The T5 Q&a Thread

[Montezuma]

hey grim is the UVL Super Actinic give less par than a blue +? Is it also less color?

 

[TonyV]

If I could find someone dumb,,,,, insightful enough to give me about 100 bucks for mine I would buy a better one:bounce3:

I added up what I can track I've spent just to do testing, let alone the hobby in general and it's ugly.

Dumb and insightful right here....Can you send me pics?

Tony_Vega@sbcglobal(dot)net

 

[pickle311]

I'm just starting to look into T5 light fixtures and have a couple of questions. Would a 4x24w T5 fixture be enough PAR for SPS and clams in a 20" deep tank. I know with T5 it's all about the reflector, so let's assume the fixture has good reflectors here. So is 4x24W enough or do I need 8x24? I've always used MH in the past, but would like to try something more efficient with the new tank.
Also, who makes good fixtures at a resonable price? I like the ATI lights, but they are pretty high, especially for T5s. Any suggestions?

Thanks

 

[Toadally]

do a 3rd Blue Plus instead of the Aquablue

Grim, thanks for your help.

 

[crigsby]

Grim thanks for all the help!

For what its worth would I get more output out of a 36" 6 bulb NEP with all new bulbs or a 4 bulb ATI sunpower fixture?

Thanks!

 

[vic8361]

Hi Grim,
I tried this bulb combanation and I liked it very much.
Just wondering what color would you call it. 14k?

front to back

ATI blue pluse

GE 65k

ATI blue pluse

ATI blue pluse

GE 65k

ATI blue pluse

Thanks,
Vic

 

[NaClCrocodile]

Alrigt so I've seen a bunch of tanks lit by MH 20k's and I've decided that's what I want to go for. That particular tank is this one. He's got it lit by 3 250W 20k Reeflux Halides, three strips of actinic powerbrites and two actinic T5s. This is basically just how I want my tank to look. Suggestions?

 

[The Grim Reefer]

hey grim is the UVL Super Actinic give less par than a blue +? Is it also less color?

About 3 times the PAR and a different color, more blue. The Actinic will fluoresce corals but doesn't produce a lot of visible light.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Grim thanks for all the help!

For what its worth would I get more output out of a 36" 6 bulb NEP with all new bulbs or a 4 bulb ATI sunpower fixture?

Thanks!

I dont think so.

 

[NaClCrocodile]

Forgot to mention, they'll be going into either an 8 bulb or a 6 bulb Tek fixture and on a standard 75g tank.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Alrigt so I've seen a bunch of tanks lit by MH 20k's and I've decided that's what I want to go for. That particular tank is this one. He's got it lit by 3 250W 20k Reeflux Halides, three strips of actinic powerbrites and two actinic T5s. This is basically just how I want my tank to look. Suggestions?

That doesn't really look all that blue to me.

Assuming you want to use T5's I would need to know how many lamps you plan to use but for a 6 lamp system 1 ATI Aquablue, 4 ATI Blue Plus and a KZ Fiji Purple or UVL 75/25 would be close. Maybe even just 5 Blue Plus and the Fiji Purple if you want a really blue look.

 

[NaClCrocodile]

I'll go with whatever you think, you've seen much more than me. As far as the fixture, either a six or eight bulb Tek. Would you go with any other fixture? Where do they sell ATI fixtures stateside?

 

[Darren neil]

Ok I've got ten T5's on a 120 gallon tank (five 10,000K and five actinic). I would like to have some opinions on what kind of bulbs and what order to put them in. For color and growth would it be better for my corals with a 6500k,6700k bulb, actinic, 10,000K, ATI, fiji pruple or keep what I have? I'm going all sps. The colors on a lot of my acros are not vibrant. Thanks

 

[dcook]

Me too Me too

Me too Me too

I may have missed this.
I to am replacing my 250watt 14k HQI to t5 lighting with
suplemental powerbrites act lighting. Tank is SPS dominated
tank 25-25-24. How many bulbs and which????

 

[FranktheTankTx]

Grim -

At what height in a canopy do T5's become useless. Looking at a canopy build of 10-12" tall. 2x250w Radiums & wanted to supplement with 4x54w (overdriven to 85w) T5's Blue +/Super Actinics.

Tank is shallow, 19" tall.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

I'll go with whatever you think, you've seen much more than me. As far as the fixture, either a six or eight bulb Tek. Would you go with any other fixture? Where do they sell ATI fixtures stateside?

6 is all you need or can even fit over a 75.

I'd try

front
ATI Blue Plus
KZ Fiji Purple
Blue Plus
GE 6500K Daylight
Blue Plus
Blue Plus

Grab an ATI Aquablue as a spare and try it in place of the GE and see which you prefer and just hold the extra lamp as a spare.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Ok I've got ten T5's on a 120 gallon tank (five 10,000K and five actinic). I would like to have some opinions on what kind of bulbs and what order to put them in. For color and growth would it be better for my corals with a 6500k,6700k bulb, actinic, 10,000K, ATI, fiji pruple or keep what I have? I'm going all sps. The colors on a lot of my acros are not vibrant. Thanks

I don't know what your lamp configuration is for Dusk dawn so you may need to tweak around the positions a little for that

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

Having that 75/25 lamp in your dusk/dawn setup is a neat effect you might want to try

 

[The Grim Reefer]

I may have missed this.
I to am replacing my 250watt 14k HQI to t5 lighting with
suplemental powerbrites act lighting. Tank is SPS dominated
tank 25-25-24. How many bulbs and which????

Front
ATI Blue Plus
UVL super actinic
UVL Actinic White
Blue Plus
GE 6500K Daylight
Blue Plus
ATI Aquablue
Blue Plus

 

[cody6766]

At what height in a canopy do T5's become useless. Looking at a canopy build of 10-12" tall. 2x250w Radiums & wanted to supplement with 4x54w (overdriven to 85w) T5's Blue +/Super Actinics.

Tank is shallow, 19" tall.

I'm not sure what the real answer to this question is, but I'd assume that they can go pretty high since the light loss through the air is minimal compared to water. The only real issue you'd have is the focal point from the reflectors. I'm not sure what they're ballparked at.

I've seen numerous frag tanks with Tek (or similar) fixtures hung 2' or more above the water. I have my retros (tek reflectors and the more narrow ones...ice cap maybe?) about 8-9" above the water and have some LPS hidden under egg crate in my 18" deep tank. I only have a 4 bulb set up.
If height is a concern, just build your canopy 'box' as planned and build braces or a ledge or something into it to hold the lights closer. It would let you keep the ballasts safe from salt creep (mounted above the shelf) or allow you to build cabinets to store stuff if the plans allow for it.
The greater height from the water probably would allow for a better blending of bulb color, up to a certain point.

Thanks for the advice Grim. I'll be following this thread for up to date info as I'm sure my lighting will be evolving over time.

just for poopies and giggles, Grim, what would be your ideal 4 bulb combo? What color temp or MH/actinic combo would you rate it at? Feel free to skip over this one if you're busy as I know this thread has to be like a part time job!

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Grim -

At what height in a canopy do T5's become useless. Looking at a canopy build of 10-12" tall. 2x250w Radiums & wanted to supplement with 4x54w (overdriven to 85w) T5's Blue +/Super Actinics.

Tank is shallow, 19" tall.

At 12 inches up you would probably loose enough visible light to enhance your dusk/dawn effect. You don't really need to depend on the PAR with the halide so I don't know if I would even overdrive the lamps. At a foot above the water you really aren't going to gain much PAR.