,

I just installed a 36 led kit on my 40 breeder but have also kept 2 t5 bulbs. i have 18 white and 18 Rb's. i have no idea what i should stick in there to either add to PAR or go for color. My first instinct was ATI Blue+, or 1 Purple+ and 1 Blue + . please let me know what you think would give me best color and growth. thanks.

Blue Plus and Purple Plus

 

[LightTackle]

I just picked up a used ATI Sunpower 4x39 that came with 2 Blue+ and 2 Aquablue bulbs.
I'm going to use this over a 40 Breeder with LPS, Zoas, Ricordeas and a few clams.
Do I stick with what I have or get some different bulbs?

 

[The Grim Reefer]

I just picked up a used ATI Sunpower 4x39 that came with 2 Blue+ and 2 Aquablue bulbs.
I'm going to use this over a 40 Breeder with LPS, Zoas, Ricordeas and a few clams.
Do I stick with what I have or get some different bulbs?

I'd pull one Aquabue for a Purple Plus.

 

[LightTackle]

Thanks for the quick response! I've seen a few people do the same thing, I'll give it a shot.

 

[TropTrea]

I just picked up a used ATI Sunpower 4x39 that came with 2 Blue+ and 2 Aquablue bulbs.
I'm going to use this over a 40 Breeder with LPS, Zoas, Ricordeas and a few clams.
Do I stick with what I have or get some different bulbs?

You have exactly what I was running for a long time on 40 breeder frag tank. It you want something better visualy I would do a Grim said and replace an Aqua Blue with a Purple Plus. If your strictly concerned with growth than I'd replace an Aqua Blue with another Blue Plus.

Yopu do get a limited amount of reds and yellows from the aquablue plus but for visual snap it is not enough. For coral growth the blues from 420 nm to 480 nm are extremly impportant and the best bulb for that range is the Blue Plus.

 

[TropTrea]

Grim,

I just installed a 36 led kit on my 40 breeder but have also kept 2 t5 bulbs. i have 18 white and 18 Rb's. i have no idea what i should stick in there to either add to PAR or go for color. My first instinct was ATI Blue+, or 1 Purple+ and 1 Blue + . please let me know what you think would give me best color and growth. thanks.

Based on the knowledge that all LED's fixtures are not the same it is really difficult to give you hard recommendation. Does the LED fixture run leads at 0.5 Watts each or is it running them at 3 watts each. This is a difference of 18 watts total to over 100 watts total and will make a big difference. I know that 36 3 watt LED's would be too much on my 40 breeders without any T-5 added.

Then there is the question of which whites they are using in the fixture. If they use warm whites it only takes a few LED's to add a lot red to a tank.

Just looking blindly from some of the commercial LED fixtures I had seen with the 1 to 1 ration of blue to white I would start with 2 of the ATI Blue Plus bulbs if you think you need additional light. Once these are in then you can make a personal judgment based on
1. I like it (leave it that way)
2. It is too blue and lacks red (add the ATI Purple Plus in place of a Blue Plus.
3. It simply is not bright enough yet (add an Aqua blue Special in place of a blue plus)

The added Blue Plus bulb you will have if you do decide to change things will eventually be used as a replacement bulb so it is not wasted money.