The T5 Q&a Thread

[jaeden]

Excuse me for jumping on this thread but it's on the same line just purchased the 6 bulb 60 inch 80 watt retro with 2x660 icecap ballasts
Bulb selection 3 blue plus
2 aquablue
1 GE 6500k

Would like the dawn dusk effect options, lighting hours which should come on first go of last that type of thing thanks in advance

PS Please tell me I bought the right lighting my wallet is feeling much lighter than it did an hour ago not to mention if the wife finds out she''ll feed me to the fish 120aga 72x22x18

 

[Ixthys]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7723513#post7723513 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by brentp
Yes, I have a Cali tort that was under a 400 watt XM 20k that lightened up a lot when I went to overdriven T5's.

Me too. I have 2 acros that I put at the very top and they have gone white...but have polyp extension.

Wonder if I should switch out the 2 GE 6500's for some actinics?

 

[hahnmeister]

Luckily, the tank I did T5 with was a new frag tank, but that didnt stop some frags of green birdsnest and digitatas from turning white (all except for the polyps which still have color and are extended).

Any idea how long until they regain color? Are they gonna die?

 

[Yomeister66]

I had the reverse experience. Had an acro that never really colored up under my MH lights. Within a month of of going T5 it had achieved its advertised purple base/neon polyps color.....I think i have some picks somewhere...will post those later.

 

[lbear]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7723502#post7723502 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by The Grim Reefer
I think I'd bumb up to 4x54 on the IC. with 6 lamps you will be fine for LPS on the sand and larger clams. I'd keep the SPS in the upper half of the tank.

Due to space constraint, maximum 5 T5 HO bulbs can be fitted in the 90 gal bow front canopy.

Currently I put three bulbs (1x6500k daylight, 2x11000k aquablue plus) on icecap 660. one blueplus and one actinic 03 on traid ballast.

How about replace traid with icecap 660? Will that give me chance to keep LPS or clam on sand? The height of my tank is 28".

Thanks!

 

[The Grim Reefer]

5 overdriven would probably get you there fine. You can actually run the other 2 lamps on a 430 if the price difference is a consideration.

 

[johnb0184]

what bulbs and configuration do you recomend for this fixture?
http://www.reefgeek.com/products/categories/lighting/104194.html

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Mix them up. Maybe a daylight or sun, a couple of aquablues, a couple of actinics and 3 blueplus. I'd probably go with 1 UVL super actinic and 1 actinic white, 1 ATI actinic and 3 Blue Plus, ATI Aquablue and either a UVL or GE sun/daylight. You would have a wide spectrum of light from that mix.

 

[horkn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7725842#post7725842 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by lbear
Due to space constraint, maximum 5 T5 HO bulbs can be fitted in the 90 gal bow front canopy.

Currently I put three bulbs (1x6500k daylight, 2x11000k aquablue plus) on icecap 660. one blueplus and one actinic 03 on traid ballast.

How about replace traid with icecap 660? Will that give me chance to keep LPS or clam on sand? The height of my tank is 28".

Thanks!

you will be fine as is.

you will need to acclimate any lps pretty well with your current setup. your lights are already probably brighter than most setups. be careful with the lps, but way at the bottom of the tank they should be fine.

 

[revclyburn]

Hey Grim, or anyone else,

I know that the Ice Cap ballasts are probably the best, as, from what I read they run cooler. But what is, or other ballasts can be used for a DIY T5HO setup?

I was think of just doing a 4 bulb setup now, with my 4x54 pcs. Would that work for millis, acro's?

Edwin

 

[brentp]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7724599#post7724599 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Yomeister66
I had the reverse experience. Had an acro that never really colored up under my MH lights. Within a month of of going T5 it had achieved its advertised purple base/neon polyps color.....I think i have some picks somewhere...will post those later.

Almost all of my SPS look better under T5's than the halides and the tort that lightened up eventually got it's color back (it took a couple months). I've had the T5's for 2 years now and still really like them.

 

[johnb0184]

These are the bulbs i was thinking of using.
[http://www.thereefstop.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=21_184_109_191]

and i was thinking of using.
4 actintic plus blue
2 aqua blue plus
2 pure actinic

would this give me a nice white color with a blue tint. I hate a yellow tint and i am trying to avoid that?

 

[ccoral]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7727445#post7727445 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by johnb0184
These are the bulbs i was thinking of using.
[http://www.thereefstop.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=21_184_109_191]

and i was thinking of using.
4 actintic plus blue
2 aqua blue plus
2 pure actinic

FYI I just bought some aqua blue plus and actinic plus as you all have been saying how good they where. Well I feel ripped off as they are over twice as much as the Helios Super blue O3 and 11k Daylight bulbs I purchased last week from a LFS. The other bulbs had to be purchased on line. They basically look the same but the super blue more blue and has more flourscence properties. Also "aqua blue plus" is not blue???? or aqua blue maybe 10 or 11k. When I first fired the bulb thought I was color blind.

 

[horkn]

aquablues are not blue, they are white with a hint of blue.
if you want blue bulbs, get blue+. or actinic +

 

[horkn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7727049#post7727049 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by revclyburn
Hey Grim, or anyone else,

I know that the Ice Cap ballasts are probably the best, as, from what I read they run cooler. But what is, or other ballasts can be used for a DIY T5HO setup?

I was think of just doing a 4 bulb setup now, with my 4x54 pcs. Would that work for millis, acro's?

Edwin

other ballasts that can run t5ho are in no particular order

workhorse ballasts
triad t5ho spec ballasts
advance spec t5 ballasts
ballastwise t5ho ballasts

what size of tank are you putting this over?

i have a 35g with a millepora, pocillopra, acropora, and montipora, along with a clam and other softies and lps all lit by a workhorse 5 running 3x39 of t5ho.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7727445#post7727445 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by johnb0184
These are the bulbs i was thinking of using.
[http://www.thereefstop.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=21_184_109_191]

and i was thinking of using.
4 actintic plus blue
2 aqua blue plus
2 pure actinic

would this give me a nice white color with a blue tint. I hate a yellow tint and i am trying to avoid that?

That would give you a blueish look. Get that combo but order a GE daylight as a spare lamp and sneak that in and out of the mix to see which you like better. I spect using the GE and 3 Actinic Plus with 2 actinic and blueplus will get you closer to the white look you want.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7728243#post7728243 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ccoral

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7727445#post7727445 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by johnb0184
These are the bulbs i was thinking of using.
[http://www.thereefstop.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=21_184_109_191]

and i was thinking of using.
4 actintic plus blue
2 aqua blue plus
2 pure actinic

FYI I just bought some aqua blue plus and actinic plus as you all have been saying how good they where. Well I feel ripped off as they are over twice as much as the Helios Super blue O3 and 11k Daylight bulbs I purchased last week from a LFS. The other bulbs had to be purchased on line. They basically look the same but the super blue more blue and has more flourscence properties. Also "aqua blue plus" is not blue???? or aqua blue maybe 10 or 11k. When I first fired the bulb thought I was color blind.

I think it has been extreamly well noted in about every T5 thread from the beginning of time that the aquablue is not blue but crisp white. If you missed that I dont know what to tell you.

The problem with the Helios lamps is that until about a few weeks ago you couldn't get a bare lamp, they only came mounted in a fixture. Their 11K lamp has more output than a Aquablue. While the Super Blue lamp has less raw PAR output than the Blue plus or Actinic plus it does have more UV output which makes a difference. I have said all along the Helios super blue is my favorite of the blue lamps but because they have been so hard to find it does no good to suggest them to anyone who lives outside California where the LFS tend to stock them.

 

[johnb0184]

[http://cgi.ebay.com/T5-HO-8-X-54-wa...ryZ46314QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem]

just saw this on ebay, does this sound like a good deal or a piece of crap?

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Les Crap

Stick with the Tek retros and fixtures or Aquactinics fixtures.

 

[johnb0184]

i was thinking the same thing