The T5 Q&a Thread

[Squiddy]

Justin: Thanks for the reply. I was actually more concerned with whether or not the zoos (and other corals) actually need the true actinic to provide the proper spectra for photosynthesis etc. Along with my blue mushrooms not looking as puffy and full, my green hairy mushrooms are more like light brown/tan hairy mushrooms with the new lights. I have noticed that my tank, although very bright, looks a little too white for my liking. I wish there were other locals with similar setups because photos just don't do justice.

I will try putting the zoos down as low as possible. I think I will need to rearrange my rockwork to make some room. If anyone else can share their experiences with zoos, mushrooms and T5's, that would be great.

Jeremy

 

[horkn]

no, zoos and shrooms dont need actinic for survival.

my zoos and shrooms grow better than anything (other than xenia) in my tank and i dont have actinics on it.

i have zoos all over my tank top bottom middle. the shrooms, well, i cant keep green striped ones under my lighting, they simply melt away, but the watermelon shrooms, red, and now blue shrooms and hairy shrooms do fine.

 

[Toledofishguy]

I am set to order the 8X54 watt TEK light fixture from Reefgeek. What lighting combo have people had success with? I do not get the differences in the actinics. I am keeping softies (leathers, colts, shrooms, zoos, capnella).

 

[Justin74]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6998228#post6998228 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Toledofishguy
I am set to order the 8X54 watt TEK light fixture from Reefgeek. What lighting combo have people had success with? I do not get the differences in the actinics. I am keeping softies (leathers, colts, shrooms, zoos, capnella).

Visually, actinic+(or blue+ respectively) is blue.
True Actinic is purple.

Actinic+(or blue+ respectively) has shown to have higher PAR readings on meters while the true actinic has the lowest of the 4 most common bulbs on our discussion board so far;those being:
True Actinic
Actinic +
Aqua blue(11k)
GE 6500k

Although there are different brands who offer different or slightly different spectrums, but these seem to be the most popular so far.


My suggestion for your softies would be(with this combo Id opt to leave the GE out)
3 blue+,1 true actinic,and 4 11k's

Depending on what your accustomed to you may opt to go with even ratio of the actinic bulbs or you may even like to go all actinic,depeding on how much you like either blue or purple. If you do go all on the purple , you may want to consider putting a GE 6500k and taking out one of the 11k's to pump your PAR back up. Just be very cautious to the softies your adding if you do use a GE especially when used w/ the higher PAR bulbs. The GE's are that bright,and your shrooms will be the first to tell you it aint you sittin under 'em all day!

-Justin

 

[Justin74]

On a side note since your not stocked yet,placement is key.All your leathers on top(down to the bottom too if you wish)then low middle to bottom zoos, and bottom shrooms.Some morphs will be more light tolerant but thats a good generic placement strat to get you started .Good luck

-Justin

 

[IslandCrow]

Anyone out there with T-5s keep hammer corals? I seem to be working on killing my second frag. I'm not sure if it's a lighting or a flow problem, but I'd like to try to rule out at least one of the two. It's currently about 1' underwater with the lights another 5" above that. I'm running 4x36w Teks (2 of them for 12 hrs a day and all 4 for 4 hrs). The first one was doing great for about a week and then started wilting away. This one was doing great for around three weeks, and now the tentacles are starting to wither and they don't extend out nearly as far. I have a candycane on the same level as the hammer and it's been doing great. So is my pagoda, mushrooms and cabbage leather. I don't think it's a water problem. Ammonia, nitrites and phosphates are at zero. Nitrates are near zero, PH is 8.2 and salinity is 35 ppt (1.026 spec grav). The only thing that hasn't been optimum is my calcium and alkalinity at 350 and 2.5 respectively. I've just recently started keeping LPSs, so I'm working on getting those both higher. It doesn't seem like that would kill it, though, just stunt its growth. Any thoughts?

 

[bdock26]

T5's for 92g corner

T5's for 92g corner

i'm setting up a 92g corner tank and having trouble deciding on lighting. i'm having issues because the tank is 34" from the back corner to the center of the tank.
I was looking at the TEK units but even the 4 bulb at 12" wide would leave the fixture nearly hanging over the front of the tank and the back corner of the tank mostly unlit (i think). The Aquactinics 5 bulb is only 9.5" wide and would allow me to get the light over a bigger section of the tank, but would this be enough for this tank? I've read one bulb per 3" but what about a corner tank? Thanks if anyone can provide some info.

 

[thefuture]

I mite be getting a used tek 4x39w system t-5 fixture for an up comign 40 gallon tank. the dimensions are 36L x 13W x 20H. they will come with
Aquablue+
Pure Actinic
Actinic+
6000k
bulbs but i intend to replace them after they burn out. what kind of bulbs would you guys recommend i go with? is that enough light to keep any kind of sps? is it too much light for zoos and such? thanks

 

[reefsahoy]

I got my t5's last night and what a difference! i had a 4 65 watt fixture and measured the output lux with a light meter at 35 lux at the bottom of the tank. after installing the 6-t5 fixture from TEK lighting I measured 117 lux at the same location. Soon, I will be heading to LFS to measure the same depth when they are using metal halides. Will keep you all posted.

 

[Obi-dad]

Just keep in mind that lux meters are weighted toward yellow and green light (similar to the human eye), so it won't be as accurate as a PAR meter, and especially for blue bulbs.

 

[Justin74]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7010196#post7010196 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by thefuture

Aquablue+
Pure Actinic
Actinic+
6000k
bulbs but i intend to replace them after they burn out. what kind of bulbs would you guys recommend i go with? is that enough light to keep any kind of sps? is it too much light for zoos and such? thanks

It is on the lower side of PAR potential, 20" deep would be better served with a GE6500k(when you say 6000k Im assuming sunlight supply sun bulb?) and swap the Pure actinic w/ actinic+. That will be the best config if you want to house SPS more successfully. Otherwise Id stick w/ low light tolerant sps. Like green montipora digitata,or an orange or green montipora capricornis.At least till you swap the bulbs out, then you might see more diverse SPS maintain there coloration.

-Justin

 

[gary greguire]

I have 2 standard 125 gal tanks 6' long
I ordered 3 80w reflectors & bulbs from reef geek for the softie tank.
I got 2 aquablue plus
1 actinic blue plus
1 6500k ge daylight.
I am looking for growth more than color.so I will try the diff combinations to see what I like.

do you think this is enough lite for this tank or will i need one more tube

the second tank currently has 3 250w halides & 4 96w actinic pc

I would like to switch this tank over to t5's Pics of tank are in my gallery the top half is all sps and the lower half is a mix of sps lps & softies.

what would you recomend for # of bulbs & color to be at or above the same light level?

I think I would be able to concentrate more bulbs over or angle the reflectors towards the sps and less out at the front over the lps & softies.

I also plan on using icecap ballasts?

thanks for the help

 

[wdragon4l]

Hello, I have a 75 Gal All-glass RR tank with a canopy and was thinking about putting in a T5 Tek lighting system. I was thinking a 6 bulb set-up, I am not sure what kind of corals I would like to get yet though so maybe an 8 would be better. Would putting the Tek system into the canopy be a good idea, I was planning on installing fans to the canopy as-well. If anyone has done this could you please let me know if it is a good idea.

Jason
http://www.globeaqua.com/teklight_lighting.html

 

[brentp]

Jason,

I think a 6 bulb setup will be fine. I have a 150 gallon SPS tank with 7 bulbs.

IME fans will make the bulbs last a lot longer. I just ordered my first replacement bulbs yesterday. The current bulbs have been in use since July of 2004.

Brent

 

[Squiddy]

Brent,

Did you actually notice the bulbs starting to dim or notice the corals not enjoying the light quite as much before you decided to or new ones or was the replacement purely based on the fact that they have been running for over a year and a half? I have just noticed that some people wait the full 2 years and others replace every 6 months.

 

[brentp]

I have not noticed any problems. 6 of the bulbs are overdriven on IC 660's and 1 bulb is on a triad ballast. The bulb on the triad ballast is relatively new. It's a blue+ and it's sitting next to an overdriven blue+. If you look at them from the end, the overdriven bulb is noticebly brighter even though it's at least 3x older.

 

[Squiddy]

Alright, interesting thanks.

 

[jwccwj]

Hi,Im pretty new to the reefing hobby and I have heard that running 39watt T5,s on a ice cap ballast overdrives the bulb to something like 54watts does this also apply to higher wattage bulbs (i.e) will 54watt bulbs burn at say 70,80ish watts on the IC ballast?Thanks.

 

[reefsahoy]

I just came from LFS. Using light meter on a 12inch deep coral tank and 250 metal halides had 120 lux. I'm pretty confident in saying that the t5's are more than enough to frag sps corals. I measured several places in the tank and that 120 lux was the highest output anywhere in the tank.

 

[Justin74]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7016684#post7016684 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jwccwj
Hi,Im pretty new to the reefing hobby and I have heard that running 39watt T5,s on a ice cap ballast overdrives the bulb to something like 54watts does this also apply to higher wattage bulbs (i.e) will 54watt bulbs burn at say 70,80ish watts on the IC ballast?Thanks.

Yes. I heard the 39 were overdriven to 60watts w/ IceCap.Close enough though, and 54 puts out 80w w/ IC ballasts.

btw, nice lil tidbit reefsahoy.Thanks

-Justin