The T5 Q&a Thread

[spoofer]

i owe u

i owe u

Grim I owe you some Pics This is only a few day setup from a transfer.

This a 120g Tech Tank ATI 8 x 54

Unfortunatley My order got screwed up- and they were out of stock on the bulbs i requested Which were
front:
ATI Blue Plus
UVL 75/25 **** (Aqua blue special)
ATI Blue Plus
GE 6500k
ATI Blue Plus
UVL Actinic White **** (KZ Fiji Purple)
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Blue Plus

My Lighting unit was on Back order for 8 weeks and they went to ship with only a week left before my transfer date.... So I swapped out the two UVL bulbs for the Aqua blue special and the KZ bulb. I love the dawn and dusk look, but with all bulbs it's a little to white for me...

the first shot is dawn and dusk and the second is full lights

Grim your the best- thanks a million for all your help - these pics have been coming for many months :beer:
cheers!

 

[TNTFISHY]

sunpower 4x36 or Tek Elite 6x39?

sunpower 4x36 or Tek Elite 6x39?

I'm setting up a 36Lx21Tx18W mixed reef tank. Reefgeek has them roughly the same price. 6 tube better than 4? Thanks, I'm new to Reef Central. Hope I'm doing this right!

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Grim I owe you some Pics This is only a few day setup from a transfer.

This a 120g Tech Tank ATI 8 x 54

Unfortunatley My order got screwed up- and they were out of stock on the bulbs i requested Which were
front:
ATI Blue Plus
UVL 75/25 **** (Aqua blue special)
ATI Blue Plus
GE 6500k
ATI Blue Plus
UVL Actinic White **** (KZ Fiji Purple)
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Blue Plus

My Lighting unit was on Back order for 8 weeks and they went to ship with only a week left before my transfer date.... So I swapped out the two UVL bulbs for the Aqua blue special and the KZ bulb. I love the dawn and dusk look, but with all bulbs it's a little to white for me...

the first shot is dawn and dusk and the second is full lights

Grim your the best- thanks a million for all your help - these pics have been coming for many months :beer:
cheers!

Nice tank

 

[The Grim Reefer]

I'm setting up a 36Lx21Tx18W mixed reef tank. Reefgeek has them roughly the same price. 6 tube better than 4? Thanks, I'm new to Reef Central. Hope I'm doing this right!

6 is better for a tank over 15 inches or so front to back.

 

[Fireworm]

Grim,

I went with your suggestion and am running

Front
ATI blue
ATI blue The other 4 bulbs not on dusk dawn are all ran on a
Fiji Purple = dusk dawn IC 660 ballast
ATI blue
ATI 12K
ATI blue = dusk dawn

I am happy with my color, especially after adding the fiji purple for the DD light. My problem is to much light. I like being able to keep my sps lower in the tank and not having to worry, but I have to keep some of my zoos and all of my lps in the shadows. And my softies do not open much at all with all the light. What bulbs can I replace some of my ATIs with when it is time, to have almost the same color and less par?

thanks

 

[nesto719]

hello grim i am thinking of adding supp. lighting to my tank. currently on my 120 i am running two 250w pheonix bulbs using m80 ballasts W/ lumenarc mini pendants. i am planning on adding reef geeks aqua allumination retro 4 bulb t-5 . i am planning for three blue plus and one fiji purple. do you think this setup will look good? i am trying to acheive maximum florecense. also will this setup be best for all spectrum of colors in corals? thanks

 

[ctmgardea]

Sun-Brite Led ... any feed back? what does everyone think. looks good, but is it to good to be true? http://www.exotic-aquarium.com/testresults.html

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Grim,

I went with your suggestion and am running

Front
ATI blue
ATI blue The other 4 bulbs not on dusk dawn are all ran on a
Fiji Purple = dusk dawn IC 660 ballast
ATI blue
ATI 12K
ATI blue = dusk dawn

I am happy with my color, especially after adding the fiji purple for the DD light. My problem is to much light. I like being able to keep my sps lower in the tank and not having to worry, but I have to keep some of my zoos and all of my lps in the shadows. And my softies do not open much at all with all the light. What bulbs can I replace some of my ATIs with when it is time, to have almost the same color and less par?

thanks

Change the second and 4th lamps from Blue Plus to UVL Super Actinics OR lose the 660 and use regular T5 ballasts.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

hello grim i am thinking of adding supp. lighting to my tank. currently on my 120 i am running two 250w pheonix bulbs using m80 ballasts W/ lumenarc mini pendants. i am planning on adding reef geeks aqua allumination retro 4 bulb t-5 . i am planning for three blue plus and one fiji purple. do you think this setup will look good? i am trying to acheive maximum florecense. also will this setup be best for all spectrum of colors in corals? thanks

That would be what I would try, or maybe the UVL Actinic White instead of the Fiji but either will look nice.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Sun-Brite Led ... any feed back? what does everyone think. looks good, but is it to good to be true? http://www.exotic-aquarium.com/testresults.html

There isn't enough bandwidth here to add the number of laughing smileys it would take to respond to their claims. I did inquire to see if they would loan me one to test, even offered to let them have my CC number to insure they would get it back. They didn't have enough in stock to loan one out was the response I got. There are some pretty decent, and expensive LED systems out there that cant touch those numbers. If it was legitimate I would be sending samples to everyone I could dig up with credibility trying to get them to test it.

These things would be the talk of the boards if they worked. I honestly don't know of anyone who has bought one but my offer to them still stands, Send me one and I will test it.

I have no skin in the game here. I don't make 2 cents for what I do and have nothing to gain by pushing anyone's product. I know they follow these threads so you know how to find me.

 

[ctmgardea]

Grim, thank you for your reply. It always has to be...to good to be true.
dang, that sucks! thanks again fo your help.

 

[SPStoney]

Looking for new bulbs and was wondering what combo would put out the best look.

aquablue
blue plus
actinic white or fiji
blue plus
blue plus

or

blue plus
fiji or actinic white
ge
blue plys
blue plus

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Looking for new bulbs and was wondering what combo would put out the best look.

aquablue
blue plus
actinic white or fiji
blue plus
blue plus

or

blue plus
fiji or actinic white
ge
blue plys
blue plus

I would probably do the second one but either will look good.

 

[Gold Flake]

What tubes are the best the to get the greatest growth on sps corals.

I have a ati power module with 8x80w, the tubes i have are 5 ati blue specials, 2 ati blue plus and 1 kz fij purple.

On one of the uk forums someone said its best to have more blue tubes to get the best growth on sps and recommanded i swap out 2 more specials for blue plus.
Since there is lots and lots of amazing tanks running with t5s in the states, i thought i would ask over here,

So what do you guys think is the best tube combo.???

Thanks

 

[spoofer]

Grim I owe you some Pics This is only a few day setup from a transfer.

This a 120g Tech Tank ATI 8 x 54

Unfortunatley My order got screwed up- and they were out of stock on the bulbs i requested Which were
front:
ATI Blue Plus
UVL 75/25 **** (Aqua blue special)
ATI Blue Plus
GE 6500k
ATI Blue Plus
UVL Actinic White **** (KZ Fiji Purple)
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Blue Plus

My Lighting unit was on Back order for 8 weeks and they went to ship with only a week left before my transfer date.... So I swapped out the two UVL bulbs for the Aqua blue special and the KZ bulb. I love the dawn and dusk look, but with all bulbs it's a little to white for me...

the first shot is dawn and dusk and the second is full lights

Grim your the best- thanks a million for all your help - these pics have been coming for many months :beer:
cheers!

thanks, Any thoughts on swapping the bulb order around?

 

[sbonder]

aqueon bow front 16g

aqueon bow front 16g

How big is the tank (length x width)
How tall and what are you going to raise in it

20x13x18 bow front. want to convert it to live rock, some soft coral, anemone and clown fish.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

What tubes are the best the to get the greatest growth on sps corals.

I have a ati power module with 8x80w, the tubes i have are 5 ati blue specials, 2 ati blue plus and 1 kz fij purple.

On one of the uk forums someone said its best to have more blue tubes to get the best growth on sps and recommanded i swap out 2 more specials for blue plus.
Since there is lots and lots of amazing tanks running with t5s in the states, i thought i would ask over here,

So what do you guys think is the best tube combo.???

Thanks

I like using Blue Plus then Daylights for balance. Aquablues give great growth but I don't like the look other than to brighten up the blue look. Going with more blues probably would look nicer but not really have an impact on growth.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

thanks, Any thoughts on swapping the bulb order around?

No, should be fine.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

20x13x18 bow front. want to convert it to live rock, some soft coral, anemone and clown fish.

You are really limited because of the 20" length. If you want an anemone you are either going to have to go with a halide or be OK with having a 24" fixture hanging over the ends. I don't think I would try an anemone under the 18" current lamps and they are the only one's making T5 HO less than 24 inches long.

A 4x24 Tek would be enough for it.

 

[Nerdy Nudi]

ATI PM
ATI SP
Constellation

I have heard that the Tek Elite has Workhorse Ballasts, i that is the case I wouldn't want one. Without having used one I really can't say where it would rate but I know with a standard tek with external cooling I still couldn't match the output of a Constellation.

Grim, can you link me to some info or reasons why you feel the workhorse is an inferior ballast. Id like to make the best decision with my dollars.

It turns out sls has been using the workhorse ballasts in their standard tek fixtures for some time now. Will the workhorse tek not perform as well as a tek with advanced ballasts?