The T5 Q&a Thread - split

I had one of those fixtures. A majority of air is sucked in at the top so the other side gets very little cooling on the bulbs. Therfore put the label end near the fans. As a thought you can boast the blb cooling on these at the expense of less ballast cooling by reversing the dirsetion of the fans.


Thanks I flipped the bulbs and the PAR was lower so I did turn them back around with the label on the side with the fans. May I ask you what fixture do you have now and is there any big difference? I am looking at getting a different fixture, not really happy with it
 
I think Dennis is using all DIY fixtures. If you want to step up to the highest level T5 performance go with an ATI. Otherwise, if you can find a used Tek 6x54w and have some DIY skills you can perform a fan mod and swap the Workhorse ballasts for spec ballasts (possibly the ones in your Nova) and end up with a killer fixture as well.
 
Hey guys! I am no where near needing to replace my bulbs on my 48" 4x 54W T5 fixture but when I see photos on this forum they are usually a awesome blue color and corals are open.

I am currently running 2 10000k and 2 actinic with 8 lunar LEDs on my DT. I would love to take photos of my tank under the actinics but my corals go night night under just the actinics and when I turn on the actinics with my 10000k it white washes everything but my corals come out to play.

Any ideas of what bulb combination I can get to keep everyone happy with the awesome blue/purple glow?
 
If you want to keep that intense, deep water look throughout the day, go with 3x Blue Plus and 1 Purple Plus. Those 420nm actinic bulbs are basically worthless compared to a Blue Plus which has the same effect but with 3x the PAR.
 
Thanks I flipped the bulbs and the PAR was lower so I did turn them back around with the label on the side with the fans. May I ask you what fixture do you have now and is there any big difference? I am looking at getting a different fixture, not really happy with it

Deffinatly go with ati. I had a nova extreme and went to ati sunpower and what a difference worth every penny.
 
If you want to keep that intense, deep water look throughout the day, go with 3x Blue Plus and 1 Purple Plus. Those 420nm actinic bulbs are basically worthless compared to a Blue Plus which has the same effect but with 3x the PAR.

So the whole 10000K thing is useless? Really isn't a need for them?
 
Thanks I flipped the bulbs and the PAR was lower so I did turn them back around with the label on the side with the fans. May I ask you what fixture do you have now and is there any big difference? I am looking at getting a different fixture, not really happy with it

I'm using the same fixture after about $400 worth of modifications. New reflectors, and new fans. Besides that I completly re wired the fixture with new ballasts. It still is not up to snuff wth some of the ATI designs but it much closer than anyof the lower cost ones.

If I were doing that tank again I would go with a LED and only two T-5's as the rest of my tanks are doing better with just LED's or LED T-5 combinations.
 
So the whole 10000K thing is useless? Really isn't a need for them?

Nope not useless but over rated. The thing is you need a balance of both blue and "white" light. The corals would be happy with a 6 to 1 ratio but for viewing pleasure most people do not like that blue.
 
So with 3 blue plus and 1 purple plus I would be able to achieve what the 10000k does?

Well, no. A 10k looks like a 10k, yellowish white. 3x Blue Plus and a Purple Plus will look like a deepwater blue with intense color pop. They will look nothing alike at all. If you're referring to achieving coral growth, then there are far more complicated answers. Look at Mike's post on page 146 post #3642. Then read Dennis' post on page 147 post #3651. They explain the differences in bulbs, color peaks, blackbody radiator color temperature, etc. There's a lot to lighting as we use it. But to put it very simply: corals need blue light to grow. They don't really care about green, yellow, orange, and to an extent, red, and purple. But those colors make them look good to our eyes, so we use them as well.
 
Looking to buy a dimmable atilt sunpower for my 90gal mixed reef with a few Sos. Should I get a 6 bulb or 8 bulb 48 or 36 inch light. I will be inside a canopy, I can drill hole for venting if needed. Also I would like to eventually keep a clam .
 
Could use some help on what ATI bulbs to buy this weekend.

I have a standard 90 DT with an 8 bulb Current USA nova extreme 48" fixture that i am using the legs to sit on top of the tank. The fixture was given to me, but needs bulbs. I have a few mushrooms and Zoe's right not but want to add everything but sps right now. I want my future corals to pop with color and I think I like the 16 k look. Need a suggested for 8 bulbs and how to place them. They run four at a time and I think it's every other one that is on a switch. So not sure what four to make my dusk to dawn.

Thank you in advance for the help and let me know if you need any more info from me.
 
Looking to buy a dimmable atilt sunpower for my 90gal mixed reef with a few Sos. Should I get a 6 bulb or 8 bulb 48 or 36 inch light. I will be inside a canopy, I can drill hole for venting if needed. Also I would like to eventually keep a clam .

I would go with a 6 bulb in any case. Between the 48" and 36" fixtures I think the price difference is so little that the 48" fixture is the better buy.
 
Could use some help on what ATI bulbs to buy this weekend.

I have a standard 90 DT with an 8 bulb Current USA nova extreme 48" fixture that i am using the legs to sit on top of the tank. The fixture was given to me, but needs bulbs. I have a few mushrooms and Zoe's right not but want to add everything but sps right now. I want my future corals to pop with color and I think I like the 16 k look. Need a suggested for 8 bulbs and how to place them. They run four at a time and I think it's every other one that is on a switch. So not sure what four to make my dusk to dawn.

Thank you in advance for the help and let me know if you need any more info from me.

I would go with 5 Blue Plus, 1 GE 6500k, 1 Coral Plus, and 1 Purple Plus. Run them like this:

front
Blue Plus
Purple Plus
Blue Plus
GE 6500k
Blue Plus
Coral Plus
Blue Plus
Blue Plus

Your preferences for the dawn/dusk may change that order, if they are triggered alternately. I personally like using only Blue+ for my dawn/dusk combo so I think it would work well, but play around with it a little to see what you prefer.
 
Well, no. A 10k looks like a 10k, yellowish white. 3x Blue Plus and a Purple Plus will look like a deepwater blue with intense color pop. They will look nothing alike at all. If you're referring to achieving coral growth, then there are far more complicated answers. Look at Mike's post on page 146 post #3642. Then read Dennis' post on page 147 post #3651. They explain the differences in bulbs, color peaks, blackbody radiator color temperature, etc. There's a lot to lighting as we use it. But to put it very simply: corals need blue light to grow. They don't really care about green, yellow, orange, and to an extent, red, and purple. But those colors make them look good to our eyes, so we use them as well.

I read the 2 posts you pointed out and they were very informative. So if I want to colors to pop all day every day but still achieve coral growth, would this work:

1 GE6500
3 Blue Plus

or

1 GE6500
2 Blue Plus
1 Purple Plus or Coral Plus
 
I read the 2 posts you pointed out and they were very informative. So if I want to colors to pop all day every day but still achieve coral growth, would this work:

1 GE6500
3 Blue Plus

or

1 GE6500
2 Blue Plus
1 Purple Plus or Coral Plus

I recommend a purple plus with just about any combination. A coral plus has somewhat of a red peak, but nothing in comparison to the purple plus. The first combination you mention seems like it will look washed out lacking almost any peak in the red. I have done the second combination (with the purple plus) and it is by far my favorite 4 bulb combination, but it is a stark white. Judging by your posts above, you are looking for a deeper blue, so that combination will not deliver on expectations.

Again, my main recommendations for a 4 bulb combination are as follows

14k-18k: 2x Blue Plus, 1 Purple Plus, 1 Coral Plus
18k-22k: 3x Blue Plus, 1 Purple Plus
 
I recommend a purple plus with just about any combination. A coral plus has somewhat of a red peak, but nothing in comparison to the purple plus. The first combination you mention seems like it will look washed out lacking almost any peak in the red. I have done the second combination (with the purple plus) and it is by far my favorite 4 bulb combination, but it is a stark white. Judging by your posts above, you are looking for a deeper blue, so that combination will not deliver on expectations.

Again, my main recommendations for a 4 bulb combination are as follows

14k-18k: 2x Blue Plus, 1 Purple Plus, 1 Coral Plus
18k-22k: 3x Blue Plus, 1 Purple Plus

I will go with the 2nd one. Thanks! Sorry if I seemed :facepalm: about this.
 
No worries. Bulbs are expensive, you want to make sure you're getting what makes you happy. That combination has some extreme fluorescent color pop to contrast a deep blue hue. It doesn't match my taste personally (too blue), but others love it.
 
Can you use a shorter fixture than your tank length?

Can you use a shorter fixture than your tank length?

I have a 36-inch long by 24-inch deep tank and I have a 30-inch 4x39w T5HO fixture. It also has few LED moonlights. I'd have to find a way to attach it to the tank, but I'm not sure if it's worth the trouble if the lighting won't really work for my purposes. I definitely want to grow LPS coral and probably some softies. Should I just get a 36-inch fixture instead or will the 30-inch fixture work just fine?
 
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Yes you can use a shorter fixture on the tank IMO.. Your only gonna have 3" on each side not directly lit.. But. Also quality of fixture comes into play if your 4 bulb is gonna scrape by for the coral you want.. FWIW I have a 36" ATI sun power going over a 48" tank..
 
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