The T5 Q&a Thread

[Strider85]

Grim,

what bulb combination over a 40 breeder, predominantly zoanthids with a few montis, in a 4-bulb AquaticLife fixture? It's a 48", salvaged it from my basement in a pinch instead of buying 36" fixture. Started with 3 Blue+ and 1 Aquablue Special but had cyano outbreak... not sure if caused by lighting but I have since gone back to 2 aquablue special and 2 blue+.

Also have mixed frag tank with a few sps, lps, softies. Tank is 9" deep when filled. Currently have 6-bulb Lithonia fixture with 4 blue plus, 1 fiji purple, 1 aqua blue special. Is this acceptable? I also have the fixture about 2.5 ft above the tank to avoid burning. This same section of my frag tank had a bad cyano flareup, wondering again if it was related at all to heavy actinic lighting.

Thanks Grim!

 

[sneaton]

i have a four bulb retro and the bulbs are in this order

front
fiji purp
aquablue sp.
blue plus
aquablue
back

is the a more visual appealing order i should keep these in

 

[sahin]

Grim/Ryan:

I posted my lighting details but here is the link to my tank thread again so Ryan can see what my lighting is: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=18068168#post18068168

Basically I have a custom modded ATI 5x24watt Sunpower with 20xCree Royal Blue and 4xCree Blue LED's running at 700mA. In total, the unit is providing almost 180watts of LED/T5.

My initial question is how long do I run the light for? - Here is why I am asking:

I know I can go for say 10 hours typically, but what I want is the corals to be as colourful as possible, but growth to be fairly slow. Its onyl a 47G tank and so I dont want to be fragging loads of corals in 6 months time, I dont mind if its a slower process before I need to start fragging due to space etc.

Can I run the lights for say 7 hours and provide suffcient light to ensure the coral colouration is as best as possible, and have growth somewhat slowed down due to 7 hours illumination rather than say 10 hours?

Is 7 hours too short to retain bes colouration?

Many thanks for the advice.

 

[teebone110]

Take out one of the aquablues and replace it with a GE 6500K daylight or Giesemann Midday. Then you may or may not need to put that blue plus back in.

Thanks Grim, The midday did the trick. I swapped out the Blue+ and it is perfect for my liking.

Another quick question, this change will result in an overall drop in PAR value, but will I still be able to keep an anemone and SPS with this light combo:

B+
P+
B+

Midday
AB
AB

Thanks again..

Tyler

 

[jkhudson]

Monti's changing color

Monti's changing color

My green montis are going brown. They still are growing but losing color. I need to replace bulbs anyway. What bulbs would you recommend for sps in a tank that is 56"Hx24"Wx29"T. I have frogspawn and a brain that are doing fine. The monti's are about 6" deep and the bulbs are about 8" above the tank.

 

[coralreefdoc]

Grim,


I recently heard some inside information that ATI is going to come out w/ a T5/LED combo fixture in the near future ... Could you confirm or deny this and if so shed some light on any details you know of ? Feel free to PM me if need be. Thanks !

 

[The Grim Reefer]

wow i didn't think it'd be enough light and was really entertaining the idea of adding 1 or 2 more bulbs to the fixture. now i'm reconsidering :rollface:

would clams be happy on the sand with 4 bulbs?

If you are already giving the tank as much light as it could use why wouldn't clams be happy..... Of course they would.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

I asked this in a standalone thread but it is probably better asked here


Frag Tank Lighting - Bulb Choice?

I was thinking about using all ATI Blue+ Bulbs (4 total) over my frag tank.
I'm looking for growth and color, but something algae won't like as much
Are there any downsides to using all ATI Blue+ bulbs?

Thank you

They will grow under the blue plus but I'd throw in a GE 6500K Daylight to bring out all the colors.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Grim what's your take on LED lights compared to the T-5s we are using today. Does the LED have that huge of an advantage over T-5. I am thinking about switching but I guess if it aint Broke don't fix huh?

Thanks
Frankie

I wouldn't have dropped the money on LED's I did if I didn't think they were better.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Grim - I think I'm going to pull the trigger on the powermodule. What bulb order do you recommend for the above lamps?

Thanks!

Blue Plus
Blue Plus
Purple Plus
Blue Plus
Aquablue
Blue Plus
Purple Plus
Blue Plus
Aquablue
Blue Plus

 

[The Grim Reefer]

This will be sufficient for Sps and clams in a 90.

Also in which order would you suggest.

Thanks for all your help.

Yes. Play around with the order to get what you like. Tends to look better with blue plus in the front slot. Other than that whatever you like.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

What is a good fixture for a 36 long 30 wide and 24 deep tank. I originally started with a 400 watt mh, but have switched from sps to softies and lps. I have heat issues and feel my corals wont open up as nice under this intense light right now. I like fixtures with legs versus suspended for aesthetic reasons. I dont know if I can skate by with 6 bulbs vs 8 or 10. Thanks

Gonna need 8 lamps. Not sure if there are decent 36x8 units out there with legs. Tek elite but I am not sure if they make an 8 lamp version. You could always get the 8 lamp sunpower and make your own legs.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Hey Grim I know you have probably been asked this question a million times but here it goes.I am currently doing a retrofit on a current 48" 2 120 mh and four power compact.I am going to switch the pc to a icecap 660 to run 4 t5 bulbs.The mh will remain.The tank is 4x2x2 mostly zoo's and softies.The live rock runs from the bottom to about an inch from the top in areas.What do you think would be a good setup to go with?

Don't use an ice cap ballast. Complete waste to run overdriven T5's on supplemental lighting.

I'd use 3 ATI Blue Plus and 1 ATI Purple Plus.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Grim,

what bulb combination over a 40 breeder, predominantly zoanthids with a few montis, in a 4-bulb AquaticLife fixture? It's a 48", salvaged it from my basement in a pinch instead of buying 36" fixture. Started with 3 Blue+ and 1 Aquablue Special but had cyano outbreak... not sure if caused by lighting but I have since gone back to 2 aquablue special and 2 blue+.

Also have mixed frag tank with a few sps, lps, softies. Tank is 9" deep when filled. Currently have 6-bulb Lithonia fixture with 4 blue plus, 1 fiji purple, 1 aqua blue special. Is this acceptable? I also have the fixture about 2.5 ft above the tank to avoid burning. This same section of my frag tank had a bad cyano flareup, wondering again if it was related at all to heavy actinic lighting.

Thanks Grim!

I doubt the cyano is related to lighting. Grab an ATI Purple plus to throw in the top fixture and then decide if you want to use 2 or 3 blue plus with it. Bottom mix is fine.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

i have a four bulb retro and the bulbs are in this order

front
fiji purp
aquablue sp.
blue plus
aquablue
back

is the a more visual appealing order i should keep these in

Front
Blue Plus
Fiji Purple
Aquablue
Aquablue changed to Blue Plus would look a lot better.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Grim/Ryan:

I posted my lighting details but here is the link to my tank thread again so Ryan can see what my lighting is: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=18068168#post18068168

Basically I have a custom modded ATI 5x24watt Sunpower with 20xCree Royal Blue and 4xCree Blue LED's running at 700mA. In total, the unit is providing almost 180watts of LED/T5.

My initial question is how long do I run the light for? - Here is why I am asking:

I know I can go for say 10 hours typically, but what I want is the corals to be as colourful as possible, but growth to be fairly slow. Its onyl a 47G tank and so I dont want to be fragging loads of corals in 6 months time, I dont mind if its a slower process before I need to start fragging due to space etc.

Can I run the lights for say 7 hours and provide suffcient light to ensure the coral colouration is as best as possible, and have growth somewhat slowed down due to 7 hours illumination rather than say 10 hours?

Is 7 hours too short to retain bes colouration?

Many thanks for the advice.

I'd run the blues 10 hours a day whether you are using T5's or LED's then the rest on 4 hours at least. I'd use the LED's for the blue myself.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Thanks Grim, The midday did the trick. I swapped out the Blue+ and it is perfect for my liking.

Another quick question, this change will result in an overall drop in PAR value, but will I still be able to keep an anemone and SPS with this light combo:

B+
P+
B+

Midday
AB
AB

Thanks again..

Tyler

Should be fine. That really didn't change the PAR much.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

My green montis are going brown. They still are growing but losing color. I need to replace bulbs anyway. What bulbs would you recommend for sps in a tank that is 56"Hx24"Wx29"T. I have frogspawn and a brain that are doing fine. The monti's are about 6" deep and the bulbs are about 8" above the tank.

What kind of fixture and how many lamps? I ain't the amazing friggin Madam Zelda here

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Grim,


I recently heard some inside information that ATI is going to come out w/ a T5/LED combo fixture in the near future ... Could you confirm or deny this and if so shed some light on any details you know of ? Feel free to PM me if need be. Thanks !

If I knew any inside info (I dont) why would you think I would tell anyone? The only time I have inside info is if my input is requested or I am asked to test something. Neither has occurred with a hybrid ATI fixture.

 

[jkhudson]

Originally Posted by jkhudson
My green montis are going brown. They still are growing but losing color. I need to replace bulbs anyway. What bulbs would you recommend for sps in a tank that is 56"Hx24"Wx29"T. I have frogspawn and a brain that are doing fine. The monti's are about 6" deep and the bulbs are about 8" above the tank.

What kind of fixture and how many lamps? I ain't the amazing friggin Madam Zelda here
Sorry. I'm using 6 HO bulbs in a retrofit canopy