The T5 Q&a Thread

[sarduci]

Just got the 6 bulb with:
2 ATI Aquablue
2 UV Lighting Super Actinic
2 UV Lighting AquaSun
3 ATI Blue Plus

With the 4 300k bulbs from my other order, that'll give me a lot of flexability and some spares in case I blow things up. I also order 3 more triade ballasts, since I want to wire them one bulb per ballast. If it turns out that it's cheaper/more efficient to run them two bulbs per ballast, I'll have spares to keep the system running for a long time. Time to find me a Kill-a-Watt!

 

[crazzy]

Grim
I am currently having quoted to build a new tank made from Jumbo sheet (dual laminated so it is 1.5" thick) Starfire. The tank will be 204" X 65" X 43" high with a 5" DSB having SPS etc. Can I literally cover this large tank with IC powered T 5's with few or no MH ?? Suggestions
Thanx

 

[The Grim Reefer]

My choice would be 1000 watt halides in Lumenarc reflectors. I wouldn't try T5's over that monster. Even if it wasn't so tall you would need dozens of lamps to cover it.

Who is your power supplier down there? I wanna buy stock before you set that baby up

 

[crazzy]

Thanx, thought I might be able to use T 5's Power is about 2 cents a kilowatt when you make your own from natural gas (which is is 89 cents per MM btu.) Bulb suggestions for 1000 watters?

 

[MSHUR]

The Grim Reefer,
I order 2x10k bulbs and debating on supl. lights. I have speace for 3 t-5 tubes? would u recomend all SA by UVC and all 3 blue plus? I am gonna use IC-660 ballast.

Thankx,mike

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8203368#post8203368 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by crazzy
Thanx, thought I might be able to use T 5's Power is about 2 cents a kilowatt when you make your own from natural gas (which is is 89 cents per MM btu.) Bulb suggestions for 1000 watters?

. I have seen a few people mention the Helios 20K which can be found at www.commodityaxis.com.

You might want to check in the large tank forum on 1000 watt lamps. If it were possible to make 400 watt lamps work you would have a lot more options on lamps. I saw some pictures of high end German equipment where you could mount 2 halide lamps per reflector. That could be just the right thing for your situation. Use a 6500K lamp for power and a 20K lamp in front for color. The 6500/20K halide combination looks really nice.

Here's a link to the large tank forum http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=252

 

[Avast Marine]

Hows the PAR on the GE 6500k T-5 lamps?

 

[hefeweizan]

if i have a 120 gallon 4x2x2 with 8 T5's would it be better to use icecap ballast and overdrive the bulbs or just stick to the regular ballasts that dont overdrive the bulbs?

 

[sarduci]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8204063#post8204063 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dandy7200
Hows the PAR on the GE 6500k T-5 lamps?

Per TGR, the new GE bulbs are not nearly as good as the old. Go with the AquaSun bulb.

 

[sarduci]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8204631#post8204631 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by hefeweizan
if i have a 120 gallon 4x2x2 with 8 T5's would it be better to use icecap ballast and overdrive the bulbs or just stick to the regular ballasts that dont overdrive the bulbs?

Go with IceCap ballasts and IceCap SLR's. That'll overdrive the 48" 80 watt bulbs to ~100watts and the IceCap SLR get you about 20% more light to the bottom of the tank versus the Tek light SLR's, a lot more light than some of the really cheap knock off's.

 

[hefeweizan]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8204754#post8204754 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sarduci
Go with IceCap ballasts and IceCap SLR's. That'll overdrive the 48" 80 watt bulbs to ~100watts and the IceCap SLR get you about 20% more light to the bottom of the tank versus the Tek light SLR's, a lot more light than some of the really cheap knock off's.

I am going to use the SLR reflector....just not sure about overdriving the bulbs...do you really think I need to overdrive the bulbs???

 

[sarduci]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8204830#post8204830 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by hefeweizan
I am going to use the SLR reflector....just not sure about overdriving the bulbs...do you really think I need to overdrive the bulbs???

24" tank, yeah. If you want to keep SPS's or clams, you'd need to do it. Even then, the upper 2/3 of the tank would be the "safe zone".

The 8 light Tek fixture with IC ballasts and reflectors would be perfect for you.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8204063#post8204063 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dandy7200
Hows the PAR on the GE 6500k T-5 lamps?

It ain't as nice as it once was but still isn't bad. I think the old lamp was better for bringing out colors but that just may be a personal prefference thing.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8204830#post8204830 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by hefeweizan
I am going to use the SLR reflector....just not sure about overdriving the bulbs...do you really think I need to overdrive the bulbs???

You could always OD half the lamps.

 

[northreef]

I have a 55gal tank, I currently run 4 x 54w crap t5's from odyssea but I do have xenia's, mushrooms and stuff growing insane right now. I read a lot about all these different icecap/workhorse ballasts and stuff but I'd rather just buy the TEK fixture. What are the benefits of buying seperate ballasts exactly, other than overdriving the bulbs? Can I keep pretty much anything with the Sunlight supply tek fixture?

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Yes.

The advantage to retro kits which come complete with ballast lamps reflectors etc. is they are better for a canopy.

 

[sarduci]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8205209#post8205209 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by northreef
I have a 55gal tank, I currently run 4 x 54w crap t5's from odyssea but I do have xenia's, mushrooms and stuff growing insane right now. I read a lot about all these different icecap/workhorse ballasts and stuff but I'd rather just buy the TEK fixture. What are the benefits of buying seperate ballasts exactly, other than overdriving the bulbs? Can I keep pretty much anything with the Sunlight supply tek fixture?

Choice of ballast, some are better than others, end of life protection, and program start are huge pluses. Triade and IceCap have the features as do a few others. The Workhorse ballasts do not have it.

Under a 55g tank, with the normal reflectors not overdriven, yeah, you could keep most stuff in the tank, except some stuff at the bottom like extreamly high light SPS's without better SLR or overdriving the lamps. Reefgeek will upgrade the SLR's for you straight out of the box if you don't want to get your hands dirty at all.

 

[northreef]

What exactly do you mean by that, like I could just get the reflectors for the one I have? I actually have 2 fixtures, and I was wondering if I could just take them apart, and retro fit them into my canopy and just buy new bulbs and reflectors...possibility?

 

[The Grim Reefer]

The ODDysea stuff would all be suspect in my opinion but you could butcher it and add good lamps and reflectors. I would probably add a ballast change to my to do list once funds become available.

 

[anin]

I been trying to reach reefgeek.com for 2 days now, they haven't picked up the call or called me back, is there any other site that has the bulbs? I know other sites that carry the hood, but I needed ATI, UV lighting, Giesemann, and GE bulbs. anyone have a decent site with similar prices?