The T5 Q&a Thread

[MJAnderson]

Thanks Grim.

At the start of this thread you posted this:

Front

Blueplus
Aquablue
GE Daylight
Blueplus
Aquablue
Blueplus

Or

Front

Blueplus
Aquablue
Blueplus
GE Daylight
Aquablue
Blueplus

Same mix of lamps but a little more of a blue look due to the blue lamps being further forward. You could swap the position of the 1st Aquablue and the second Blueplus and get a little more blue look. Very slight changes but it does make a difference.

Does that still stand? It's from Oct 2005.

 

[snaza]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7551518#post7551518 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by The Grim Reefer
The 20K's are nice and blue. If wou wanted to grow out Acro frags in a hurry I would try 2 GE's and 2 20K's (Actinic Plus). Shouldn't look too bad and will give the tank a lot of PAR.

ok thanks but now i can't decide what to get. whats the point of 1x6500,1x10k and 2x20k? just looks?

 

[snaza]

T5 PAR

T5 PAR

one of the guys here on our australia forum did this test. scroll to the botton and click the toggle button.

http://www.petsforum.com/personal/Trevor-Jones/diyhood40G2.html

lots of PAR in the middle even at the bottom.

Another question about the DIY hood. should i leave the top of the hood more open to let heat out? should the fans be blowing the air accross the bulbs or just extracting the heat from the hood?

 

[The Grim Reefer]

looks

 

[jakano]

for a 20L sps only tank what would a 2 bulb setup be enough or should i go 4?

 

[The Grim Reefer]

2 should do it.

 

[MJAnderson]

Grim,

Bumping for curiosity. Do you still suggest the mixture for a 6 bulb setup I quoted at the top of the page?

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7556292#post7556292 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MJAnderson
Grim,

Bumping for curiosity. Do you still suggest the mixture for a 6 bulb setup I quoted at the top of the page?

Missed that, yes.

 

[MJAnderson]

Thanks...

 

[Labman48076]

Ok been meaning to post this for a while these are untouched photo of my MH setup 2 250 watt XM 14k bulbs on each end and one 20K MH 250 watt in the middle also 2 80 watt t5 were used and on for a total of 910 watts

T5 are 14 39 watt bulbs 546 watts which consist of the fallowing Aquactinics T5 hood that I got at Imac I selected this out fit over the led light setup for 3 times the cost money wasa factor but I honestly felt the Aquactinics setup was better at least for now

4 39W Aquaz Sun Pro
6 39W Aquaz Ocean Pro
4 39W Aquaz Blue Pro Actinic


I honestly just changed the 8 of the bulbs to the new uv bulbs the Sunpro and changed the Actnic but they are not shown in these photos.

 

[danlu_gt]

Looks like lots of light lost due to your tank cover.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Looks pretty bright.

 

[Labman48076]

yes I have improved

yes I have improved

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7557225#post7557225 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by danlu_gt
Looks like lots of light lost due to your tank cover.

recently switched to egg crate if only I could teach the fish not to jump

 

[trmiv]

OK folks, got a question. I currently have 2x250w halides (14K phoenix on one IC ballast, and one EVC ballast) on my standard 90g tank. This was an upgrade from a 37 that had one 250w. I just got the power bill for less than one month of running the 90, and my bill jumped almost $75. OUCH. It's a combo of the lighting, and running the AC in my apartment a lot to keep the heat down.

Anyway, I'm considering a T5 switch. I keep mainly LPS, some softies, the easier SPS (montora digis, caps, green slimer), and a crocea clam. Would a Tek light T5 4x54w pendant cut it on this tank, or would I need to go 6x54w? Retros are out of the question because my canopy was built for halides so it's really tall. I figured I could suspend the Tek pendant from my hood and have it around 3" above the water.

 

[yamaha racer]

well if it was me i would go with a 6-54w tek but i for some reason like to more light that a 4bulb, but im putting a 4-54 on a 55g so i would say a 6-54 would be great for a 90g

 

[The Grim Reefer]

I think 6 too. You could use a retro in the canopy, just mount everything to a board and suspend it from the canopy like you are planning to do with the Tek hood.

 

[Shawnts106]

Hey all... I was thinking of reading this whole thread from post one back in 05... started it, got to page 2 or 3 and said... this is going to take FOREVER!

so.. Instead of reading, which I dont have time for... I will just be ignorant and post what I need to find out...

I am thinking of T5's for my 75gallon now.. I have currently a Icecap660 with 4 110watt VHO URI bulbs...

I was thinking of putting 4 T5's on there and overdriving them..

Im wanting to keep a mix, SPS, LPS Softies...




Now I have a 210gallon Im trying to setup and I was thinking of lighting for it... I was concidering MH... but

I have heard that T5's are better because they are not as hot, use less energy and you can get more PAR our of them than a MH bulb...


So...

What do you guys think about the 4 T5's in my 75gallon
and what do you think about the 210gallon

How many bulbs would I need over the 210?
I want to do alot of SPS, but not ALL SPS
the tank is LWH 6 feet x 2 feet x 29inches

I would rather overdrive all the bulbs..

How far off the surface of the water should they be?

Does overdriving shorten the life of the bulb?


Do you get a play of light in the tank with these?


Would I need fans?

Which brand of T5 bulbs and reflectors are best?
where can I get reflectors for them?


thanks a bunch!

 

[The Grim Reefer]

4 overdriven on a 75 YES.

On a 210 you are probably better off with halides if you can deal with the heat, otherwise you can either use a 72" T5 fixture from Aquactinics.com or use 60" lamps staggered end to end in a canopy. You would want to run 8 of them. Reefgeek.com has all the stuff, so does ocean encounters. Ice Cap reflectors are the best. You need fans when overdriving the lamps.

 

[hahnmeister]

Geisemann has a new infinity fixture with 3x250wattDE halides and 4x80watt actinics...you might want to check it out. Its 'sick' looking.

 

[PrangeWay]

t5 Replacement

t5 Replacement

(followup on what fixture should I get posted earlier)

I replaced a 250W XM 10k & 2-96W URI R MH/VHO Hood with a 6-39W Tek Hood. Impressions where...

Front to Back Tek Lighting
B+
AB
Daylight
AW
SA
SA
The front and back are the dawn/dusk bulbs

1) Visually - The brighness is the same. I figured this makes sense as 250W MH vs 234W T5 should produce about the same lumens.

2) Light Spill - Huge difference. My MH/VHO hood spilled alot of light in every direction. The t5 spills zero light out the front or back, while oddly enough the 36" fixture on a 40" tank spills a very little out each end.

3) Livestock Reactions - After a week there are few noticable reactions to the change, the only mild difference is the maxima and crocea on the tank bottom don't seem to extend as much. The corals (all acro's for most part) seem unaffected at present.

4) Other - I like the even lighting as I think (especially on the 3' tank) that it'll allow the corals to grow more evenly, and less towards the point source the MH provided. I do miss the glimmer lines but for now the previous point makes up for it.

Bulb visual. I like a nice white look (which I have now), but I may change to SA,B+,GE,B+,GE,SA for more red/yellow spectrum to keep the clams happy. Luckily this shouldn't add any expense as I have to replace the current bubls on my lps tank anyways.


PW