The T5 Q&a Thread

[Luwe2008]

For a 60 gallon cube, should I go with ATI Sunpower or Powermodule??
Tank dems. are 24"x24"x24"
Also should I go 6 bulb or 8???
I really want that really blue look, Almost actinic.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Do you guys think a workhorse 7 ballast will be fine for powering 4 - 39w t5's
The way my fixture is setup it runs 4 - 39w t5's on each side of the tank, so I basically would need to have 2 ballasts running 8 39w t5's, so 4 bulbs per ballast.
The workhorse7 is supposed to put out over 200w max, so my thinking is it should have no issue powering 4 39w bulbs since that comes out to like 156w.
Thanks again!

I'd go with real T5 ballasts if you are going to the trouble to change them. I would bet you'll see some improvement in output, you could try one and see what the results are. I changed out older spec ballasts on a fixture and got a 15 percent increase so just doing that if the ballasts are more than a few years old will help anyway.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

For a 60 gallon cube, should I go with ATI Sunpower or Powermodule??
Tank dems. are 24"x24"x24"
Also should I go 6 bulb or 8???
I really want that really blue look, Almost actinic.

8 lamp powermodule 6 Blue plus and 2 purple plus lamps. Will be actinic like but the purple lamps will bring in colors you normally wouldn't see under blue/actinic lamps.

 

[Luwe2008]

8 lamp powermodule 6 Blue plus and 2 purple plus lamps. Will be actinic like but the purple lamps will bring in colors you normally wouldn't see under blue/actinic lamps.

And LPS would Actually be able to live off of this lighting right?

 

[The Grim Reefer]

And LPS would Actually be able to live off of this lighting right?

Hell yeah, the Blue Plus has among the highest par of any T5 lamp out there.

 

[xmenx2dad]

Hi there,

I am switching my retro 4 bulb VHO setup to a nova extreme pro 6 bulb t5 setup. I have mainly SPS and LPS. What would be a good bulb combination and in what order to get good growth and make all of the colors pop? thanks in advance

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Hi there,

I am switching my retro 4 bulb VHO setup to a nova extreme pro 6 bulb t5 setup. I have mainly SPS and LPS. What would be a good bulb combination and in what order to get good growth and make all of the colors pop? thanks in advance

Same mix as the rest listed throughout the thread

Blue Plus
Purple Plus
Blue Plus
Aquablue or GE daylight
Blue Plus
Blue Plus

Using the GE lamp will give you a more 14K look, aquablue will be more toward 20K

 

[xmenx2dad]

thanks

 

[Luwe2008]

Hell yeah, the Blue Plus has among the highest par of any T5 lamp out there.

Okay cool, so corals wont grow slower because if this then right?

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Okay cool, so corals wont grow slower because if this then right?

Correct

 

[rysher]

i know am going with a 4light fixture with the following bulbs based on your recommendations when i read the whole thread:

2 blu +
1 ati aquabublu
1 ati purp +

blue + in dusk/dawn slots
purple + close to mid


my questions:

1. Can i use a 24'' light for a 36'' tank?
2. what's the best light fixture i can get for around $300.

The ATI is a nice fixture, i've read it's the hi end but i can't scrape that kinda money.

thanks for the help.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

i know am going with a 4light fixture with the following bulbs based on your recommendations when i read the whole thread:

2 blu +
1 ati aquabublu
1 ati purp +

blue + in dusk/dawn slots
purple + close to mid


my questions:

1. Can i use a 24'' light for a 36'' tank?
2. what's the best light fixture i can get for around $300.

The ATI is a nice fixture, i've read it's the hi end but i can't scrape that kinda money.

thanks for the help.

TEK, 24" will work but you can't keep higher light critters beyond the lamp ends

 

[Luwe2008]

8 lamp powermodule 6 Blue plus and 2 purple plus lamps. Will be actinic like but the purple lamps will bring in colors you normally wouldn't see under blue/actinic lamps.

Will these be able to keep SPS alive aswell?

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Will these be able to keep SPS alive aswell?

Sure

 

[takayan]

I measured PAR value for 24inch ATI Blue+ to understand the PAR distribution. I just wanted to share the result with you. I hope it helps you somehow for your lighting.

 

[SABOB]

Just installed 48" TEK 4 bulb last night suspended from ceiling.How high should I start off with,was using 4 bulb Power Compact over a 55 gallon tank?Also, will blowing fan across top of tank also help cool bulbs or does fan need to blow on bulbs/fixture?

 

[Luwe2008]

8 lamp powermodule 6 Blue plus and 2 purple plus lamps. Will be actinic like but the purple lamps will bring in colors you normally wouldn't see under blue/actinic lamps.

Whats the recommended height to hang above the water?

 

[5ft24]

Hi Grim,
Standard 75G tank, fish, assorted corals from a couple SPS to zoas, LPS and softies.
I have just added 2 T5's to the 4 PC's I had... PC's were 2 Odyssea actinics, and 2 Hamilton 10,000K's. total of 260W
the T5's I added in front, an ATI aquablue and an ATI Blue Plus with individual reflectors.
All are about 8" above the water.
The Tank looks MUCH better, colors pop more etc. Would these bulbs be my best choice, or are there others I should consider in this configuration?
Thanks,
Dave

 

[jeninjohnk]

hi grim,

back again-more questions! using a 40g breeder. you recommended a tek 6 bulb light. would you recommend the elite version? after running the numbers i could get a ati sunpower for 135.oo more? would this be a better option? it comes with fans,shield,hanging kit+bulbs-560. the tek would be about 425. for the same set-up. do you need some kind for fan for the tek?
also, how high off water do you hang it? 8-10"?
what bulb combo?(i really liked my radiums-with so many different bulbs,maybe this will give better coloration).
how long should the bulbs last? some say 9 months others 18?
thanks again for your time. i would like to get this right the first time and call it a day.

happy reefing, john

 

[jeninjohnk]

hi grim,

back again-more questions! using a 40g breeder. you recommended a tek 6 bulb light. would you recommend the elite version? after running the numbers i could get a ati sunpower for 135.oo more? would this be a better option? it comes with fans,shield,hanging kit+bulbs-560. the tek would be about 425. for the same set-up. do you need some kind for fan for the tek?
also, how high off water do you hang it? 8-10"?
what bulb combo?(i really liked my radiums-with so many different bulbs,maybe this will give better coloration).
how long should the bulbs last? some say 9 months others 18?

thanks again for your time.

happy reefing, john