The T5 Q&a Thread

[95Harley]

Grim and T5 guru's...I need some help. I'm a first time T5 user and I'm getting ready to build my first rref tank. I will have 16x48" Ice Cap HO T5's (8 on each side).

I need help with bulbs and placement as I will have to splice the retro kits so the ballast can be put on timers for dusk to dawn effect.

My questions are these....
Why do most people put super actinics on the front and back of the lights?
Here is what I was thinking: What do you think?

Here would be my 3 timers:
Dawn/Dusk - Blue Only
Day - Red & Blue
Night - Black Only

Super Actinic
KZ Fiji purple
ATI b+
GE 65k
---Lunar LEDs ---
ATI aqua blue 12k
ATI b+
KZ Fiji Purple
Super Actnic

I will be keeping 3-4 Dozen Blue Chromis/Damsels, a Dragon Moray, and Green Star Polyps & Mushrooms to start with.
So I need bulbs that will make Blue, Orange, and Green POP!

I know the Blue's will make the Greens glow. Any help with the other colors? What Makes Blue Glow?

All suggestions are appreciated.

 

[epicenter]

I would use all four of the Actinic Plus and then 2 of the Actinics and add 2 KZ Fiji Purples to help add some red to the spectrum. If it isn't in the budget to get new bulbs then using what you have will be nice.

Thanks rtparty, I just ordered all new bulbs.

 

[drparker]

Yes on the venting between the shield and fixture.

Front
ATI Aquablue
Blue Plus
Fiji Purple
Blue Plus
Actinic
Aquablue

Thanks for the help Grim,

I love the ATI, My birdsnest is pink again.:bounce3: Here's the tank before with OuterOrbit fixture 2x150w Radium 20k MH and 2x130w PC.

Here's the ATI with the above bulb combo

Both shots were taken raw, no color correction applied, ISO 250, f/8.0 1/15sec.

My current settings are PC for 10.5hrs and MH for 7hrs. I was thinking of leaving the ATI at the current height and dropping dusk/dawn to 7.5hrs and full to 5hrs. Is this good enough for acclimation?

 

[Everyones Hero]

Grim- the light combo you recommended is awesome (with a slight change). It's just a little bit more blue than my old bulbs but it isn't overly blue. My Condy annem had been fine for a few weeks about 8" from the bottom but only 2 days after the new bulbs it's already moved to get some shade. At least that's my assumption.

Hopefully the SPS I have coming in will do well under it.

If anyone wants pics feel free to PM me It's:
-Blue Plus
-IceCap Midwater
-Aquablue Special
-Blue Plus
on a 4x54w retro over my 75g.

 

[GrimReefer82]

OK, I already ordered bulbs and 6-60" Miro-4 reflectors. Below is the bulbs I ordered and how I am thinking of putting them.

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

Is this good or should I switch some up?

Grim, I took your advice and went with the 60's.

 

[butchik]

Hi guys, need help on my lighting fixture. I bought a Sunlight Tek fixture 4 X 39 watts. The bulbs I ordered, based on the first few pages of this thread, were 1 Giesemann Midday, 1 Giesemann Aquablue Plus, and 2 Giesemann Actinic Plus. How should I arrange the bulbs?

Will this work?
Front
Actinic Plus
Midday
Actinic Plus
Aquablue Plus

I'm planning on keeping a mixed reef tank. Thanks for your help.

 

[dustinc]

Ok so I just ordered the RSM 250 and went with it because it was a nice looking package and runs t5s. Right now I'm running an ATI fixture on my other tank with a bulb combo of 4xATI blue+, 1xKZ Fiji Purple, and 1xGiesemann True Actinic. The difference between the 2 fixtures are the RSM has a single reflector as the ati has individual and I'm assuming the ballasts are different. Should I have any trouble keeping any type of SPS in this tank? Also, the I have the same bulb combo in the RSM minus a blue+ and added a GE Daylight. If I switch the daylight out with the blue+, will I really lose any par? Thanks

 

[larryjohnson525]

Grim, I'm about to pick up a 10 bulb ATI fixture and I can't decide on my bulb combo. Would you recommend which bulbs should I get for my 190g SPS tank? Btw, should I go with 8 bulbs ATI fixture with my tank dimension 60Lx30Dx24H or I have to stick with the 10 bulbs fixture.

Thank you in advance,
Larry

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Thanks for the help Grim,

I love the ATI, My birdsnest is pink again.:bounce3: Here's the tank before with OuterOrbit fixture 2x150w Radium 20k MH and 2x130w PC.

Here's the ATI with the above bulb combo

Both shots were taken raw, no color correction applied, ISO 250, f/8.0 1/15sec.

My current settings are PC for 10.5hrs and MH for 7hrs. I was thinking of leaving the ATI at the current height and dropping dusk/dawn to 7.5hrs and full to 5hrs. Is this good enough for acclimation?

Would it be OK is I use your pictures to demonstrate what adding red spectrum does?

 

[Mark426]

Grim,

Its time to replace my lamps. Running a TX5 w/:

3 ATI Blue+
1 GE6500
1 Fiji Purple

Like the color but sometimes it seems slightly too red/purple. Would replacing the Fiji Purple with an Actinic White reduce the red/purple slightly?

Thanks
Mark

 

[The Grim Reefer]

how would this look front to back?

actinic+
uvl actinic white
actinic+
uvl actinic white
actinic+
kz fiji purple
actinic+
actinic+

would that work out?

Swap the position of the #2 Actinic White and the Fiji Purple. It should look a little purplish a very deep water look.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Ok I have decided to get the 6x39 ATI Sunpower to put over my 40b and am looking at the following bulb combo...
Front-
UVL Super Actinic
ATI Blue +
Fiji Purple
Blue +
ATI Aquablue
UVL Super Actinic

Im looking for the nice 20k look for my tank as I will mainly house zoanthids and a sps here and there... What do you think? I want my corals to pop!

Front
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Blue Plus
UVL Actinic White
ATI ATI Aquablue
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Blue Plus

 

[The Grim Reefer]

So something like this?

Front

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

or like this?

ATI Blue Plus
KZ Fiji Purple
ATI Aquablue Special
GE 6500K
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Blue Plus

The Lower one will look better.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Thanks, I feel like a newbie all over again lol. I have another questions that has probably been asked a million times but what about the T5 fixtures on ebay? $500 for this:72'' Aquarium Light T5 HO 6X 80 + bulbs Reef NEW+ bulbs + 8 1w LED, seems like a decent deal on the surface. If I had to guess it is the ballasts that are the problem if there is one seeing as that is what I've found in the past.

I wouldn't buy anything off Ebay unless it is a known brand name.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Grim and T5 guru's...I need some help. I'm a first time T5 user and I'm getting ready to build my first rref tank. I will have 16x48" Ice Cap HO T5's (8 on each side).

I need help with bulbs and placement as I will have to splice the retro kits so the ballast can be put on timers for dusk to dawn effect.

My questions are these....
Why do most people put super actinics on the front and back of the lights?
Here is what I was thinking: What do you think?

Here would be my 3 timers:
Dawn/Dusk - Blue Only
Day - Red & Blue
Night - Black Only

Super Actinic
KZ Fiji purple
ATI b+
GE 65k
---Lunar LEDs ---
ATI aqua blue 12k
ATI b+
KZ Fiji Purple
Super Actnic

I will be keeping 3-4 Dozen Blue Chromis/Damsels, a Dragon Moray, and Green Star Polyps & Mushrooms to start with.
So I need bulbs that will make Blue, Orange, and Green POP!

I know the Blue's will make the Greens glow. Any help with the other colors? What Makes Blue Glow?

All suggestions are appreciated.

Reason for the actinic front and rear is it spreads the spectrum AND they have crappy PAR so it makes more sense to place them at the front and rear positions where you typically don't need PAR.

In your case I would swap out the actinic in the rear with another Blue Plus. The GE will brighter up any green and yellow, the KZ will do the reds and blue and actinics will cause everything to glow. The Actinics hit the brighter greens really well.

In your case where you don't need a butt load of PAR I might arrange them like this

Front
Blue Plus
Fiji Purple
Actinic
GE
LED
Aquablue
Blue Plus
Fiji Purple
Blue Plus

Make the #3 Actinic and the #6 Blue Plus your first Dusk/dawn pair, #1 Blue Plus and #2 Fiji Purple Dusk/Dawn 2 which will be subdued but bring out warmer colors like pink better. You could then hit the 7 Fiji and 8 Blue Plus as an early late sun before kicking in the daylight pair, Aquablue and GE.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

OK, I already ordered bulbs and 6-60" Miro-4 reflectors. Below is the bulbs I ordered and how I am thinking of putting them.

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

Is this good or should I switch some up?

Grim, I took your advice and went with the 60's.

Front
Blue Plus
GE
Fiji Purple
Blue Plus
GE
Blue Plus

Try that. It is better if you spread out your none blue spectrum.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Hi guys, need help on my lighting fixture. I bought a Sunlight Tek fixture 4 X 39 watts. The bulbs I ordered, based on the first few pages of this thread, were 1 Giesemann Midday, 1 Giesemann Aquablue Plus, and 2 Giesemann Actinic Plus. How should I arrange the bulbs?

Will this work?
Front
Actinic Plus
Midday
Actinic Plus
Aquablue Plus

I'm planning on keeping a mixed reef tank. Thanks for your help.

If 1 and 3 are your dusk/dawn pair that should be fine, if not swap the position of the #rd and 4th lamps so the actinic plus are your dusk and dawn lamps.

 

[butchik]

Grim,

Thanks. The lights are coming today and can't wait to play with it.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Ok so I just ordered the RSM 250 and went with it because it was a nice looking package and runs t5s. Right now I'm running an ATI fixture on my other tank with a bulb combo of 4xATI blue+, 1xKZ Fiji Purple, and 1xGiesemann True Actinic. The difference between the 2 fixtures are the RSM has a single reflector as the ati has individual and I'm assuming the ballasts are different. Should I have any trouble keeping any type of SPS in this tank? Also, the I have the same bulb combo in the RSM minus a blue+ and added a GE Daylight. If I switch the daylight out with the blue+, will I really lose any par? Thanks

Single reflector T5 units don't produce the PAR the reflected units do. Just to give you an idea of the power of using good reflectors I have been playing with a LED lamp, it's 8 1 watt leds. If I take off the optics the PAR at 17" is about 23. When I put the optics back on the PAR is 226. Reflectors matter. T5's aren't as extreme but if does about double the output. If you tank isn't over about 16" tall you should be fine.

 

[drparker]

Would it be OK is I use your pictures to demonstrate what adding red spectrum does?

Sure thing. Also the Zoas that are on the bottom, in front, 3/4 of the way to the right are pink as well.

Does this light cycle change seem good enough for acclimation? My current settings are PC for 10.5hrs and MH for 7hrs. I was thinking of leaving the ATI at the current height and dropping dusk/dawn to 7.5hrs and full to 5hrs.