The T5 Q&a Thread

[The Grim Reefer]

Will it cause an algae boom like the GE 3000k bulb does? I really like to keep things simple or what about the ati sun pro

I've ran the 3000 lamp and had no issue with algae. All things being equal red light will grow algae better but wont cause it.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

I have a 120 gallon tank that currenly has two 250 metal halides. The tank is SPS dominated. Tank has been up for 3 years without any problems other than hardware. Only problem I have had over the years is my halides. I have had terrible luck with my Icecap ballasts which has cost me a ton of money. I am sure I could fix the problem by going with something other then Icecap, but I am just distgusted with matel halides, I would rather go T5 and be done with it. Will my SPS suffer from the transittion to T5? Can T5 grow SPS well without any other light source? How many 48" T5 would I need, 8, 10, 12? Also I just plan on powering these T5 with a couple of Icecap 660-009 ballasts, these ballasts seem to work over the metal hallides that crap out and burn out my bulbs prematurly.

Also I havent been in the lighting loop for years, where is LED lighting at?

LED's are there but expensive, about 2200 for a Aqua Illuminations fixture to cover that tank.

8 lamp 54 watt ATI Powermodule would have about the same power as your halides with more even coverage.

 

[GoCougsKev]

LED's are there but expensive, about 2200 for a Aqua Illuminations fixture to cover that tank.

8 lamp 54 watt ATI Powermodule would have about the same power as your halides with more even coverage.

What about just 8 to 10 54 watt T5's mounted to my own light fixture with basic reflectors running off of 660 ballests, wouldnt something like this fair closely to a powermodule or is the powermodule superior for whatever reasons? I have the ballasts, so I was thinking the conversion would just be about the price of 8 to 10 bulbs?

 

[pfoster40]

The icecap will overdrive the bulbs, which equals more heat and less life span of the bulbs around 8 months if I'm correct. The powermodule on the other hand has the best reflectors on the market, and has active cooling which will grant you about 12 months of bulb life.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

What about just 8 to 10 54 watt T5's mounted to my own light fixture with basic reflectors running off of 660 ballests, wouldnt something like this fair closely to a powermodule or is the powermodule superior for whatever reasons? I have the ballasts, so I was thinking the conversion would just be about the price of 8 to 10 bulbs?

Thing is with a Powermodule they have a splash shield so you can have the lights really close to the tank. With retros you have to keep them 4 inches up to keep salt spray off the reflectors. If you do a retro I would still stick with 8 lamps. Make sure you have fans set up to cool the lamp ends.

 

[rodcpierce]

the fans on the cold end of the bulb REALLY do quite abit to keep the temps down, par up and life of the bulb up. Any information that Grim has to pass along, is def. worth listening too......

 

[Overboard]

T5's over 150H

T5's over 150H

Hey Grim,

I am getting a 150 this week that is 48 inches long, 30 inches tall, and 24 inches wide. Would an 8 lamp Powermodule allow me to keep sps all the way down with clams on the bottom. I will have a deep sand bed of maybe 4 inches. If so, would a 10 lamp version be better?

The fixture would be in an canopy that is open in the back.

Thanks,
Mark

 

[spinoleo]

Hi Grim
I have a 75grr tank with a mixed reef clams and anem the light I have is aquactinics Tx5.I am going to go more sps dominated what lights would you suggest thanks Ben

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Hey Grim,

I am getting a 150 this week that is 48 inches long, 30 inches tall, and 24 inches wide. Would an 8 lamp Powermodule allow me to keep sps all the way down with clams on the bottom. I will have a deep sand bed of maybe 4 inches. If so, would a 10 lamp version be better?

The fixture would be in an canopy that is open in the back.

Thanks,
Mark

Should be fine but make sure there is enough room on top and the sides for the air circulation in the fixture.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Hi Grim
I have a 75grr tank with a mixed reef clams and anem the light I have is aquactinics Tx5.I am going to go more sps dominated what lights would you suggest thanks Ben

I would keep the SPS on the rocks with only 5 lamps.

Front
ATI Aquablue
ATI Blue Plus
KZ Fiji Purple
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Aquablue

 

[pascal32]

Grim Reefer -

wow, great thread - thanks!

I'm trying to update my lights and I'm wondering what your thoughts are on this combo. Looking at your site I'm low on Blue lights.

I'm looking to replace some of the 6 54W T5 bulbs in my Nova Extreme 48"

The tank is a 72 Gallon mixed SPS and LPS (softies down the road). I will be moving to a 120 and will probably add a dual T5 to the existing Nova Extreme.

I'm thinking of:


(1) UV Aquasun - 10K - growth
(1) Giessman aquablue+ (change later to ATI Aquablue Special - 12K - growth)
(2) ATI blue+ - actinic supp
(1) UV Super Actinic (highest PAR)
(1) KZ Fiji Purple - pink / red pop

Questions:
- I'm thinking about substituting the UV super actinic with Geissman pure actinic which was a nice wide flat 400-450nm range compared to the peaky UV Super Actinic
- I'm worried about growth being with only one day bulb

are there better choices to pop color and facilitate growth? I really don't want to go to MH

thanks!

 

[rtparty]

Grim Reefer -

wow, great thread - thanks!

I'm trying to update my lights and I'm wondering what your thoughts are on this combo. Looking at your site I'm low on Blue lights.

I'm looking to replace some of the 6 54W T5 bulbs in my Nova Extreme 48"

The tank is a 72 Gallon mixed SPS and LPS (softies down the road). I will be moving to a 120 and will probably add a dual T5 to the existing Nova Extreme.

I'm thinking of:


(1) UV Aquasun - 10K - growth
(1) Giessman aquablue+ (change later to ATI Aquablue Special - 12K - growth)
(2) ATI blue+ - actinic supp
(1) UV Super Actinic (highest PAR)
(1) KZ Fiji Purple - pink / red pop

Questions:
- I'm thinking about substituting the UV super actinic with Geissman pure actinic which was a nice wide flat 400-450nm range compared to the peaky UV Super Actinic
- I'm worried about growth being with only one day bulb

are there better choices to pop color and facilitate growth? I really don't want to go to MH

thanks!

Don't run a UVL Aquasun and KZ Fiji Purple together with only 6 bulbs. Too much red.

An actinic is a waste of a bulb IMO. The ATI Blue Plus will bring in plenty of actinic for you. But if you are set on using one, go with the UVL.

3 ATI Blue Plus, 1 UVL Super Actinic, 1 KZ Fiji Purple and 1 GE6500k.

The blue bulbs have the highest PAR in T5 so no need to have a ton of daylight for growth.

 

[pascal32]

Thanks Ryan -

The thought on the actinic is that the Blue+ has little in the 420 spectrum for pop.

Question on the 6500 replacement for the aquasun - I'm looking at the spectrums and if Im reading this correctly, the 6500K has less at 460 and 710, and more 560 than the aqua sun - is the 6500 a yellow bulb?

 

[1life2live]

hi grim,
newbie here and have been reading this thread on and off for about 3 days now (this thread is huge, and still haven't been able to read even close to the whole thing). I'm sure many suggestions have been made, and i thought i had my mind made up,but then I started to get overwhelmed with info.
I am moving from a 29 gal FOWLR to a 90 gal 48x18x24, that will eventurally be mixed reef. I'm looking for lights to put into a canopy i have built. Just wondering on suggestions of a few things. 1st how many bulbs would you suggest wanting to go with all t5's, but will only be 4 for a couple of months unless you think this would be enough, until my wallet recover's a little bit. 2nd bulb selection for the 4, and + ,however many others you suggest.
3rd reflector (is there a big difference between them)and ballast choice. Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[gnoles]

I'm supplementing (2) 250w Phoenix 14k bulbs with 4 48w T-5's - My current setupis mostly actinic with 2 Blue+ and 2 Super Actinics.

With my next bulb change, I'm wondering if I should cut back on the blue a little, I'm looking for suggestions on the following combos:

UVL Super Actinic
ATI Blue Plus
KZ Fiji Purple
UVL Super Actinic

or flip it and get the ATI Blue Plus on the outside and the Super Actinics on the inside.

Thanks!

 

[rtparty]

Thanks Ryan -

The thought on the actinic is that the Blue+ has little in the 420 spectrum for pop.

Question on the 6500 replacement for the aquasun - I'm looking at the spectrums and if Im reading this correctly, the 6500K has less at 460 and 710, and more 560 than the aqua sun - is the 6500 a yellow bulb?

The actinics are good for dusk/dawn but once all the lights come on, the actinic will be washed out by the blues.

The GE is a yellow bulb. It helps bring out some greens and yellows in the tank that are otherwise missed.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

hi grim,
newbie here and have been reading this thread on and off for about 3 days now (this thread is huge, and still haven't been able to read even close to the whole thing). I'm sure many suggestions have been made, and i thought i had my mind made up,but then I started to get overwhelmed with info.
I am moving from a 29 gal FOWLR to a 90 gal 48x18x24, that will eventurally be mixed reef. I'm looking for lights to put into a canopy i have built. Just wondering on suggestions of a few things. 1st how many bulbs would you suggest wanting to go with all t5's, but will only be 4 for a couple of months unless you think this would be enough, until my wallet recover's a little bit. 2nd bulb selection for the 4, and + ,however many others you suggest.
3rd reflector (is there a big difference between them)and ballast choice. Any help would be greatly appreciated

Triad ballast, Ice Cap or Aqua Illuminations reflectors

6 lamps but 4 will get you started with most critters properly placed

Front
ATI Blue Plus
KZ Fiji Purple
ATI Aquablue
ATI Blue Plus

 

[The Grim Reefer]

I'm supplementing (2) 250w Phoenix 14k bulbs with 4 48w T-5's - My current setupis mostly actinic with 2 Blue+ and 2 Super Actinics.

With my next bulb change, I'm wondering if I should cut back on the blue a little, I'm looking for suggestions on the following combos:

UVL Super Actinic
ATI Blue Plus
KZ Fiji Purple
UVL Super Actinic

or flip it and get the ATI Blue Plus on the outside and the Super Actinics on the inside.

Thanks!

Front
Blue Plus
Actinic
Halide
Fiji
Actinic.

 

[NaClCrocodile]

Hey Grim have you got a picture of light coverage for a PM 4x24? I'm deciding between that and a SP 6x24. It's going over a 25x18x18 tank. Is there really a big difference, other than aesthetics and the extra fans, in the PM and the SP?

 

[blennymower]

Hey Grim,

I have a 75g (48Lx20Hx18W) and I'm using a 6 Lamp TEK fixture.
Keeping Clams, SPS, LPS, etc.

Is this a good mix?

Front
ATI true actinic
Blue Plus
Aquablue special
Aquablue special
Blue plus
ATI true actinic
End

If not, what do you suggest?