The T5 Q&a Thread

[casualreefer]

Hey grim do you have any data on old ballasts. i have a 6 bulb tek fixture that i just replaced the ballasts on, it was 3+ years old, will i notice a difference? do the ballasts loose some of their efficiency after time. say its only putting out 70% of a new ballast or will it be the same. thanks.

also i am going to retro fit some fans into the top of my fixture to help with cooling. should i have 2 fans blowing into the fixture, 1 in and 1 out or both out? thanks again for the great info you provide!!!

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Hey grim do you have any data on old ballasts. i have a 6 bulb tek fixture that i just replaced the ballasts on, it was 3+ years old, will i notice a difference? do the ballasts loose some of their efficiency after time. say its only putting out 70% of a new ballast or will it be the same. thanks.

I did ballasts on a fixture we estimated was 4 years old and it was about 15% difference.

 

[casualreefer]

Wow i just measured how high my bulbs are from the water and they are 8" off the water. i plan on moving them down to 2-4. will this have a significant effect on lighting the tank

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Wow i just measured how high my bulbs are from the water and they are 8" off the water. i plan on moving them down to 2-4. will this have a significant effect on lighting the tank

Quite a bit. Maybe 15% or so.

 

[Cozen89]

What actinic bulb would you guys say give the most "blacklight" look for 24" T5HO? I think I heard the UVL super actinic, but I wanted to double check. I'll most likely be running a 4 bulb set up with 2 actinics, a blue plus and one more daylight temperature bulb.

I was thinking of the aquaticlife fixture. Any thoughts on these?

 

[TNTFISHY]

I'm tired of waiting for my Tek Elite(it's release is at least another month out!). Tank has been cycling over a month. I was going to get the 6 bulb version for like 454(with bulbs). This is about the max for my budget. My soon mixed reef tank is 36x18x21 tall, but I have a 3 1/2-4 inch sandbed. Can I, should I go with a FOUR bulb Sunpower for roughly the same price? The 6 bulb is out of reach. Or just go with standard 6 bulb Tek Light. Which unit will produce more par for a mixed reef? Anxiousssss!

 

[Paul Bloomquist]

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.

Thanks a lot for the bulb selection.
As money becomes available, what can I upgrade on this Odyssea fixture to improve its performance?
Thanks,

 

[rtparty]

Thanks a lot for the bulb selection.
As money becomes available, what can I upgrade on this Odyssea fixture to improve its performance?
Thanks,

Get a new fixture.

I had a 2 bulb Odyssea back in the day and hated that thing. The ballast would quit at least once a week and stay out for up to 48 hours, then it would magically work. It was the most annoying thing. However, when I switched the bulbs, the difference was night and day.

You may be able to do some retro work. I have no idea what kind of room you have to work with but if possible adding some good reflectors would go a LONG way. The smallest reflectors are the Aquactinics at 2". Might be worth looking into. You also may be able to wire up some new ballasts or even add fans if the fixture doesn't have any.

Do you have a link to the fixture?

 

[wtafuro]

Solar Flare or Powermodule

Solar Flare or Powermodule

Hi Grim:

First I want to say thanks for all your hard work on this thread, it's a big help to a lot of us.

I have a new 150g 60X24X24 deep tank and I'm planning on having a mixed reef with clams. I'm looking at both a Solar Flare with LED's and a 48" 8 lamp Powermodule from ATI. Are these two choices a toss up or would you recommend one over the other for this sized thank?

Thanks,

Wayne

 

[95Harley]

Sorry to jump in here guys but I had some T5 questions as well. I have always had PC lights since I started my FOWLR tanks but now have decided to try my hand at setting up a Reef. I tried to back read as much as I could but with 25 IE pages open to get back to 2006 I was somewhat overwhelmed. So I figured I'd just add a new post and get a quick couple of answers.

I am selling all my livestock out of my 240g (96x24x24) and resetting it up for my Dragon Moray with a few large shoals of Chromis/Damsels in there. This would be an easy tank to feed and care for. But to make it more interesting I wanted to convert it to a reef tank with various corals.

I planned to start with various Softies, Zoo's, Polyps, Leathers, etc and move into Monti Caps and/or other SPS/LPS corals up high.

I am converting my 8x18" 65w PC lights out from under my canopy and upgrading to 16x48" 54w T5's with Ice Caps & 660 ballasts.

I assume this will give me enough light to do almost anything I wanted to, but I need advice on bulb types and brands. I have read that a lot of people put dark blue/purple lights in the front and back so I went with that model.

Attached is the layout of what I'm planning, with the blues and whites being split on ballasts so I can do Dawn/Dusk lights with timers on the various ballasts.

Any advice on brand and bulb types?
(See pics for tank set-up and bulb configuration.)

 

[flyingace2005]

Hey Grim,
What do you recommend for a 150 gal deep dimension (36x36x27)? I have a canopy so I was looking to go retro and keep sps.

 

[Paul Bloomquist]

Get a new fixture.

I had a 2 bulb Odyssea back in the day and hated that thing. The ballast would quit at least once a week and stay out for up to 48 hours, then it would magically work. It was the most annoying thing. However, when I switched the bulbs, the difference was night and day.

You may be able to do some retro work. I have no idea what kind of room you have to work with but if possible adding some good reflectors would go a LONG way. The smallest reflectors are the Aquactinics at 2". Might be worth looking into. You also may be able to wire up some new ballasts or even add fans if the fixture doesn't have any.

Do you have a link to the fixture?

I'm afraid the only link I can find is from the e-bay vendor I purchased it from. Here:
http://cgi.ebay.com/48-4ft-T5-HO-Ma...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item45f0eea142
The fact that I can't find any online technical information about Odyssea is a little disconcerting! Should have done my homework on this before purchasing. Taken in by the 95 dollar price.
Which would you change first, the ballast or the reflectors?
Thanks again for your help!!!

 

[puggsli1]

What T5 lighting would you recommend for 29x 16x 22 or 24" rimless tank? I would like to start a mixed reef with a few fish. It will be going in a bed room wall unit the max space i have to work with is 34 x 20.5 x 39.5 if that helps any.

 

[john68camaro]

T-5 over 92 corner

T-5 over 92 corner

Would a nova extreme 36" 6x39 fixture support any sps at all? I may try to add an additional 24" 4x24 T-5 right behind it sitting directly on the tank top. Tank dimensions are sides34", by 24" deep 92G corner setup... Thank you!@!! Also are there anywhere I can find par readings for T5 lights?

 

[The Grim Reefer]

What actinic bulb would you guys say give the most "blacklight" look for 24" T5HO? I think I heard the UVL super actinic, but I wanted to double check. I'll most likely be running a 4 bulb set up with 2 actinics, a blue plus and one more daylight temperature bulb.

I was thinking of the aquaticlife fixture. Any thoughts on these?

If you are going with a low end fixture use Blue Plus instead of Actinics. You will need the PAR. Use 2 ATI Blue Plus, KZ Fiji Purple and a ATI Aquablue. Will look good and be good for your critters,

 

[The Grim Reefer]

I'm tired of waiting for my Tek Elite(it's release is at least another month out!). Tank has been cycling over a month. I was going to get the 6 bulb version for like 454(with bulbs). This is about the max for my budget. My soon mixed reef tank is 36x18x21 tall, but I have a 3 1/2-4 inch sandbed. Can I, should I go with a FOUR bulb Sunpower for roughly the same price? The 6 bulb is out of reach. Or just go with standard 6 bulb Tek Light. Which unit will produce more par for a mixed reef? Anxiousssss!

Get the 6 lamp Tek then hit Drs foster&smith and get a 2 fan Azoo clamp on array. Mount it on the rear of the tank blowing against the rear side of the fixture so the air blows horizontally against the rear edge of the fixture in the middle. don't point it directly at the lamps. With the fixture 4" or so above the tank you will be able to grow about anything.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Hi Grim:

First I want to say thanks for all your hard work on this thread, it's a big help to a lot of us.

I have a new 150g 60X24X24 deep tank and I'm planning on having a mixed reef with clams. I'm looking at both a Solar Flare with LED's and a 48" 8 lamp Powermodule from ATI. Are these two choices a toss up or would you recommend one over the other for this sized thank?

Thanks,

Wayne

8 lamp Powermodule. 6 lamps aren't really enough for a 24" deep (front to back) tank.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Sorry to jump in here guys but I had some T5 questions as well. I have always had PC lights since I started my FOWLR tanks but now have decided to try my hand at setting up a Reef. I tried to back read as much as I could but with 25 IE pages open to get back to 2006 I was somewhat overwhelmed. So I figured I'd just add a new post and get a quick couple of answers.

I am selling all my livestock out of my 240g (96x24x24) and resetting it up for my Dragon Moray with a few large shoals of Chromis/Damsels in there. This would be an easy tank to feed and care for. But to make it more interesting I wanted to convert it to a reef tank with various corals.

I planned to start with various Softies, Zoo's, Polyps, Leathers, etc and move into Monti Caps and/or other SPS/LPS corals up high.

I am converting my 8x18" 65w PC lights out from under my canopy and upgrading to 16x48" 54w T5's with Ice Caps & 660 ballasts.

I assume this will give me enough light to do almost anything I wanted to, but I need advice on bulb types and brands. I have read that a lot of people put dark blue/purple lights in the front and back so I went with that model.

Attached is the layout of what I'm planning, with the blues and whites being split on ballasts so I can do Dawn/Dusk lights with timers on the various ballasts.

Any advice on brand and bulb types?
(See pics for tank set-up and bulb configuration.)

I don't know that I would use the Ice Cap ballasts, you don't need to overdrive the lamps over that tank unless you plan on clams and a lot of SPS. Other than that the plan looks good.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Hey Grim,
What do you recommend for a 150 gal deep dimension (36x36x27)? I have a canopy so I was looking to go retro and keep sps.

Get one 8x36 Aquailluminations VHO Retrofit kit (with 2 Ice Cap 660 ballasts) and 1 4x36 standard AI Retro from reefgeek. You can have 4 stage lighting with that. the 4 standard lamps will have 2 ballast so use them for dusk/dawn 1 and 2. Then use the 2 Ice Caps for midday 1 and 2. Should be sweet.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

What T5 lighting would you recommend for 29x 16x 22 or 24" rimless tank? I would like to start a mixed reef with a few fish. It will be going in a bed room wall unit the max space i have to work with is 34 x 20.5 x 39.5 if that helps any.

Probably a 4x24 Powermodule. You could have the light hanging higher up which looks good on rimless tanks and still have plenty of light.