The T5 Q&a Thread

[The Grim Reefer]

Hello all,

I tried reading all 306 pages of this thread and my ADD got the better of me LOL! Anyway I guess I'm just going to jump in and ask. I'm getting back into saltwater from an almost 12 year break. I bought a 100 gal. reef ready tank that is 48"L x 20"W x 25"H. After Sand I'm looking at around 23" of water depth from surface to sand. Knowing that, I need help with lighting. I don't want to be limited to what I can keep in the tank. Clams, SPS, etc.

After quite a bit of research it seems ATI Powermodule fixtures and Sunlight Supply TEK Elite fixtures are top of the line and what are recommended. My questions are.......

1. Knowing my water depth and what I'd like to keep in the tank, what size fixture/number of bulbs should I go with? 4, 6, 8?

2. Is there a fixture comparable to ATI and Tek that has a strip of blue LED's to simulate moonlight at night? This isn't a must if ATI/Tek are what I should stick with but having 3 banks/light options would be nice.

You missed the 35 or so thread splits back when a thread would close after 40 pages :eek2:

8 lamp Powermodule would be best for clams. You could do it with 6 but you'd have to be careful about where the clams are placed.

 

[Bad LS1]

You missed the 35 or so thread splits back when a thread would close after 40 pages :eek2:

8 lamp Powermodule would be best for clams. You could do it with 6 but you'd have to be careful about where the clams are placed.

Thanks for the reply Grim. I will stick with 8 lamps. Is there a big difference between the Powermodule and Tek Elite? I lean towards the Elite because it can sit on the tank. My ceilings are 11' and I'm not sure how it will look with the ATI hanging from the ceiling. Again if I have too then it's a look I'll have to get used too!

 

[salty bugar]

It would take 10 rows of lamps so you are looking at 20 36" T5's to light that monster.

I would stick with halides until the LED prices come down a little more. I would think about 200 3 watt LED's would light that thing up like a christmas tree. At current pricing you'd be looking at a couple grand to DIY something.

:hmm4: That would cost some dough, for sure. I'll stick with what I got.

Thanks again for your help. You should get a reward for all your effort on yhis thread!:thumbsup:

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Thanks for the reply Grim. I will stick with 8 lamps. Is there a big difference between the Powermodule and Tek Elite? I lean towards the Elite because it can sit on the tank. My ceilings are 11' and I'm not sure how it will look with the ATI hanging from the ceiling. Again if I have too then it's a look I'll have to get used too!

Powermodule is better. You can mount something to the wall behind the tank to hand the PM from. Some people use pipe mounted to the wall of stand then use elbows or bend the pipe so it curves over the tank.

If you gotta use the tek just be careful where you place high light critters.

 

[cham]

Thanks for the reply Grim. I will stick with 8 lamps. Is there a big difference between the Powermodule and Tek Elite? I lean towards the Elite because it can sit on the tank. My ceilings are 11' and I'm not sure how it will look with the ATI hanging from the ceiling. Again if I have too then it's a look I'll have to get used too!

Gotta watch those open top tanks when you host as many parties as you do.

 

[MO3N]

I have a 38 Gallon Tank that has been set up 3 months and I am getting good growth out of my corals but I am not getting the color I want. I am only running 4 36" T5 HO (the GLO retro fit Kits). I have no moon lighting or anything and all 4 bulbs are ran 10 hours a day. The bulbs I have listed below, Is there a better combo to still get good growth but get a little more color? or will it help if I run my actinic and 20000K bulbs longer then the others?

Current Bulbs:
Power Glo
Marine Glo
15000K
20000K

Thanks for the help

 

[RcToners]

Hey grim,

If you wouldnt ming could you help me figure out how many and what size t5's to light my 150 gal?

Tank in 72 inches long and 18 inches front to back and 26 inches top to bottom. I was debating if I should go 6 deep or 8 deep and if I should get 36 inch t5s or ?

 

[RF_rookie]

hi Grim, here what I got sutup... lmk what do you think.. thanks in advance
5 Giesemanns, 1 KZ with 36" / 39W TEK 6 bulbs:
front
actinic+
AquaBlue+
Midday
KZ Fiji purple
AquaBlue+
actinic+
back

 

[RayRay1983]

I have the same exact fixture and have tried several combos out. Here are some popular combos.

blue+
purple plus/fiji purple
blue+
aquablu/g midday
blue+
blue+

- the 6 bulb PM has the dawn/dusk bulbs on the 2 and 5 spot. When I ran the Fiji Purple/blue + as my pair it was too bright for my taste.

blue+
blue+
purple plus/fiji purple
aquablu/g midday
blue+
blue+

My new favorite combo.

blue+
blue+
fiji purple
blue+
blue+
aquablu

- The blue+ bulbs on both on the 2 and 5 spot for great pop during the dawn/dusk hours. The aquablu is a white bulb with a hint of blue but it does wash the colors out some. I found placing it in the back didn't detract from the depth look in my tank (22 in). It gives the tank a great 20k look, and good pop for any kind of lps type corals you typically place in front of your tank.

Awesome!! How do you find the growth with the 20k look? As of right now I'm running a 2x250w 4x54w t5 photon plus fixture do you think switching to the pm will be a huge shock to my corals. I'm planning on running the dawn til dusk lights for 10 hrs and full day light for 4 hours for the first week and then adding a hour each week until I hit 7 hours of day light

 

[The Grim Reefer]

I have a 38 Gallon Tank that has been set up 3 months and I am getting good growth out of my corals but I am not getting the color I want. I am only running 4 36" T5 HO (the GLO retro fit Kits). I have no moon lighting or anything and all 4 bulbs are ran 10 hours a day. The bulbs I have listed below, Is there a better combo to still get good growth but get a little more color? or will it help if I run my actinic and 20000K bulbs longer then the others?

Current Bulbs:
Power Glo
Marine Glo
15000K
20000K

Thanks for the help

Change out all those lamps. I would go with 2 ATI Blue Plus and 1 ATI Aquablue and a KZ Fiji Purple or ATI Purple Plus. If you just want to try to juice up what you have order a Blue Plus and play around with it in your current lamp mix.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Hey grim,

If you wouldnt ming could you help me figure out how many and what size t5's to light my 150 gal?

Tank in 72 inches long and 18 inches front to back and 26 inches top to bottom. I was debating if I should go 6 deep or 8 deep and if I should get 36 inch t5s or ?

Get the 80 watt LET retro from reefgeek with Ice Cap ballasts. The 60" lamps cover a 72" tank pretty well. You need 6 lamps, 4 ATI Blue Plus, 1 KZ Fiji Purple and a GE 6500K Daylight.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

hi Grim, here what I got sutup... lmk what do you think.. thanks in advance
5 Giesemanns, 1 KZ with 36" / 39W TEK 6 bulbs:
front
actinic+
AquaBlue+
Midday
KZ Fiji purple
AquaBlue+
actinic+
back

Only matters what you think but I don't see anything wrong with the mix. I'd personally probably lose one of the aquablues for another Actinic plus but thats a personal taste thing.

 

[RF_rookie]

Only matters what you think but I don't see anything wrong with the mix. I'd personally probably lose one of the aquablues for another Actinic plus but thats a personal taste thing.

so what is your recomment for the line up or this will do?
front
actinic+
Midday
actinic+
KZ Fiji purple
AquaBlue+
actinic+
back

or

front
actinic+
AquaBlue+
Midday
actinic+
KZ Fiji purple
actinic+
back


thanks!

 

[Toadally]

How far from the water line should I keep my lighting? It's a 57 gallon, 36x18x21 all sps ATI Sunpower 6x39 watt... Thanks!

 

[mrsmithers]

Grim what would you suggest,
a LET retro with some fans or a TEK elite?

 

[bader]

is it true that the actual fixtures like the aquatinics puts out up to 30% more par than a retro? would making a hanging fixture with retro parts be comparible? is this because of heat issures?

 

[puggsli1]

Grim, what would be the best bulb combo for a 39w ati powermodule? I know you said I need 8 bulbs for for my tank size 48x24x20 but I have decided to go with 6 bulb due to the size of my overflow box. Also how high should the light be hung? Thanks for the help.

 

[InsideJoke]

I was planning on doing an LED build for my new 18x18x18 cube. But I think I'm going to hold off on that til some color issues get figured out and stick with T5s. I dont have a lot of options as I dont want any over hang on the tank as it is a rimless tank. I want to keep the sleek look of it. That pretty much puts me into the category of using the UVL 18" bulbs.
I need some help figuring out how many bulbs for a mixed reef. I was thinking of 5-6 bulbs to reach from the front of the tank to the back. I'd love to go with 5 bulbs but have no problems bumping it up to 6 if I need it to get good coverage across the tank. Or would it be possible to run 3 T5s as the primary lighting and DIY up some LEDs for moonlight/actinics?

 

[JG1]

Grim,

Where would you put a UVL super actinic in here for an 8 bulb PM? Or would you use another B+ instead? My thinking is there is plenty par in those 7 bulbs and a 420 would bring out some florescence that the B+ won't.

front:
ATI Blue+
KZ Fiji Purple
ATI Blue+
ATI Aquablue Special
ATI Blue+
ATI Aquablue Special
ATI Blue+

 

[Postal]

Grim,

You have answered my question before about bulbs on a 4-lamp t5 retrofit kit for a 40 breeder. But I decided to go to 6 bulbs on of the 40 breeders.

The tank will be planted with macro and have clams and sand-dwelling LPS. There will also be a pair of clowns with an anemone (likely a BTA). Each pair of bulbs will be fired by a Universal Advanced ballast.

So which 6 bulbs in what order would you recommend?

Thanks.