The T5 Q&a Thread

[Taqpol]

Hey everyone! I recently became unhappy with my old mix of bulbs washing out colors in my tank, so I ordered some new ones and mixed and matched until I found a better color combo. I took photoshop adjusted pictures (white balance, exposure, etc.) of each setup so I could compare them side by side and thought I might as well share them with the T5 thread so you can make your own judgements.

Your mileage may vary, but this is how they appeared to my eyes in my setup (8x54w icecap retrofits over a 4'x2'x2' 120g mixed reef). Direct quote from my build thread so i don't have to type all this over again...

"Here we go, my lighting situation...

Awhile ago I became unhappy with my light setup, it was washing out my colors, making all the corals blend into the rockwork, too pink, and overall just too bright looking (not necessarily bright as in PAR, it was just a really bright white/pink and almost too hard to look at). I ordered a bunch of new bulbs so that I could mix and match until I found something I like. I was warned by Grim Reefer over on the T5 thread that it was probably the Aquablue Specials causing my problems as some people say they are known to wash out colors, so they were the first to go.

*Disclaimer* I took all of these shots using the same camera settings (1/100, f6.1, ISO 400) and then messed around the with the temperature, exposure, contrast, and shadows in Photoshop until I got something that looked close to what i was actually seeing. My main color references were the Powder Blue Tang and the Yellow Sarcophyton in the top left corner. In almost all cases the sandbed is over-exposed, just ignore that.

#1
:front:
ATI Blue+
UVL Actinic White
ATI Blue+
KZ Fiji Purple
GE 6500K
ATI Blue+
UVL Actinic White
ATI Blue+

^First try, much too bright for my tastes. I really just wanted to try out the GE 6500K.

#2
:front:
ATI Blue+
KZ Fiji Purple
ATI Blue+
ATI Blue+
GE 6500K
ATI Blue+
ATI Aquablue Special
ATI Blue+

^Again, too bright for my tastes.

#3
:front:
ATI Blue+
KZ Fiji Purple
ATI Blue+
ATI Blue+
UVL Actinic White
ATI Blue+
ATI Blue +
ATI Blue+

^I really liked this one, and actually kept it for a week. The only problem was I started to notice a lacking of reds and purples in the back, and my Red Planet literally look purple. The solution? More full spectrum bulbs...

#4
:front:
ATI Blue+
KZ Fiji Purple
ATI Blue+
ATI Blue+
UVL Actinic White
ATI Blue+
UVL Actinic White
ATI Blue+

^Doh! Now its pink again!

#5
:front:
ATI Blue+
KZ Fiji Purple
ATI Blue+
ATI Blue+
ATI Aquablue Special
ATI Blue+
ATI Aquablue Special
ATI Blue+

^Upon consulting with SunnyX (I love his light setup!) he convinced me to try the Aquablues again, none of the pink Actinic Whites. This is where I stopped as I am happy enough with this, I'll at least give the tank a month or so to see if things color up how I like them.

So what do you guys think? I'm interested to hear all of your opinions."

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15428458#post15428458 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by aquaboy620
Hey grim. I finally got my lights. 2 x 36" ATI powermodules 8 x 39 watt T5s over my 240 gallon. I wanted to know how many inches away from the tank they should be. I used to have 2 x 250 watt MH 20k with 4 x 39 T5s for actinics. they used to sit at about 6 inches from the tank. I have 8 ATI actinic blue plus' and I believe 2 x GE 6500k daylights and 6 other bulbs which 2 are white and 4 are purplish in color. my tank has a 10,000k look to it now.

I would keep them as low as possible. Tank looks nice!

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15428458#post15428458 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by aquaboy620
Hey grim. I finally got my lights. 2 x 36" ATI powermodules 8 x 39 watt T5s over my 240 gallon. I wanted to know how many inches away from the tank they should be. I used to have 2 x 250 watt MH 20k with 4 x 39 T5s for actinics. they used to sit at about 6 inches from the tank. I have 8 ATI actinic blue plus' and I believe 2 x GE 6500k daylights and 6 other bulbs which 2 are white and 4 are purplish in color. my tank has a 10,000k look to it now.

I would keep them as low as possible. Tank looks nice!

 

[MADtanks]

Hi grim you have helped me in the past and i appreicate it , now i am back for another question....

I just finished building my 30X30X16 cube.... being that it is shallow how high would be too high for my lights to be? They are currently about 11" from the water, is this too hight?

I guess i just dont want to waste any light: I also recieved the wrong bulbs in my order so i am currently running 3 UVL super actinics, and 3 Actinic Whites.... I think i want to get the following config:

Actinic white
Blue +
Fiji Purple
Blue + or super Actinic
Actinic white
Blue +

Thanks for your help.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15428507#post15428507 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Taqpol
Hey everyone! I recently became unhappy with my old mix of bulbs washing out colors in my tank, so I ordered some new ones and mixed and matched until I found a better color combo. I took photoshop adjusted pictures (white balance, exposure, etc.) of each setup so I could compare them side by side and thought I might as well share them with the T5 thread so you can make your own judgements.

Your mileage may vary, but this is how they appeared to my eyes in my setup (8x54w icecap retrofits over a 4'x2'x2' 120g mixed reef). Direct quote from my build thread so i don't have to type all this over again...

"Here we go, my lighting situation...

Awhile ago I became unhappy with my light setup, it was washing out my colors, making all the corals blend into the rockwork, too pink, and overall just too bright looking (not necessarily bright as in PAR, it was just a really bright white/pink and almost too hard to look at). I ordered a bunch of new bulbs so that I could mix and match until I found something I like. I was warned by Grim Reefer over on the T5 thread that it was probably the Aquablue Specials causing my problems as some people say they are known to wash out colors, so they were the first to go.

*Disclaimer* I took all of these shots using the same camera settings (1/100, f6.1, ISO 400) and then messed around the with the temperature, exposure, contrast, and shadows in Photoshop until I got something that looked close to what i was actually seeing. My main color references were the Powder Blue Tang and the Yellow Sarcophyton in the top left corner. In almost all cases the sandbed is over-exposed, just ignore that.




^Upon consulting with SunnyX (I love his light setup!) he convinced me to try the Aquablues again, none of the pink Actinic Whites. This is where I stopped as I am happy enough with this, I'll at least give the tank a month or so to see if things color up how I like them.

So what do you guys think? I'm interested to hear all of your opinions."

I would try # 3 with a GE 6500K daylight in place of one of the blues and see what you think. The GE will add yellow which will bring your reds back from purple.

Love the rock work

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15428782#post15428782 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MADtanks
Hi grim you have helped me in the past and i appreicate it , now i am back for another question....

I just finished building my 30X30X16 cube.... being that it is shallow how high would be too high for my lights to be? They are currently about 11" from the water, is this too hight?

I guess i just dont want to waste any light: I also recieved the wrong bulbs in my order so i am currently running 3 UVL super actinics, and 3 Actinic Whites.... I think i want to get the following config:

Actinic white
Blue +
Fiji Purple
Blue + or super Actinic
Actinic white
Blue +

Thanks for your help.

I wouldn't run that many "red" lamps. Fiji Purple and Actinic white might look ok with 4 Blue Plus.

Front
Blue Plus
Super Actinic
Fiji Purple
Blue Plus
Actinic White
Blue Plus

With that mix I would drop the light down to about 6 inches above. Shouldn't melt anything.

 

[MADtanks]

gotcha thanks for the info i will probably just scracth the fiji since i already have 3 actinic whites lol....

will just acquire the 3 blue plus instead.

Thanks

 

[boring]

Hey Grim,

I am setting up a 120gal mostly LPS some SPS and softys. I am currently looking at the ATI 6 or 8 bulb, and Aquactinics 7 bulb Constellation fixture. tank is a 4' x 2' x 2' Oceanic tech series with euro bracing.

my LFS is using the Constellation on most of there tanks and have recommended i use them to. what would you say would be the best all around light to go with this tank?? thinking about hanging but one that sits on the tank would work to. if i do the hanging light should i do something small than 48" to keep the light in the tank?? let me know what you think

also my LFS is big on the UVL line of bulbs what do you think i should use out of that line??

Thanks in advance for the help and advice!!

 

[aquaboy620]

thanks grim. I have the lights about 8 inches away. I can dropp them all the way to the tank but I am afraid of bleaching corals. oh yeah what settings on the fans should I put it at when I drop the lights closer. I have them at 4.5 right now. thanks again.

 

[cykenp]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15423758#post15423758 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by The Grim Reefer
Either the 6 lamp ATI or the Constellation. I THINK clams would be fine under the Constellation. I KNOW they will under the ATI. If you stick with larger clams they would probably do fine under either.

Thanks for the reply! So in terms of performance, you rank them as
1)ATI powermodule 6 bulb
2)Aquactinics 7 bulb
3)TEK 8 Bulb

Is that correct?

Do you think the ATI 6 bulb will be enough for a 90 gal SPS? I was hoping to have enough PAR/PUR to keep monti's on the bottom of the tank.

 

[jakano]

I also run 2- 250w phoenix bulbs and I run two aqua science blue bulbs and I love it. But I like to play around with lighting and some days I would like to see more of my red corals highlighted since all the blue kind of washes out them out. What would be a good bulb to use to bring out more of the reds in my tank? I can run two t-5 bulbs in my fixture. I was thinking two aquascience 15k bulbs might be a good choice since I can get them locally, or two uvl actinc whites since they have that pink glow to them.

 

[sharko88]

Grim

I am looking at overdriving 4 36" T5 bulbs (from a retrofit kit with either an IceCap 660 ballast or 2 IceCap 430 ballasts) and was wondering what you would suggest for fans in the canopy?

I already have a 3" hole on each side of the the canopy and have a 70mm fan in each that pushes about 27 cfm. I was thinking about making an acrylic stand for an additional fan in the back mounted on the black acryllic cover I have over my overflow. I could go with a 80mm or 120mm. Your thoughts?

 

[cabanaboy1218]

Thanks for all your help and research Grim

What 4x48 T5 HO Bulbs over 75g?
I also have two 50w halide 4500k bulbs going on the tank as well.

 

[gsxunv04]

4500K is really low in spectrum for a reef tank

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15429074#post15429074 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by boring
Hey Grim,

I am setting up a 120gal mostly LPS some SPS and softys. I am currently looking at the ATI 6 or 8 bulb, and Aquactinics 7 bulb Constellation fixture. tank is a 4' x 2' x 2' Oceanic tech series with euro bracing.

my LFS is using the Constellation on most of there tanks and have recommended i use them to. what would you say would be the best all around light to go with this tank?? thinking about hanging but one that sits on the tank would work to. if i do the hanging light should i do something small than 48" to keep the light in the tank?? let me know what you think

also my LFS is big on the UVL line of bulbs what do you think i should use out of that line??

Thanks in advance for the help and advice!!

I'd do the constellation over that tank. If it's eurocraced you can sit the fixture right on the tank if you want.

Front
ATI Blue Plus
UVL 75/25
ATI Blue Plus
GE 6500K Daylight
ATI Blue Plus
UVL Actinc White
ATI Blue Plus

Is a nice looking mix on the constellation

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15429853#post15429853 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by aquaboy620
thanks grim. I have the lights about 8 inches away. I can dropp them all the way to the tank but I am afraid of bleaching corals. oh yeah what settings on the fans should I put it at when I drop the lights closer. I have them at 4.5 right now. thanks again.

I would set the fans to 7 volts no matter what height the fixture is at.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15430131#post15430131 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cykenp
Thanks for the reply! So in terms of performance, you rank them as
1)ATI powermodule 6 bulb
2)Aquactinics 7 bulb
3)TEK 8 Bulb

Is that correct?

Do you think the ATI 6 bulb will be enough for a 90 gal SPS? I was hoping to have enough PAR/PUR to keep monti's on the bottom of the tank.

Pretty much.

If you keep the ati low (within a few inches of the top) I don't think you will have a problem with monties low in the tank assuming you are talking the branching ones and not caps.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15430375#post15430375 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jakano
I also run 2- 250w phoenix bulbs and I run two aqua science blue bulbs and I love it. But I like to play around with lighting and some days I would like to see more of my red corals highlighted since all the blue kind of washes out them out. What would be a good bulb to use to bring out more of the reds in my tank? I can run two t-5 bulbs in my fixture. I was thinking two aquascience 15k bulbs might be a good choice since I can get them locally, or two uvl actinc whites since they have that pink glow to them.

You want to think about keeping a nice dusk dawn look too.

I would add 2 UVL 75/25 to two 22K Blue AS or ATI Blue Plus lamps. The 75/25 are a little more subtle in how they add the red. You could try one of those and 1 Actinic white if you want to really punch up the red but still have a reasonable D/D look

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15430382#post15430382 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sharko88
Grim

I am looking at overdriving 4 36" T5 bulbs (from a retrofit kit with either an IceCap 660 ballast or 2 IceCap 430 ballasts) and was wondering what you would suggest for fans in the canopy?

I already have a 3" hole on each side of the the canopy and have a 70mm fan in each that pushes about 27 cfm. I was thinking about making an acrylic stand for an additional fan in the back mounted on the black acryllic cover I have over my overflow. I could go with a 80mm or 120mm. Your thoughts?

You want to make sure you are cooling the very ends of the lamps and not the center part. A single fan at one end blowing in from the back works. Cooling both ends is fine just make sure you are cooling all the lamps

Front
Blue Plus
UVL Actinc white
Blue Plus
Aquablue

should look nice overdriven.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15430997#post15430997 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cabanaboy1218
Thanks for all your help and research Grim

What 4x48 T5 HO Bulbs over 75g?
I also have two 50w halide 4500k bulbs going on the tank as well.

All Blue Plus. I think that should make for a good look with those lower K halides. I would try to find halide lamps above 5000K when you relamp