The T5 Q&a Thread

[Buganddoug]

Grim,
I have a question I am looking at getting 72" NovaExtreme Pro 12x39 watt T5 for my 180 gallon reef. Because I can get it for a steal. I have SPS from top to half way down and the rest is LPS. This light would be replacing my 3 250w M/H with two 72" VHO setup.
Do you think this light would be OK for my set up? I was also looking at 6x80w T5 hood. Also if I stay with the 72" NovaExtreme Pro 12x39 watt T5 HO I think I would need to replace the 6 of 10,000k daylight bulbs. I heard they Suck. What bulbs do you think would be best and in what order would you put them in.
Thank you for your help,

 

[rtparty]

So, I've been disappointed with the T5 set-up I bought last summer. Here's the follow-up. I bought a 48" Nova Extreme Pro set-up - 6 bulbs, individual reflectors. Unit was set up early July. And I promptly went and bought some SPS. Well they weren't growing so I reviewed the posts here and followed the advice on switching out some of the bulbs. In October I switched out 4 of the original bulbs (3 of the blue, and 1 white) for 4 ATI Blue Plus. Its been 6 months and still no growth. So I'm wondering what to try next??????

My water paramaters are all good, with one possible exception. My PH usually stays around 8.0. I think that I might have read somewhere that although 8.0 is acceptable, that SPS may do better with PH around 8.2 or 8.3.

So I'm wondering do I need to get the PH up higher??? Or do I need to switch the other 2 bulbs out?? I know the recommendation on the other two bulbs are for UVL Actinic white and the GE 6500. I did purchase the UVL Actinic when I bought the ATI Blue Plus (but haven't used it yet - thought I would use the stock bulb for a while). And unfortunately I can't find the GE 6500 locally.

So I guess the question is any thoughts on which action to try next - raising the PH or changing bulbs - or something else?????

A few things come to my mind.

1) The Current USA fixtures need good quality bulbs in them. See if you can't find an ATI Aquablue locally in place of the GE.

2) Corals may not be getting enough light.

3) You say parameters are good. That could mean 100 different things depending on who you are and where you keep your tank.

4) Maybe the tank is too "clean". Try adding some Fuel by Aqua Vitro. When I started adding that a few months back my growth exploded! Literally every branch on my pink milli had new growth within 3 days.

 

[rtparty]

Grim,
I have a question I am looking at getting 72" NovaExtreme Pro 12x39 watt T5 for my 180 gallon reef. Because I can get it for a steal. I have SPS from top to half way down and the rest is LPS. This light would be replacing my 3 250w M/H with two 72" VHO setup.
Do you think this light would be OK for my set up? I was also looking at 6x80w T5 hood. Also if I stay with the 72" NovaExtreme Pro 12x39 watt T5 HO I think I would need to replace the 6 of 10,000k daylight bulbs. I heard they Suck. What bulbs do you think would be best and in what order would you put them in.
Thank you for your help,

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

x2

You can change the back Blue Plus to an Aqaublue if you want a little whiter look.

 

[tundra420619]

will this work for sps?

will this work for sps?

i am setting up a new tank 48x30x24
i have 6x54w t5
4-ati blue plus,1 fiji purple,1 ge 6500k

any suggestions or changes for growing sps?

 

[smogl00]

I have a four bulb set-up with all new-ish (replaced within the last 3 months) Geissman lamps. Here's what I'm currently running from back to front:

Actinic+
Pure Actinic (purpleish)
Aquablue
Actinic+

The problem with this current combo is that I'm losing the red/orange colors in some of my rainbow LPS. The red/orange is giving way to the teal/light green that is also on the same coral. This has been happening very slowly over the last few months, so I suspect the light spectrum is the problem. Any suggestions to get the orange/red to start coming back? Maybe a yellowish daylight bulb of some kind? Thanks for reading.

 

[smogl00]

I have a four bulb set-up with all new-ish (replaced within the last 3 months) Geissman lamps. Here's what I'm currently running from back to front:

Actinic+
Pure Actinic (purpleish)
Aquablue
Actinic+

The problem with this current combo is that I'm losing the red/orange colors in some of my rainbow LPS. The red/orange is giving way to the teal/light green that is also on the same coral. This has been happening very slowly over the last few months, so I suspect the light spectrum is the problem. Any suggestions to get the orange/red to start coming back? Maybe a yellowish daylight bulb of some kind? Thanks for reading.

maybe simply a fiji purple instead of the pure actinic?

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Hey Grim So I have a 75 gallon 60x18x20.I was wondering the difference on using 48" versus 60 " lighting. I plan on getting a tek set 8 x 54 vho lights unless LED's really wow me after MAX. Is using a 60 incher overkill or even necessary or will a 48 be enough to sufficiently light my tank since I plan on keeping most of my corals in the middle sections of my tank. I also have a 1/8th center glass piece in the tank used previously as a tank lid that's siliconed to the top of the tank itself. I was wondering if this would have a major effect on adequate lighting being recieved by the corals.

I'd use 48's unless you have high light stuff out to the ends/,

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Grim,

I am in a similar state as the person above....I have an acrylic tank 60x19x20 with a canopy. I was thinking of going with the IceCap retrofit 48" 4x54 from Reefgeek or the IceCap 60" 4x54 from MarineDepot. Would that be enough light for a mixed reef tank or do I need to go with 6x54. Thanks.

I'd do 6 lamps with regular ballasts, no need to overdrive on a 20" tall tank unless it's gorged with clams and SPS

 

[The Grim Reefer]

So, I've been disappointed with the T5 set-up I bought last summer. Here's the follow-up. I bought a 48" Nova Extreme Pro set-up - 6 bulbs, individual reflectors. Unit was set up early July. And I promptly went and bought some SPS. Well they weren't growing so I reviewed the posts here and followed the advice on switching out some of the bulbs. In October I switched out 4 of the original bulbs (3 of the blue, and 1 white) for 4 ATI Blue Plus. Its been 6 months and still no growth. So I'm wondering what to try next??????

My water paramaters are all good, with one possible exception. My PH usually stays around 8.0. I think that I might have read somewhere that although 8.0 is acceptable, that SPS may do better with PH around 8.2 or 8.3.

So I'm wondering do I need to get the PH up higher??? Or do I need to switch the other 2 bulbs out?? I know the recommendation on the other two bulbs are for UVL Actinic white and the GE 6500. I did purchase the UVL Actinic when I bought the ATI Blue Plus (but haven't used it yet - thought I would use the stock bulb for a while). And unfortunately I can't find the GE 6500 locally.

So I guess the question is any thoughts on which action to try next - raising the PH or changing bulbs - or something else?????

What size tank and how high above the water are the lights?

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Grim,
I have a question I am looking at getting 72" NovaExtreme Pro 12x39 watt T5 for my 180 gallon reef. Because I can get it for a steal. I have SPS from top to half way down and the rest is LPS. This light would be replacing my 3 250w M/H with two 72" VHO setup.
Do you think this light would be OK for my set up? I was also looking at 6x80w T5 hood. Also if I stay with the 72" NovaExtreme Pro 12x39 watt T5 HO I think I would need to replace the 6 of 10,000k daylight bulbs. I heard they Suck. What bulbs do you think would be best and in what order would you put them in.
Thank you for your help,

I REALLY don't think that's enough light, steal or not. You should have 8 rows of lamps anyway. I'd maybe think about the 7 row (14x36") lamp Constellation fixture or the 8 lamp Sunpower would kick butt (8x80 watts lamps, 60" long) but neither are going to be a steal. MAYBE if you could get 2 of the novas but I still don't know if it is going to do anything but make the corals down lower survive.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

i am setting up a new tank 48x30x24
i have 6x54w t5
4-ati blue plus,1 fiji purple,1 ge 6500k

any suggestions or changes for growing sps?

You have a good mix but need to add some more lamps, at least 8 are needed for a 30" tank, 10 would be best if you want clams on the sand.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

maybe simply a fiji purple instead of the pure actinic?

You have learned well grasshopper. The Fiji should lead to coral happiness and fulfillment.

-Maharajah Grimmi

 

[Lyfey]

Let this be a sticky post.

Dont waste your money on Current USA fixtures if you plan on growing SPS in a tank with height more than 18 inches.

I just bought my ATI PM, wish I would have bought it the first time around.

-Chris

 

[sigpialx]

I'd do 6 lamps with regular ballasts, no need to overdrive on a 20" tall tank unless it's gorged with clams and SPS

Grim or anyone,

So with a tank height of only 20", I do not need to pick up the V-HO version of the 6-bulb retrofit kit? I am about to order so I want to make sure I order the right thing. Thanks.

Alex

 

[rtparty]

Grim or anyone,

So with a tank height of only 20", I do not need to pick up the V-HO version of the 6-bulb retrofit kit? I am about to order so I want to make sure I order the right thing. Thanks.

Alex

Nope. You only need the HO version.

I see no reason to ever overdrive T5's. More electricity, more heat, and bulbs burn out faster. The PAR gains are minimal and not worth it for me.

 

[sigpialx]

Nope. You only need the HO version.

I see no reason to ever overdrive T5's. More electricity, more heat, and bulbs burn out faster. The PAR gains are minimal and not worth it for me.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Jay1982]

I'm not getting many hits on my thread so I'll post the question up here. I actually didn't see the newest split thread last night, so sorry about the double post in two different threads.

Alright, so I have a 135 gallon sps/lps reef. I have 7 T5 bulbs and 2 250 watt MHs. I'm running icecap ballasts on all of my lights. I'm due for new lights and I'll be doing an order tomorrow and I wanted to run things by you guys, I've done some looking around the last dozen or so days and I see that people go for dusk/dawn settings mixed in with whites during the day, so I'll see what I can come up with.

My 250W halides are 15000 Aquamaxx (I think these bulbs are great BTW). They are on from 5 pm to midnight.

My T5 combo right now is laughable so I won't even mention it lol. But they come on at 230 pm and go off at 130 am. I'm home late night so I would never enjoy my aquarium if I started them any earlier.

What I wanted to do was have 4 T5s come on at 230 pm: URI 454, URI 75.25, URI Super Actinic Blue, KZ Fiji Purple.

Then at 4pm have my other 3 T5s come on with: KZ Coral Light II, Giesmann Pure Actinic, URI Actinic White.

At 5:30PM have my 2 MHs come on, then they shut off at 1130.

At midnight shut off my 3 white bulbs, then finally at 1am by blues are off.

Ideas? Suggestions? Bulb replacements?

Now someone in my thread suggested I get rid of the icecap 660s. Is there another ballast that someone could suggest.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

I'm not getting many hits on my thread so I'll post the question up here. I actually didn't see the newest split thread last night, so sorry about the double post in two different threads.

Alright, so I have a 135 gallon sps/lps reef. I have 7 T5 bulbs and 2 250 watt MHs. I'm running icecap ballasts on all of my lights. I'm due for new lights and I'll be doing an order tomorrow and I wanted to run things by you guys, I've done some looking around the last dozen or so days and I see that people go for dusk/dawn settings mixed in with whites during the day, so I'll see what I can come up with.

My 250W halides are 15000 Aquamaxx (I think these bulbs are great BTW). They are on from 5 pm to midnight.

My T5 combo right now is laughable so I won't even mention it lol. But they come on at 230 pm and go off at 130 am. I'm home late night so I would never enjoy my aquarium if I started them any earlier.

What I wanted to do was have 4 T5s come on at 230 pm: URI 454, URI 75.25, URI Super Actinic Blue, KZ Fiji Purple.

Then at 4pm have my other 3 T5s come on with: KZ Coral Light II, Giesmann Pure Actinic, URI Actinic White.

At 5:30PM have my 2 MHs come on, then they shut off at 1130.

At midnight shut off my 3 white bulbs, then finally at 1am by blues are off.

Ideas? Suggestions? Bulb replacements?

Now someone in my thread suggested I get rid of the icecap 660s. Is there another ballast that someone could suggest.

I'd get different lamps. If you do standard ballasts you could run 2 lamps on 2 ballasts then leave 3 on the Ice Cap for your brighter T5's.

So you could have

On at 2:30 1 ATI Blue Plus, 1 UVL Super Actinic
On at 3:30 1 ATI Blue Plus, 1 KZ Fiji Purple
On at 5:00 1 ATI Blue Plus, 1 UVL Actinic White, 1 ATI Aquablue

Stage 1 will be very subdued. Stage 2 Will have a slightly purple cast to it (you could try the Actinic White instead of Fiji Purple in this mix)
2rd stage will really brighten things up but still leave you with a more blue look. The Fiji, Aquablue and Actinic White are going to wash a lot of blue out and make half tones like pink and purple look nice.

I might turn off the 3 on the Ice Cap ballast during the time the halides are on and see what you think.

 

[acoff87]

hey grim, im running a nova extreme pro 48inch. i keep mostly lps and sps.
what bulb combination do you recommend for growth and aesthetics?
thanks

 

[The Grim Reefer]

hey grim, im running a nova extreme pro 48inch. i keep mostly lps and sps.
what bulb combination do you recommend for growth and aesthetics?
thanks

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