The T5 Q&a Thread - split

[TropTrea]

@troptrea

Ok yes you are correct......in spot 5 did you mean to say an aqua blue special or ge 6500.....because you said aqua blue plus or ge 6500.....sorry I just want to get this right......and also why do you recommend two purple plus but no actinics.......you don't think I should use an actinic?

The Blue Plus, Purple Plus, and the Aqua Blue Plus all give of some Atinic light. So by adding an Atinic you only add more of something you already have enough of. The Atinics are usefull for situations where you have too much light and what to cut down on the visible light.

 

[TropTrea]

Hi Grim...

I have read a lot and wowwww so much great ideas, so i will try to go directly to my confusion...

I have upgraded from a 80 gal. with 2 MH 10K and 2 96 actinic (48") retrofit kit to a 125 gal. (72x18x22) and will be upgrading the lights to T5 HO retrofit kit. My main concern are which route i should go:
1. (72") 8 x 54 wt.
2. (60") 4 x 80 wt.
3. 2 units of 36" with either of the above.

I will have it with full blast with SPS and LPS.

Thanks in advance...

Your first choice would be my only choice. With 8 bulbs you can get good PAR light to the corals and you also have some flexability to tune the lighting to your personal color taste.

 

[mtaswt]

I have a question regarding the replacement of my bulbs. I have read where you say to replace the bulbs slowly over time to reduce shock, but what if they are all replaced at the same time?

Would it be ok if I used several layers (4 or 5, or more) of window screen to "shade them" and remove layers slowly over time?

I have the dimmable powermodule, but I have also read that lights shouldn't be dimmed for the first 50 or so hours??

And any recommendations regarding bulb placement---I have a 8 bulb fixture, but bought 10 bulbs to play with color combos.

5- Blue+
2- Purple+
2- Coral+
1- Midday

 

[dieseldane]

I am just getting started with a 40B that my girlfriends brother gave to me, with a Current USA Nova Extreme Pro T5HO fixture. I want to replace the bulbs, as he had an algae problem and I don't know how old they are. Along with my few fish I have soft corals and a few LPS right now, but would like to get some SPS. My brother-in-law who got me wanting a tank because of his, has been helping me get started and suggests that I get 3 ATI Blue Plus bulbs, and 3 ATI Aquablue Specials. I was thinking of maybe going with 2 Blue Plus, 2 Aquablue Specials, 1 True Actinic, and 1 Coral plus instead. What do you guys think of this, and how would you arrange the bulbs? The bulbs/switches are setups like this:

Front
switch 1
switch 2
switch 2
switch 2
switch 1
switch 2

Edit: I'm not deadset on ATI's but thats just the brand I have been suggested to get so far.

 

[tspfish]

I replace my T5 bulbs every 6 months and it is now time to change them. My light fixture is a T5 MH mix. I usually use a Giesemann AquaBlue+ and ATI Aqua Blue Plus in the front with my MH in the middle and in the back I use A ATI Aqua Blue Plus and A ATI Purple Plus. I noticed that ATI has a new bulb called Coral Plus, has any one used it? If so what were the color results?

Thanks

 

[mtaswt]

I have a question regarding the replacement of my bulbs. I have read where you say to replace the bulbs slowly over time to reduce shock, but what if they are all replaced at the same time?

Would it be ok if I used several layers (4 or 5, or more) of window screen to "shade them" and remove layers slowly over time?

I have the dimmable powermodule, but I have also read that lights shouldn't be dimmed for the first 50 or so hours??

And any recommendations regarding bulb placement---I have a 8 bulb fixture, but bought 10 bulbs to play with color combos.

5- Blue+
2- Purple+
2- Coral+
1- Midday

Well I changed the lights out last night and here is the configuration that I have gone with. I changed them all out at once and put some window screen in place to partially shade them until I can start to dim them in a few days.

Back
Coral +
Blue +
Blue + (dawn/dusk, also on with the rest)
Purple +
Coral +
Blue + (dawn/dusk, also on with the rest)
Purple +
Blue +
Front

I think it looks good although I may swap the blue + that is furthest to the back with the purple + that is near the middle?

Does anyone see any problems with not using a "midday" bulb in this setup? I have it, I just opted not to use it. Currently stocked with SPS, LPS, and softies!

Any thoughts?

Thanks for your insights---Matthew

 

[tspfish]

Well I changed the lights out last night and here is the configuration that I have gone with. I changed them all out at once and put some window screen in place to partially shade them until I can start to dim them in a few days.

Back
Coral +
Blue +
Blue + (dawn/dusk, also on with the rest)
Purple +
Coral +
Blue + (dawn/dusk, also on with the rest)
Purple +
Blue +
Front

I think it looks good although I may swap the blue + that is furthest to the back with the purple + that is near the middle?

Does anyone see any problems with not using a "midday" bulb in this setup? I have it, I just opted not to use it. Currently stocked with SPS, LPS, and softies!

Any thoughts?

Thanks for your insights---Matthew

How did the Coral Plus look compared to the Blue Plus?

 

[mtaswt]

How did the Coral Plus look compared to the Blue Plus?

I like it!! It is more along the lines of a aquablue special, a little bluer, but not as blue as the blue+. When I put them all in last night the lights were out (although I turned them back on for a little bit just to see) but I will give a better description hopefully later today.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

I have a question regarding the replacement of my bulbs. I have read where you say to replace the bulbs slowly over time to reduce shock, but what if they are all replaced at the same time?

Would it be ok if I used several layers (4 or 5, or more) of window screen to "shade them" and remove layers slowly over time?

I have the dimmable powermodule, but I have also read that lights shouldn't be dimmed for the first 50 or so hours??

And any recommendations regarding bulb placement---I have a 8 bulb fixture, but bought 10 bulbs to play with color combos.

5- Blue+
2- Purple+
2- Coral+
1- Midday

A couple layers of screen would be plenty. Just remove the first after a week or so and the secondf about the same

For lamps try 5 blue plus, 2 purple plus and 1 coral plus to start and see what you think.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

I am just getting started with a 40B that my girlfriends brother gave to me, with a Current USA Nova Extreme Pro T5HO fixture. I want to replace the bulbs, as he had an algae problem and I don't know how old they are. Along with my few fish I have soft corals and a few LPS right now, but would like to get some SPS. My brother-in-law who got me wanting a tank because of his, has been helping me get started and suggests that I get 3 ATI Blue Plus bulbs, and 3 ATI Aquablue Specials. I was thinking of maybe going with 2 Blue Plus, 2 Aquablue Specials, 1 True Actinic, and 1 Coral plus instead. What do you guys think of this, and how would you arrange the bulbs? The bulbs/switches are setups like this:

Front
switch 1
switch 2
switch 2
switch 2
switch 1
switch 2

Edit: I'm not deadset on ATI's but thats just the brand I have been suggested to get so far.

Front
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Purple Plus
Blue Plus
Coral Plus
Blue Plus
Blue Plus

Get an ATI Aquablue as a spare and use it in the back slot if you decide you want a brighter look.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

I replace my T5 bulbs every 6 months and it is now time to change them. My light fixture is a T5 MH mix. I usually use a Giesemann AquaBlue+ and ATI Aqua Blue Plus in the front with my MH in the middle and in the back I use A ATI Aqua Blue Plus and A ATI Purple Plus. I noticed that ATI has a new bulb called Coral Plus, has any one used it? If so what were the color results?

Thanks

I'd use 3 ATI Blue Plus and a Purple Plus with a 12 to 14K halide myself.
It takes advantage of each lamps strengths.

 

[Gtownguy487]

Awhile ago you told me your best combo for a 12 bulb Nova Extreme Pro

Originally Posted by Gtownguy487
Whats the best combo for this 6 and 6 bulb combo?

how long do these lights usually last?

Originally Posted by The Grim ReeferGood
lamps will go about a year'

4 rows of Blue plus, 1 row of Actinic White and 1 row ATI Aquablue

I was wondering a few things since some time has gone by.

1) Do you still recommend T5's over any other lighting?
2) Been seeing my lights are needing to be changed every 6 months rather then a year. Am I just paranoid and wasting money?
3) I have A LOT of Acro's and SPS, Is this still the best bulb combo for me?
I'm about to start doing heavy fragging out of my system so I want a lot of growth

Ive been really really debating on switching to LED's

As always thank you for your help Grim

 

[dieseldane]

Front
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Purple Plus
Blue Plus
Coral Plus
Blue Plus
Blue Plus

Get an ATI Aquablue as a spare and use it in the back slot if you decide you want a brighter look.

Thanks for the help!

 

[TropTrea]

Awhile ago you told me your best combo for a 12 bulb Nova Extreme Pro




I was wondering a few things since some time has gone by.
1) Do you still recommend T5's over any other lighting?

For commercially available fixtures at this time yes I would say T-5's are the best. Nut it is really debatable about some DIY LED fixtures. There is so much more flexibility now with LED's when you build them yourself that they can be just as good and actually use less electricity. Yet if not done correctly they can not compete.

2) Been seeing my lights are needing to be changed every 6 months rather then a year. Am I just paranoid and wasting money?

Yes every 6 months is a waste. I have an 8 bulb fixture and every 3 months swap out two of the bulbs. So I'm getting a year on all of my bulbs without any issues.

3) I have A LOT of Acro's and SPS, Is this still the best bulb combo for me?
I'm about to start doing heavy fragging out of my system so I want a lot of growth

This is really debatable. Some will say MH's, some will say T-5's and others will go with LED's. For LED's it really depends upon which combinations of LED's you use and what your personal color taste is. I would only recommend DIY LED fixtures compared to what is on the market today. There are some nice commercial systems and a lot of garbage out there. The good systems though are extremely costly even compared to the best of the other systems. Then there are some real garbage systems out there in LEDs as well.

If someone is starting a system from scratch and is handy and comfortable working with electronics I would recommend a home built LED system. If they are not handy I would tell them to go with T-5's. If your changing out an existing lighting systems I would recommend you do the math yourself to see if it is worth the investment in LEDs.

As I look at it myself I'm running 8 54 Watt T-5's that cost me $200 a year in bulbs and $270 in electricity. for $470 a year total. To build a T-5 system for this tank will cost me roughly $500 and my electric bill will go down to about $140 a year. So for a $500 investment I could save $330 a year and it would pay off after 18 months. Do to limited budget right now though as being partially retired the $5500 is a lot of money for me.

If I went to a better commercial LED system it would cost me $1,700 and the savings be $260 a year so it would take me 6.5 years to recover my investment. In 6.5 year that fixture could become obsolete.

Ive been really really debating on switching to LED's

 

[Dr Colliebreath]

What bulbs for a 48", 6 bulb ATI Sunpower fixture over a "primarily fish" tank with macro algae (plus a couple of corals if I can find some that my butterflyfish won't eat (good luck))?

How about 3 blue plus ATI, 1 purple plus ATI, and 2 midday (6000K) Geisemann? Do you think 2 middays is enough for macros or would I be better off with 3 middays and only 2 blue plus?

 

[wcharon]

Thanks for the response...

If i go with your recomendation of 8 x 54 T5 72" i will not be able to deal with the ATI Powermodule because in that watt it only comes upto in 48". If i go 60" then it jumps to 80 watts.

What other brand or option you recommend me for inside the canopy becasue i thing 48 will be me to much shadow in the sides.

Thanks once again.

 

[Costazul]

wcharon,
I have the 60 Sunpower 6 bulbs(80w) in a 72 x 18. It is plenty of light, even my maxima clam is happy in the sandbed. You don't want the canopy if you go ATI fixture

 

[wcharon]

Yuppp, thanks for the suggestion but thats my issue that i already bought the canopy and don't have the clearance required...

 

[The Grim Reefer]

What bulbs for a 48", 6 bulb ATI Sunpower fixture over a "primarily fish" tank with macro algae (plus a couple of corals if I can find some that my butterflyfish won't eat (good luck))?

How about 3 blue plus ATI, 1 purple plus ATI, and 2 midday (6000K) Geisemann? Do you think 2 middays is enough for macros or would I be better off with 3 middays and only 2 blue plus?

You don't need any if you don't want them. Your mix is probably about right for a fish only tank

 

[wcharon]

Hi Grim..

Can you check my post before and give me your suggestion ???