The T5 Q&a Thread

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ballast fixtures at HD, can you use them?

ballast fixtures at HD, can you use them?

After reading many post I have yet to come across an answer to a question that keeps popping in my head.
Can you use the ballast and fixtures commonly found at Home Depot and Lowes for tank lighting, T5 and actinic? If not then why? Can the HD fixtures be modified to work? I used one years ago with an actinic and it seemed to do fine except for the occasional slow startup.
Just curious,
Thanks
 
after reading the 3 last posts i came to the conclusion that i bet you could it you tried them.:)

i run a workhorse ballast for my t5ho setup. any instant start fluorescent ballast should in theory work. try it witha cheapo t5 bulb from the hardware store though...
 
If you overdrive T5 bulbs with a IC ballast, does that change the appearance of a bulb? Does it look "whiter" than it would with a regular ballast?

Also, which bulb (using an IC 660) would give a nice 14k appearance?
 
Total newbie here so please donââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t jump on me for what may be a question I was supposed to glean the answer from in the 40 or so pages I have already read in this thread butââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦

I have a 30x12x16 that I am going to use for my first reef. I donââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t want to be too limited on what I can keep in there. I have read all about the individual reflectors and their benefits but I am still left torn between a few options.

Option one, 4 tek, aqualux or icecaps reflectors since I cannot put more across the tank

Option two, the 6x finnex fixture

Opt 1 will be a total DIY fixture and that alone has its appeal but opt 2 is going to give me more tubes and combo options. Opt 2 will also be quite a bit less which is a huge plus since I am no longer single with no accountant (akaââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦wife) or child (one with another on his heals)

From what I can read out here it seems that in the end the PAR will be about the same between the two options.

On the reflectorsââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦there are many opinions I know but did Grim Reefer ever rate the three against each other and if so were the differences huge or pretty minor?
 
Why spend more money on 6 bulbs when the output with the Finnex is less than the 4 with individual reflectors? Do it right the first time. :) As for the reflectors, I believe it goes Icecap, Aqualux then TEK.
 
Grim,

Need some suggestions....plan on switching to T-5s.

60gal CUBE (24x24x24)- (4) 24w T5s TEK retro, 7in canopy...will this suffice? what bulbs?
I was thinking - AquaBlue+, day, AquaB+, Actinic...oh yeah...only shrooms, zoos, and fish will inhabit the tank.

88gal CUBE (28x28x28)- would the same set^ above be good or should I add 2 more? what bulbs? LPS, SPS, shrooms...mix basically...will inhabit the tank...

Thanks for your help bro...
 
I've recently switched from 96w of PC lighting to 4x36w T5. My softies weren't doing so hot after the switch, and I seem to have found a setup that works pretty well for my cabbage leather, but my chocolate mushrooms are looking a little shriveled. I moved them down onto the sandbed (about 16" underwater), but that doesn't seem to have helped. Are they going to be a lost cause under this amount of lighting in my 55g, or do they just need some time to acclimate. Currently, I'm just running 2 of the four lights 12 hours a day, and the other two fro 2 hours in the middle of the cycle. I'd like to get that up to 4-5 hours to help out my anenome who doesn't seem to want to move any higher in the tank, but I don't want to kill off my corals doing it.
 
Islandcrow, a switch like that woulda been easier on your corals if you either had the lights raised and slowly lowered or my choice,window screen(removing a layer of 3 a week). Since its already after the fact shading them slightly under a rock from direct light will help, with shrooms and t5 youll find indirect light is best. What doesnt burn up will eventually acclimate. I managed to squeeze (6)36"rs on my 55g and my shrooms hated me, but my cabbage is just gorgeous and loving it just above the sandbed of my 20" deep tank.Good luck!:)

-Justin
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6743444#post6743444 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by WanaLeime
anybody have links to cheap ATI (german) t5 bulbs? or GE bulbs?
Click to expand...

www.aqualuxlighting.com has good prices on bulbs, and really great prices on great retros- if you do the DIY retro setups
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6738269#post6738269 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by crash519
Why spend more money on 6 bulbs when the output with the Finnex is less than the 4 with individual reflectors? Do it right the first time. :) As for the reflectors, I believe it goes Icecap, Aqualux then TEK.
Click to expand...

naw,

aqualux and icecap are tied as far as PAR putput per grim, and the teks were lower by 10-20% depending on depth the par was measured. that is per grims PAR measurements.

the aqualux are wider at just over 3 inches per, but the price is nearly half of what the icecaps are....
 
T5 bulbs

T5 bulbs

cheapest place to get the GE Sun is reefgeek.com

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6743444#post6743444 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by WanaLeime
anybody have links to cheap ATI (german) t5 bulbs? or GE bulbs?
Click to expand...
 
Re: T5 bulbs

Re: T5 bulbs

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6745026#post6745026 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by HappyReefer2
cheapest place to get the GE Sun is reefgeek.com
Click to expand...


they do have good prices on bulbs, but aqualux matches prices...
 
ANy 1 plz help me!!!!!

i have a 29 reef tank i have pc lights retro in my canopy and they wont keep any corals alive so i want 2 go with t-5's i would like to be able 2 keep softies some lps and some sps and maby a clam. the tank is a aga 29 gal 30x12x18 the standard 1 could u help me get a standard setup of t-5's. i have a work horse baslet that works from the pc lights i read i can run 4 t-5Ho bulbs.plz help me


how would these work

Nova T-5 Retrofit Kits

Our low-profile T5 series offers you more light in much less space. Available in 10,000k Daylight and 460nm Actinic, up to 6 bulbs can be linked together to create custom configurations - giving you a bright shining value you won't want to miss.

http://www.petsolutions.com/Nova+T+5+Retrofit+Kits-I-42901102-I-C-40001722-C-.aspx
 
Depending on what you wattage was but the PC lights that you have should keep all sofites alive and maybe many more corals. If corals are dying in your tank, I would try and figure out why first in stead of changing lighting. Most likely it has somthing to do with the chemistry or water quality of your tank.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6746287#post6746287 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by WanaLeime
horkn- is that aqualux.com? whats their website? or number?
Click to expand...

www.aqualuxlighting.com


clomon, i will help you out after i get done with work. the grim reefer got booted a while back. but theres many that can help you in spite of that. what workhorse ballast do you have?

i run 3x39 off my w5. no problems even after a year.
 
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