The T5 Q&a Thread

[pura vida mi]

Should be good

Thanks Grim.

Have up to 4 computer fans, (must be set up blowing from rear with my setup). What do you think of 1 fan blowing in at each end of fixture, with 1 or2 blowing out from center?

Gracias

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Hey Grim,

Im using a 400w Radium with 2 Ati Blue Plus as supplements on my tank. Im thinking about switching the Blue+ to ATI Pure Actinic. Do you think this would look better or should I stick with the Blue+? Let me know what you advise.

Thanks in advance!

You just need to try both and decide which you like better

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Thanks Grim.

Have up to 4 computer fans, (must be set up blowing from rear with my setup). What do you think of 1 fan blowing in at each end of fixture, with 1 or2 blowing out from center?

Gracias

You only need to cool the label end of the lamps so one blowing in from the rear would be good. You could have one at the other end blowing out if you wanted but don't blow over the center section of the lamps.

 

[pura vida mi]

You only need to cool the label end of the lamps so one blowing in from the rear would be good. You could have one at the other end blowing out if you wanted but don't blow over the center section of the lamps.

Thanks, any harm with a center fan blowing OUT as well? Also for the simpleton in me....why lable ends?

 

[Gahngoo]

Front
ATI Blue Plus
GE 6500K Daylight
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Aquablue

This is going to be a little more blue than the current setup when it was new, a lot bluer than it is now, 14 months later but I think you will like it if you like the stock color.

****** UPDATE **********

After using the recommended bulb setup for several months, I have noticed dramatically improved growth in both my softies and especially in my hard corals. Everything looks good. Again, thanks Grim! :wavehand:

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Thanks, any harm with a center fan blowing OUT as well? Also for the simpleton in me....why lable ends?

On some, but not all lamps there is a dedicated cold spot at the label end of the lamp which will regulate the internal pressure.

Blowing one out at the center shouldn't hurt anything either but having one at the opposite end would tend to set up a slight amount of airflow down the reflector channels which is a good thing

 

[maynardjames]

The powermodule will be close in PAR and plenty for that tank.

hey grim i have a solarflare & have used your bulb combos many times with great results. do you think powermodule is just a better fixture, has better reflectors or something. or was it based on size of original poster`s tank where he does not need overdriven bulbs. just curious. im not planning on switching fixtures just interested in your thoughts about the two. and how close in par is pm to solarflare?. does pm overdrive bulbs?
also what bulb is close to figi purple without extra 10 dollar cost? as always thanks for your reply & great thread`s you have on t5`s

 

[The Grim Reefer]

hey grim i have a solarflare & have used your bulb combos many times with great results. do you think powermodule is just a better fixture, has better reflectors or something. or was it based on size of original poster`s tank where he does not need overdriven bulbs. just curious. im not planning on switching fixtures just interested in your thoughts about the two. and how close in par is pm to solarflare?. does pm overdrive bulbs?
also what bulb is close to figi purple without extra 10 dollar cost? as always thanks for your reply & great thread`s you have on t5`s

UVL 75/25 is really close the the fiji.

The Powermodule has better reflectors and cooling so it will be really close in PAR. If the Solar Flare is a Baby Benz the PM is it's big brother quality speaking. Just sick over the top.

 

[maynardjames]

UVL 75/25 is really close the the fiji.

The Powermodule has better reflectors and cooling so it will be really close in PAR. If the Solar Flare is a Baby Benz the PM is it's big brother quality speaking. Just sick over the top.

thanks again grim, but now i have fixture envy not enough to get a divorce about though. already done the i know its expensive but i will never need another one ploy with the wife too many times

 

[maynardjames]

just checked out your new homepage. if i had before would not have asked the figi purple question, but wanted to know your thoughts on the solarflare. new improved homepage is awesome. i will suggest taking a look to others when i run across t5 questions, instead of asking in this thread. you have a lot of great info on there
you the man! dont fear the reefer

 

[BizMike]

You need a couple Blue lamps in there instead of the Super Actinics.

If thats all you got to work with this is going to look like crap but you need the PAR

Front
Actinic
Daylight
Daylight
Actinic

Of all the lamps you are currently using only the Actinic White has decent PAR. You could try that in place of one of the daylights and see how that looks

Thanks - I'm actually planning on replacing all four bulbs soon. What should I replace them with?

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Thanks - I'm actually planning on replacing all four bulbs soon. What should I replace them with?

Front
ATI Blue Plus
KZ Fiji Purple or UVL 75/25
ATI Aquablue
ATI Blue Plus

 

[wdt2000]

I need some advice. I have a 4 x 48" T5 fixture on a 90 gallon. The tank is going to mainly sea grass with some Low-Med light LPS and softies. What would be your suggestion for an affordable light combo?

 

[rtparty]

I need some advice. I have a 4 x 48" T5 fixture on a 90 gallon. The tank is going to mainly sea grass with some Low-Med light LPS and softies. What would be your suggestion for an affordable light combo?

Hopefully Grim chimes in but I would suspect you would want to run a GE 6500K for sure in the mix to help with the sea grass.

On my FW planted tank I run 2 ATI Aquablue, 1 Gmann AquaFlora and 1 GE 6500K and it does the job for the plants. It also looks pretty good and I think corals would look decent under them.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

I need some advice. I have a 4 x 48" T5 fixture on a 90 gallon. The tank is going to mainly sea grass with some Low-Med light LPS and softies. What would be your suggestion for an affordable light combo?

I'd try 2 ATI Blue Plus with a GE 6500K daylight and probably the Giesemann Aquablue which is more of a yellow ehite than the ATI version. Tek fixture would be good for that if you don't already have one

 

[ReefAus]

Hi Grim

I have a 4 x 2 x 2.5 tank with a number of anemones and an assortment of corals. Currently I have the Reef Octopus Horizon unit with four 54w T5s which I suspect is inadequate given the depth and height of the tank. I am thinking of upgrading to the ATI Sunpower unit with the capacity of 6 x 54w T5s; is this sufficient? If not can you recommend another unit of similar quality? The tank has a low hood mounted on top and I have concerns that this might make things a little too hot for the unit and maybe the tank. I believe the ATI units have inbuilt cooling; will this be sufficient or will I have to modify the hood and add extra cooling or extraction fans? Any advice will be much appreciated. Thanks.

Rgds

Steve

 

[lotusstar]

Wow, lots of great advice in this thread, maybe I can get some input please. I have a 92g corner tank. The measurements are 33 inches across the 2 side walls, and then bows across the front. The tank is 25" tall. From front corner to the other corner it measures 48 inches. I currently have 1 400w MH bulb (14k) over the tank which works great but I'm thinking of changing over to T5. I'm worried about summer time energy savings so thinking T5 is my way to go.
I'm not handy at all like the guys in the corner tank thread so can't retrofit and build my own fixture. So I was thinking of going with an ATI fixture. The 24" is my only option because of the dimensions of my tank. I'm wondering which fixture would be best, or if you would think it would be sufficient at all. I currently only have softies and LPS but plan to soon go SPS dominant if I can make it work. I'm not looking at growing corals in the remote corners of the tank, I have it set where my LR is mostly in the center with the corners open for swim room.
My vision typed out sounds kinda chaotic so I apologize if I'm losing you, mainly my LR is centered and tiered up from the front toward the back of the tank and this is where I would be growing SPS hopefully. So would a 24" fixture work? Would there be light spread out to the corners? Not planning to grow corals there but don't want it to be dark and not able to see well. Would there be decent light spread? The 6 bulb fixture is 13.5" in width, that fixture would fit nicely over the tank, the 8 bulb is 17.5", to get it to fit over the tank would be tight, I think there would be a lot of light spill over the front. Something I would like to avoid as my 400w MH bulb floods the living room as is. I'm wondering about the 25" height of my tank. Would this fixture allow for adequate sps growth near the bottom of the tank, or would I be pushing it? Would I be ok with the 6 bulb sunpower, or should I look into the 6 or maybe 8 bulb powermodule? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Hi Grim

I have a 4 x 2 x 2.5 tank with a number of anemones and an assortment of corals. Currently I have the Reef Octopus Horizon unit with four 54w T5s which I suspect is inadequate given the depth and height of the tank. I am thinking of upgrading to the ATI Sunpower unit with the capacity of 6 x 54w T5s; is this sufficient? If not can you recommend another unit of similar quality? The tank has a low hood mounted on top and I have concerns that this might make things a little too hot for the unit and maybe the tank. I believe the ATI units have inbuilt cooling; will this be sufficient or will I have to modify the hood and add extra cooling or extraction fans? Any advice will be much appreciated. Thanks.

Rgds

Steve

I would want an 8 lamp ATI Powermodule over that tank.

48x24x30 tall you really need some PAR to keep anemones happy.

 

[ReefAus]

Does ATI make an eight globe module? I had a look on their website and it seems they only have a six. Will I have to modify the hood if fitting the eight globe unit? Thanks.

Steve

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Wow, lots of great advice in this thread, maybe I can get some input please. I have a 92g corner tank. The measurements are 33 inches across the 2 side walls, and then bows across the front. The tank is 25" tall. From front corner to the other corner it measures 48 inches. I currently have 1 400w MH bulb (14k) over the tank which works great but I'm thinking of changing over to T5. I'm worried about summer time energy savings so thinking T5 is my way to go.
I'm not handy at all like the guys in the corner tank thread so can't retrofit and build my own fixture. So I was thinking of going with an ATI fixture. The 24" is my only option because of the dimensions of my tank. I'm wondering which fixture would be best, or if you would think it would be sufficient at all. I currently only have softies and LPS but plan to soon go SPS dominant if I can make it work. I'm not looking at growing corals in the remote corners of the tank, I have it set where my LR is mostly in the center with the corners open for swim room.
My vision typed out sounds kinda chaotic so I apologize if I'm losing you, mainly my LR is centered and tiered up from the front toward the back of the tank and this is where I would be growing SPS hopefully. So would a 24" fixture work? Would there be light spread out to the corners? Not planning to grow corals there but don't want it to be dark and not able to see well. Would there be decent light spread? The 6 bulb fixture is 13.5" in width, that fixture would fit nicely over the tank, the 8 bulb is 17.5", to get it to fit over the tank would be tight, I think there would be a lot of light spill over the front. Something I would like to avoid as my 400w MH bulb floods the living room as is. I'm wondering about the 25" height of my tank. Would this fixture allow for adequate sps growth near the bottom of the tank, or would I be pushing it? Would I be ok with the 6 bulb sunpower, or should I look into the 6 or maybe 8 bulb powermodule? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

On an odd shape tank I would think about working on the halide. If you change to a different reflector I bet you can solve the light spill.

For T5's I think maybe a retrofit would be a better option. You could use different lenght lamps to make things work

Front
36" ATI Blue Plus
36" KZ Fiji Purple
24" ATI Blue Plus
24" GE 6500K Daylight
24" ATI Aquablue
24" ATI Blue Plus