The T5 Q&a Thread

[DirkG]

anyone have Hamilton Fiji Sun T5 High Output Systems
tell me the good, bad or ugly please.
http://www.gulfaquaria.com/hafisun48216.html

Thanks
dirk

 

[The Grim Reefer]

54W 12000K Aquablue Special T5 HO Fluorescent
by ATI or 54W 6000K Midday Sun T5 HO Fluorescent
by Giesemann im at a coin toss

If you have two or more blue lamps go with the Midday if that will be your only daylight lamp, otherwise go with the Aquablue

 

[The Grim Reefer]

The MH reflector is an Icecap and is about 8 3/4", like this one here:

http://www.marinedepot.com/lighting_metal_halide_icecap_hqi_250_400_pendant-ap.html

Pretty sure I can fit 4 in there, I'll have about 4.5-5 inches for them on each side of the halide reflector. I already have the MH stuff from a previous tank, but will be purchasing the T5 retros. I'm almost thinking about ditching the MH all together for T5. Any advantage in that, or should I stick with my original plans for a MH/T5 combo? I see a lot of good looking tanks with MH/T5 combos, but that 36" 6 bulb TEK light is mighty tempting and not much more than doing retros.

No shimmers with T5 only. Go with Aquactinics retro reflectors and standoffs, only 2" wide, should be able to squeeze those in there OK. Aquarium specialties from the sponsors page should have them.

 

[The REeFFers]

Hey Grim I'm looking for your input.

I'm setting up a 36x30x20 tank and I'm thinking to spend the money on the ATI PM 8x39watt. What would be ur layout front to back would you say. I want to have a nicely stocked mixed reef with a nice blue look a bit bluer then 20k.

Thanks in advance

 

[sean A.]

Hey GRIM a friend of mine is going to give me a standard size 29g tank with lights. I'm not sure if the lights will work for all corals. They are 130w PC lights. Will they work or what kind of T-5 setup should I do?

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Hey Grim I'm looking for your input.

I'm setting up a 36x30x20 tank and I'm thinking to spend the money on the ATI PM 8x39watt. What would be ur layout front to back would you say. I want to have a nicely stocked mixed reef with a nice blue look a bit bluer then 20k.

Thanks in advance

Front
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Blue Plus
UVL 75/25
Blue Plus
Blue Plus
75/25
Blue Plus
Blue Plus

You can try moving the lamps around so one of the 75/25 is your first dusk/dawn lamp, cool effect. The 75/25's will add enough red and yellow light to make all your colors show up while not taking away a lot of the blue look.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Hey GRIM a friend of mine is going to give me a standard size 29g tank with lights. I'm not sure if the lights will work for all corals. They are 130w PC lights. Will they work or what kind of T-5 setup should I do?

PC will work to get you started but ANY T5 HO fixture with 4 lamps will do better.

 

[Theomi]

Hey Grim, im going to buy a 4x39w fixture soon, what are some good Giesemann bulbs to put in for growing a little of everything... Both lps and sps ?
The reason i ask for giesemann is that i cant find ATI bulbs anywhere here in Denmark or Europe for that matter....

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Hey Grim, im going to buy a 4x39w fixture soon, what are some good Giesemann bulbs to put in for growing a little of everything... Both lps and sps ?
The reason i ask for giesemann is that i cant find ATI bulbs anywhere here in Denmark or Europe for that matter....

Do 3 Actinic Plus and a Midday in slot 2 or 3. Should be around 18K Blue or so and have lots of PAR

 

[Theomi]

Okay thx Grim :beer:

 

[sean A.]

Thanks Grim

 

[silenthoofbeats]

I have a 54g corner tank, can you pleas tell me how many and what wattage T5 I need? This lighting has gotten confusing!

 

[The Grim Reefer]

I have a 54g corner tank, can you pleas tell me how many and what wattage T5 I need? This lighting has gotten confusing!

Watts mean nothing. You need to have the reflectors cover most of the tank. They come in 24, 36, 48 and 60 inch length so you really need to determine which length of lamp will work best over your tank.

Halides are really easier to use over irregular shaped tanks like that.

 

[holdyourlight]

Don't know about too much but I think the 6 lamp Sunpower would be plenty if you don't want to do the Powermodule. The Sunpower is better than the Tek by quite a bit. Cooling makes a big difference. As long as you are sticking to non Acros the Tek would work as well.

I just read about a person frying acans on the sandbed with a sunpower

I went with the sunpower but i hope i dont regret my decision. So to sum up i will be coming from a 6 bulb TEK to a 6 bulb sunpower...still kind of concerned that now i wont be able to keep corals in the same spots as with the TEK ie-wondering if all of my chalices will have to be on the sandbed now instead of the rockwork. again the tank is LPS dominated with almost no SPS so i think i should have went with the TEK but they were out of stock go i got the sunpower............

any input or advice/ideas how to not fry my corals?

 

[The Grim Reefer]

I just read about a person frying acans on the sandbed with a sunpower

I went with the sunpower but i hope i dont regret my decision. So to sum up i will be coming from a 6 bulb TEK to a 6 bulb sunpower...still kind of concerned that now i wont be able to keep corals in the same spots as with the TEK ie-wondering if all of my chalices will have to be on the sandbed now instead of the rockwork. again the tank is LPS dominated with almost no SPS so i think i should have went with the TEK but they were out of stock go i got the sunpower............

any input or advice/ideas how to not fry my corals?

Start out with a 10 to 12 hour dusk/dawn and 4 hours daylight, then just watch your critters. You can raise the fixture if you need or use a little lower PAR lamps too.

 

[madmike]

Hey grim,

You recommended a UVL actinic white for my setup but it looks like they don't come in 80w versions. What would you suggest replacing them with?

Thanks

 

[layer3switchguy]

Hi Grim/everyone...

In reading through part of this thread, it seems there are a number of options offered for SPS bulb combos. So much so, it's pretty hard to figure out which one is best. I'd love to get some opinions/ideas on what combo would be ideal for an SPS dominate, full Zeo tank, using an 8 bulb ATI Powermodule.

Looking for the best color, pop and growth, with an emphasis on color and pop!

I'm grateful for any ideas. I was thinking some combination of ATI Blue Special and Blue Plus, but I also have a number of other bulbs to play with, like Fiji Purple, KZ New Gen, etc...

Thanks!
L3

 

[silenthoofbeats]

Okay so you can't recommend a T5 light for my tank?

 

[layer3switchguy]

Okay so you can't recommend a T5 light for my tank?

For what it's worth, I had a 24" Powermodule over my 54g Corner tank that worked great. I would double check your dimensions, but you might be able to use a 36" unit as well...

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Hey grim,

You recommended a UVL actinic white for my setup but it looks like they don't come in 80w versions. What would you suggest replacing them with?

Thanks

KZ Fiji Purple