The T5 Q&a Thread

[kmacartney]

Grim, would 4 54W bulbs on an IceCap 660 with IceCap reflectors have the equivalent output of and 6 bulb Tek or NEP fixture?

Thanks,

Keith

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Grim, would 4 54W bulbs on an IceCap 660 with IceCap reflectors have the equivalent output of and 6 bulb Tek or NEP fixture?

Thanks,

Keith

Be about 30% more light below the reflectors and probably the same amount as you move out beyond them

 

[kmacartney]

Cool. Thanks!!

 

[tor101898]

hey grim, do the URI T5's come with internal reflectors? I got some way back and installing them now, they seem to have internal reflectors. any input?

 

[super1man]

reflectors

reflectors

what are the best reflectors for a diy t5ho set up?

thanks garret

 

[The Grim Reefer]

hey grim, do the URI T5's come with internal reflectors? I got some way back and installing them now, they seem to have internal reflectors. any input?

Some do, some don't if you are installing them in a fixture with individual reflectors you don't want the lamps with the reflector built in.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

what are the best reflectors for a diy t5ho set up?

thanks garret

Best
ATI
Aquailluminations
Aquactinics
Ice Cap
Tek
Everything else.

 

[kyle1284]

Hey grim, I have a 6 bulb set of t-5s 4x39 which is overdriven By a 660 and the other two are on a workhorse ballast. All the bulbs are gressiman(sp) bulbs. The 4 thAt are overdriven are the true atinic, midday, the blue plus and the atinic plus. The other 2 that are not over driven are atinic plus. The tank is. 18 inches deep and I am wondering if I am putting enough par. I have a sps dominating tank and all params are perfect and I am
seeing growth but I wanna ramp it up along with making the blues pop more. WhAy combo of bulbs should I use and which bulbs should be over driven?Thanks ahead of time.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Hey grim, I have a 6 bulb set of t-5s 4x39 which is overdriven By a 660 and the other two are on a workhorse ballast. All the bulbs are gressiman(sp) bulbs. The 4 thAt are overdriven are the true atinic, midday, the blue plus and the atinic plus. The other 2 that are not over driven are atinic plus. The tank is. 18 inches deep and I am wondering if I am putting enough par. I have a sps dominating tank and all params are perfect and I am
seeing growth but I wanna ramp it up along with making the blues pop more. WhAy combo of bulbs should I use and which bulbs should be over driven?Thanks ahead of time.

Ditch the true actinic for another blue plus. As long as you are using good reflectors you should have way enough PAR for that tank so you might want to double check you calcium and alk levels just to make sure.

 

[kyle1284]

So u think the blue plus will bring the blue out on my tort than a true atinic?

 

[Mike Ordner]

Hey Grim,
New to hobby and t5 lights. Have a standard 75 gal and orderd an Aquactinics TX5. Bulbs are two ATI blue plus, one ATI aquablue, one UVL super actinic and one fiji purple. Was going with a AVL actinic white but vendor was out and subbed the fiji. Do you think this will be OK and what will the difference in look be with the substitution?
Thanks

 

[caliwavsurfer]

hey,
I have a 110 gallon glass tank with a 8 inch high hood. The dimensions of the tank itself are 60'' x 18'' x 24''. I was wondering... how many T5's my tank would require to keep both sps and lps?
I would think that retrofitting the tank would be more cost effective. What whould you think? Thanks!

 

[The Grim Reefer]

So u think the blue plus will bring the blue out on my tort than a true atinic?

With the other lamps running you already have a lot of blue so while it should make the light look more blue I am not sure it is going to make a huge difference in the coral color but the additional PAR will help.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Hey Grim,
New to hobby and t5 lights. Have a standard 75 gal and orderd an Aquactinics TX5. Bulbs are two ATI blue plus, one ATI aquablue, one UVL super actinic and one fiji purple. Was going with a AVL actinic white but vendor was out and subbed the fiji. Do you think this will be OK and what will the difference in look be with the substitution?
Thanks

Hardly noticeable. It should look nice, kinda 15K halide with actinics running kinda deal

 

[The Grim Reefer]

hey,
I have a 110 gallon glass tank with a 8 inch high hood. The dimensions of the tank itself are 60'' x 18'' x 24''. I was wondering... how many T5's my tank would require to keep both sps and lps?
I would think that retrofitting the tank would be more cost effective. What whould you think? Thanks!

6 54 watt lamps will allow you to keep most critters properly placed. Ice Cap or Aquailluminations retrofits would be my choice.

 

[thelostrican]

i currently have an odyssea fixture with 2 250 mh....20k pulsrite....8 inches from the water....

my wife bought me for xmas a tek fixture 8 bulbs... tight fit...but it fits...

i currently have 4 sps...the rest is lps soft corals....etc however i have started to add more sps recently and to be honest i dont like the odyssea fixture...

i am wondering if ill get enough par for sps...no matter where in the tank...
the tank is a 75 gallons measurments 48x18x21
21 being the depth...

should i go an upgrade my mh with new pendants and ballasts....or keep the tek that my wife bought me and put bulbs on it? if so what bulbs do you recomend and in what order...

also my tank has glass covers on top to stop fishes from jumping will that glass make the t5 put les par values compared to the mh?

thx grim

jacs

 

[The REeFFers]

Originally Posted by 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
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.

So what do you think of this line up.(order might change due to dawn/dusk)
Front
ATI Blue Plus
ATI True Actinic
ATI 12K Aquablue Special
Fiji Purple
ATI Blue Plus
6000K Midday Sun
ATI Blue Plus
ATI True Actinic

I think this line up will give me the best "POP" in color.
I'd like to here your input or even better does any one have any pic of a tank with a similar line up ?

thanks

 

[2in10]

I am looking for a suggestion on the order of the following bulbs for a mixed reef with a clam of two. I have 3 ATI Blue Plus, 1 Fiji Purple, 1 GE6500K and 1 ATI Aquablue.

Thanks for your assistance.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

i currently have an odyssea fixture with 2 250 mh....20k pulsrite....8 inches from the water....

my wife bought me for xmas a tek fixture 8 bulbs... tight fit...but it fits...

i currently have 4 sps...the rest is lps soft corals....etc however i have started to add more sps recently and to be honest i dont like the odyssea fixture...

i am wondering if ill get enough par for sps...no matter where in the tank...
the tank is a 75 gallons measurments 48x18x21
21 being the depth...

should i go an upgrade my mh with new pendants and ballasts....or keep the tek that my wife bought me and put bulbs on it? if so what bulbs do you recomend and in what order...

also my tank has glass covers on top to stop fishes from jumping will that glass make the t5 put les par values compared to the mh?

thx grim

jacs

Take off the glass tops and replace them with eggcrate, lowes and home depot sell it. With the glass removed the tek will be enough PAR, just keep the SPS up off the bottom.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

So what do you think of this line up.(order might change due to dawn/dusk)
Front
ATI Blue Plus
ATI True Actinic
ATI 12K Aquablue Special
Fiji Purple
ATI Blue Plus
6000K Midday Sun
ATI Blue Plus
ATI True Actinic

I think this line up will give me the best "POP" in color.
I'd like to here your input or even better does any one have any pic of a tank with a similar line up ?

thanks

All that really matters is what you think. I see nothing wrong with what you have listed, give it a shot.