The T5 Q&a Thread

[rtparty]

Canadian,

Move the Aquablue to slot 3 and move the Blue Plus to slot 6. Should do the trick.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

mainly SPS tank, standard 180, dual overflows. thinking of replacing MH's / VHO with all T5

i tried to search, but seems 180 and T5 find NOTHING!

this will be DIY, so here i go

1) which ballasts? seems icecap 660 will only drive 3 60" bulbs

2) light layout / qty recommended?

again, thank for for your advice!

8 lamps on IC ballasts

Front
ATI Blue Plus
UVL Actinic White
Blue Plus
GE 6500K Daylight
Blue Plus
Actinic White
Blue Plus
Blue Plus

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Hi Grim.

I was wondering if you could save me the trial and error of ordering the following bulbs I have? The combination of bulbs is the best I've come up with over the last two years for my ideal overall tank coloration. But I was hoping you could recommend an order for even blending of color as right now I feel like the front is definitely more blue and the back more white/yellow.

Here's what I have on a 6 x 24W ATI Sunpower. The 2nd and 5th bulbs are the dawn/dusk ones:

FRONT
1 - ATI Blue Plus
2 - Giesemann Pure Actinic
3 - ATI Blue Plus
4 - Giesemann Midday 6000K
5 - Giesemann Actinic+
6 - ATI Aquablue Spezial

What order would you suggest?

I have lots of other bulbs sitting here including more ATI Blue Plus' and ATI Aquablue Spezials as well as a KZ Fiji Purple but as I said above I really like the overall color with the combination I have above. I actually like the Giesemann Midday as my "red" spectrum bulb over a KZ Fiji Purple. And I would have chosen a UVL Super Actinic over the Giesemann Pure Actinic but the UVL isn't readily available locally.

Like rt said, swap 3 and 6

 

[nichthyes]

Hey grim, any suggestions on a 29G light setup? Powercompact or T5? I like t5 bulbs cuz they seem cheaper, and I haven't really established a budget yet haha. I was lookin at some Current USA fixtures recently, and I realized they seemed pretty energy efficient as well as high wattage. before i saw that I was leaning towards t5, now I'm not sure. Any help? I have no corals currently, and I'm new to reefkeeping.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Hey grim, any suggestions on a 29G light setup? Powercompact or T5? I like t5 bulbs cuz they seem cheaper, and I haven't really established a budget yet haha. I was lookin at some Current USA fixtures recently, and I realized they seemed pretty energy efficient as well as high wattage. before i saw that I was leaning towards t5, now I'm not sure. Any help? I have no corals currently, and I'm new to reefkeeping.

The current sundial would be good. You would want to swap out the lamps within 6 months or so.

 

[pfoster40]

Hey grim I had a Tx5, and recently upgraded to an 8 bulb Tek light. In my old set up i had the following bulbs

Front
ATI Blue Plus
UVL 75/25
GE 6500K Daylight
ATI 12k AquaBlue
ATI Blue Plus

I had great success with this bulb set up. I would like something a little bluer in my new bulb set up while keeping great growth. On my tek light I plan on changing the reflectors to the aquactinics retro reflectors, and doing the fan mod to the top. What bulb set up should I order for this fixture?

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Hey grim I had a Tx5, and recently upgraded to an 8 bulb Tek light. In my old set up i had the following bulbs

Front
ATI Blue Plus
UVL 75/25
GE 6500K Daylight
ATI 12k AquaBlue
ATI Blue Plus

I had great success with this bulb set up. I would like something a little bluer in my new bulb set up while keeping great growth. On my tek light I plan on changing the reflectors to the aquactinics retro reflectors, and doing the fan mod to the top. What bulb set up should I order for this fixture?

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

 

[pfoster40]

Also will that color set up make my pinks "pop" more. I was thinking about trying out the fiji purple and the aqua science 22k bulbs? Also whats the difference in the 6k midday and the aqua flora bulbs by giesemann, the aqua flora looks to be more intense.

 

[nichthyes]

the sundial is 4x24 watt bulbs. what kinds of corals would I be able to support?

 

[Paul Bloomquist]

The T5 Q&a Thread

Hey Grim,

I currently have a 48" T5-HO 4 bulb Odyssea light (with stock bulbs) and a 48" PC 50/50 2 bulb Coralife light on a 72 gal bow-front AGA tank. The combination of the 2 light fixtures give the tank about 346 Watts of power. I'm replacing the 4 bulbs in the T5 fixture to get better lighting than the stock Odyssea bulbs give. I'd like to try and get something close to a 20K Radium look from this fixture. I was thinking of going with the following:
1) ATI Blue Plus
2) ATI Aqua Blue
3) UVL Actinic White
4) ATI Blue Plus
Would this be your recommendation for the 20K Radium look?
Also, with these 2 light fixtures could I grow any SPS corals, like monti's or Acro?
Thanks a lot, Paul

 

[soulsigma]

New Shallow Mixed Mini Reef

New Shallow Mixed Mini Reef

Hey Grim, I will be starting a 75gallon shallow mini mixed reef this spring and I would like some help in building a lighting system that would give me growth and make my colors pop like crazy. This is the lighting system I will be purchasing: 48 inch 8x54W Sunlight Supply Tek Light High Output Fluorescent Lighting Fixture. I would like some help in building the perfect bulb combination.

 

[rtparty]

Also will that color set up make my pinks "pop" more. I was thinking about trying out the fiji purple and the aqua science 22k bulbs? Also whats the difference in the 6k midday and the aqua flora bulbs by giesemann, the aqua flora looks to be more intense.

The midday is a midday bulb. It is a yellowish bulb that helps with greens and yellows.

The Aqua Flora is strictly pink. It looks like pepto bismol.

 

[rtparty]

the sundial is 4x24 watt bulbs. what kinds of corals would I be able to support?

With some good bulbs just about anything with proper placement. On a 29 gallon that will be plenty of light.

 

[rtparty]

Hey Grim,

I currently have a 48" T5-HO 4 bulb Odyssea light (with stock bulbs) and a 48" PC 50/50 2 bulb Coralife light on a 72 gal bow-front AGA tank. The combination of the 2 light fixtures give the tank about 346 Watts of power. I'm replacing the 4 bulbs in the T5 fixture to get better lighting than the stock Odyssea bulbs give. I'd like to try and get something close to a 20K Radium look from this fixture. I was thinking of going with the following:
1) ATI Blue Plus
2) ATI Aqua Blue
3) UVL Actinic White
4) ATI Blue Plus
Would this be your recommendation for the 20K Radium look?
Also, with these 2 light fixtures could I grow any SPS corals, like monti's or Acro?
Thanks a lot, Paul

Replace the Actinic White with a Fiji Purple and order an extra Blue Plus to play with.

Even with good bulbs you are gonna have a hard time keeping anything that is light demanding. The Odyssea fixtures are pretty bad performance wise.

 

[rtparty]

Hey Grim, I will be starting a 75gallon shallow mini mixed reef this spring and I would like some help in building a lighting system that would give me growth and make my colors pop like crazy. This is the lighting system I will be purchasing: 48 inch 8x54W Sunlight Supply Tek Light High Output Fluorescent Lighting Fixture. I would like some help in building the perfect bulb combination.

If it is a standard 75 you won't be able to get the 8 bulb tek over it. You will be wasting a ton of light because the fixture is too wide for that tank.

Look into the ATI Sunpower or even the 6 bulb TEK instead.

For 6 bulbs

4 ATI Blue Plus, 1 UVL Actinic White and 1 GE 6500K

 

[rodcpierce]

just a quick question, have any of you guys ever heard of or used the Aqua Vim t5 light fixtures??

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Also will that color set up make my pinks "pop" more. I was thinking about trying out the fiji purple and the aqua science 22k bulbs? Also whats the difference in the 6k midday and the aqua flora bulbs by giesemann, the aqua flora looks to be more intense.

Aquascience 22 isn't really any different than the Blue Plus except for having less PAR. The 75/25 and actinic white will pop pinks but you could use Fiji Purple in place of them.

 

[MeuserReef]

Grim, In your opinion/experience, if using quality SLRs and good bulbs, how deep of a tank would you say could support SPS all the way to the bottom if using T5s? I use 250W MH and have a 26" deep tank and may one day consider trying T5 lighting.

 

[soulsigma]

If it is a standard 75 you won't be able to get the 8 bulb tek over it. You will be wasting a ton of light because the fixture is too wide for that tank.

Look into the ATI Sunpower or even the 6 bulb TEK instead.

For 6 bulbs

4 ATI Blue Plus, 1 UVL Actinic White and 1 GE 6500K

Thanks Ryan for your help, so give me a lay out for the bulbs:fun5:

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Grim, In your opinion/experience, if using quality SLRs and good bulbs, how deep of a tank would you say could support SPS all the way to the bottom if using T5s? I use 250W MH and have a 26" deep tank and may one day consider trying T5 lighting.

I would probably overdrive a retro over 24" tall, the good fixtures sat right on the tank would be good up to 26" with stonies to the bottom.