The T5 Q&a Thread

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rick12 said:
thanks rtparty! now im thinking should this be enough light? or would i need more?
:worried:
Click to expand...

I would want 6 bulbs for the 24" front to back, even for macro. 4 bulbs can't adequately light 24" IMO. Not when you are trying to grow things.

But you can play with it and see what happens.
 
It's time to replace bulbs in my 6 bulb 48" Tek fixture. It's over a 90g mixed reef, mostly LPS/softie with a few SPS (and will stay that way for the foreseeable future).

Current combo:

Front:
B+
AB Special
AB Special
B+
AB Special
B+

Slots 1 and 6 are on their own plug, slots 2,3,4,5 on the other.

Looking to make it more blue, as with all bulbs fired it's rather white currently.

How is this combo:

Front:
B+
B+
P+
B+
B+
B+

Would that be too blue and should there be a different order?
 
KJoFan said:
It's time to replace bulbs in my 6 bulb 48" Tek fixture. It's over a 90g mixed reef, mostly LPS/softie with a few SPS (and will stay that way for the foreseeable future).

Current combo:

Front:
B+
AB Special
AB Special
B+
AB Special
B+

Slots 1 and 6 are on their own plug, slots 2,3,4,5 on the other.

Looking to make it more blue, as with all bulbs fired it's rather white currently.

How is this combo:

Front:
B+
B+
P+
B+
B+
B+

Would that be too blue and should there be a different order?
Click to expand...

That will be EXTREMELY blue from what you currently have. However, it looks pretty good to me.

I love the bluer tank but for 6 bulbs I really like 4 ATI Blue Plus and 2 ATI Purple Plus. It isn't for everyone but it is my favorite 6 bulb combo.
 
I am looking to go bluer, so I guess that's good. :)

But I don't want it to be too blue either. I will have to experiment, but thought I'd get opinions and a starting point.

Having two Purple Plus instead of one would do what to change the look of the tank?

I like the dawn/dusk look I have now with just the two B+ going, so am looking to go closer to that overall, hence the combo I suggested.
 
rtparty said:
I would want 6 bulbs for the 24" front to back, even for macro. 4 bulbs can't adequately light 24" IMO. Not when you are trying to grow things.

But you can play with it and see what happens.
Click to expand...

ok will do, i have a two light fixture i can add. maybe i will try two 6500 bulbs.
 
Hey guys, I just got a 90 gallon tank with a nova extreme 48" 6 bulb light. The bulbs in the fixture are nearing the end of their life and I want to upgrade the lights. What would be a good setup for growth. I want to run a mixed reef with zoas, LPS, and SPS..

I like the more blue look to the tank but I want the best setup for growth..

How would the following setup work?

Blue +
Actinic White
Blue +
6500
blue +
aquablue


Thanks
 
InADream said:
Hey guys, I just got a 90 gallon tank with a nova extreme 48" 6 bulb light. The bulbs in the fixture are nearing the end of their life and I want to upgrade the lights. What would be a good setup for growth. I want to run a mixed reef with zoas, LPS, and SPS..

I like the more blue look to the tank but I want the best setup for growth..

How would the following setup work?

Blue +
Actinic White
Blue +
6500
blue +
aquablue


Thanks
Click to expand...

I would switch the aquablue for another blue plus and the actinic white for an ati purple plus.
 
Ryan,

Do you think that would be a great setup for growth. I do not want to have a 20k look just the 14k. Will that be close to 14K or 20K

Thanks
 
First thanks for helping me choose a beautiful combination if lamps for my tek fixture. I have three quick questions about setup.

Is 6" too high above water level for a mixed reef with some sps at top? I'm a bit freaked about salt creep on my lamps and reflectors. The splash shield is not on.

Is this order OK:
Front,
blue +
purple +
6.5k
blue+
blue +
blue+

Lastly is this 120mm computer fan going to cool the fixture OK?



Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk
 

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souperman said:
First thanks for helping me choose a beautiful combination if lamps for my tek fixture. I have three quick questions about setup.

Is 6" too high above water level for a mixed reef with some sps at top? I'm a bit freaked about salt creep on my lamps and reflectors. The splash shield is not on.

Is this order OK:
Front,
blue +
purple +
6.5k
blue+
blue +
blue+

Lastly is this 120mm computer fan going to cool the fixture OK?



Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Height is good, fan should do just fine and the only thing on the order is that I would move the GE back on slot to distribute the spectrum more.
 
RT, Grim, whomever.... this is a HUGE thread and it takes some due dilligence to avoid repeat questions,,,,,
I hope this next one isn't a wholesale repeat but.....

I've tried to gleen as much comparative info as possible for the TEK elite vs the ATI products, again this is a big thread with a lot of data...my take is the ATI wins hands down but it seems a lot of questions took the form of how much is the extra cost worth it?

So I'm likewise seeking clarity here...i see a 20% cost increase for the "base" ATI sunpower vs. the TEK elites, but no definitive data that there is a 20% performance gain (or is there? I'm not "challenging" the reasoning per se, just trying to wrap my head around a $600 light fixture vs. a $300)

I've got the avg price of 48" 6 light TEK @ $300, and the TEK Elite at $400, the Sunpower at $570 and the Powermodule at $650 (these are rounded figures)

is there a hidden savings in bulb life due the the added cooling of the elite & ATI products over the base 6 bulb TEK?

could someone get near those values with external fans?

how does the 4 bulb powermodule compare to the 6 bulb TEK "basic"?
same for the 4 bulb sunpower vs the 6 bulb TEK "basic"
 
Running 8 bulbs, 4 ati blue plus, 1 454, which I will probably replace with a blue plus, 2 Indigo suns and one Actinic white. Looking to replace the 3 daylights with something with more par, but still in the blue range. Was thinking aquablue specials, but maybe there is a better choice?
 
doctorgori said:
RT, Grim, whomever.... this is a HUGE thread and it takes some due dilligence to avoid repeat questions,,,,,
I hope this next one isn't a wholesale repeat but.....

I've tried to gleen as much comparative info as possible for the TEK elite vs the ATI products, again this is a big thread with a lot of data...my take is the ATI wins hands down but it seems a lot of questions took the form of how much is the extra cost worth it?

So I'm likewise seeking clarity here...i see a 20% cost increase for the "base" ATI sunpower vs. the TEK elites, but no definitive data that there is a 20% performance gain (or is there? I'm not "challenging" the reasoning per se, just trying to wrap my head around a $600 light fixture vs. a $300)

I've got the avg price of 48" 6 light TEK @ $300, and the TEK Elite at $400, the Sunpower at $570 and the Powermodule at $650 (these are rounded figures)

is there a hidden savings in bulb life due the the added cooling of the elite & ATI products over the base 6 bulb TEK?

could someone get near those values with external fans?

how does the 4 bulb powermodule compare to the 6 bulb TEK "basic"?
same for the 4 bulb sunpower vs the 6 bulb TEK "basic"
Click to expand...


The atis put out roughly 25% more PAR than a comparable Tek. The powermodule barely beats out a sunpower.

ATI is my favorite but teks are good as well. There hasn't been an extensive study on the bulb life between the two but I will say that with active cooling, T5 bulbs need to be replaced about every 12 months. So anything that doesn't cool them just right, shorten that time frame. The non-programmed start of tek ballasts will also hurt life. Again there isn't any research on how much exactly. I just know that the smart guys who perfected t5's, designed them to be run a certain way. So I like using ballasts that run the bulbs like that.

The 4 bulb ati's will usually out perform a 6 bulb tek but I don't know that I would ssacrifice bulb choice for performance again. 4 bulbs is hard to find a good combo on. Although 2 ati blue plus, 1 ati purple plus and 1 kz new generation looks really good.
 
doctorgori said:
RT, Grim, whomever.... this is a HUGE thread and it takes some due dilligence to avoid repeat questions,,,,,
I hope this next one isn't a wholesale repeat but.....

I've tried to gleen as much comparative info as possible for the TEK elite vs the ATI products, again this is a big thread with a lot of data...my take is the ATI wins hands down but it seems a lot of questions took the form of how much is the extra cost worth it?

So I'm likewise seeking clarity here...i see a 20% cost increase for the "base" ATI sunpower vs. the TEK elites, but no definitive data that there is a 20% performance gain (or is there? I'm not "challenging" the reasoning per se, just trying to wrap my head around a $600 light fixture vs. a $300)

I've got the avg price of 48" 6 light TEK @ $300, and the TEK Elite at $400, the Sunpower at $570 and the Powermodule at $650 (these are rounded figures)

is there a hidden savings in bulb life due the the added cooling of the elite & ATI products over the base 6 bulb TEK?

could someone get near those values with external fans?

how does the 4 bulb powermodule compare to the 6 bulb TEK "basic"?
same for the 4 bulb sunpower vs the 6 bulb TEK "basic"
Click to expand...

IMO the Sunpower is the best deal. Tek uses cheesey ballasts and the cooling is questionable from what I hear. Standard Tek with an external fan would be a better deal than the Elite in my opinion.
 
Jeremy Blaze said:
Running 8 bulbs, 4 ati blue plus, 1 454, which I will probably replace with a blue plus, 2 Indigo suns and one Actinic white. Looking to replace the 3 daylights with something with more par, but still in the blue range. Was thinking aquablue specials, but maybe there is a better choice?
Click to expand...

Run 5 Blue Plus 2 GE Daylight and 1 Purple Plus for maximum PAR, 2 Purple Plus and 1 GE for the best look and slightly less PAR.
 
OK the elite is out....
yeah 6 bulbs is compelling but I saw a 4 bulb powermodule for $499...also means I buy less bulbs,,,,

...the sunpower? part of me wants to just pull the trigger on the dimmable...
anyway you guys are super...your patients with all of us is fantastic...big thanks again guys
 
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