The T5 Q&a Thread

[The Grim Reefer]

Aquablue
Super Actinic
Aquasun
Pure Actinic
Aquablue

You may need to grab a blue plus to get a nice look, try that and see,

 

[RTKBA308]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8962586#post8962586 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by The Grim Reefer
You could, also look at the Fauna Marin T5 system aquarium obsessed from the sponsors page sells, they look promising and would be perfect to mount in a canopy.

Just ordered the Fauna Marin UltraSolaris 4x39w T5HO from Aquarium Obsessed!

I'm just not sure what bulbs I should get, AquaScience T5 HO bulbs come with the unit, I have to choose which ones.

No water in my tank yet, it's a 58G w/20G sump. Plan on 60 lbs of rock. Which bulbs should I get :worried:

 

[The Grim Reefer]

The AS lamps are I believe the same as the Giesemann with different labeling. The FM website shows 2 different 15K lamps. One looks to be more like a sun lamp judging by the output plot, its called the special. The Duo looks more like the aquablue.

 

[billag]

Grim -

I'm currently running 4x54 on my 75AGA.

2 Blue+
1 AquaBlue+
1 6000k sun

It's time for new bulbs, and am thinking of changing to

1 ATI Blue+ (tho I don't see them on the reefgeek.com website)
1 AquaBlue+
1 GE 6500
1 UVL SuperActinic

Will this give me comparable PAR?

TIA
Bill

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Should be close

 

[blau]

I am looking to put lighting on my 180 gallon and have read quite a few forums around here and it looks like I am going to go with T5's I was wondering if you could get some examples of what others have used that where succesful with this size tank. maybe another thread?

 

[The Grim Reefer]

On the bigger tanks I;ve heard from people who are running 36" teks side by side. Aquarium Specialty sells the 72 inch Aquactinic T5 unit which sould b good.

 

[monkey61672]

OK after following all of these threads I am just gonna come out and ask. I want to upgrade my standard 4' 75gal from (4) 96 watt PCs to T5Ho (w\o MH)

These have been the most common suggestions from the threads which would be the best w\o burning my current corals (softs, lps, sps)?

Tek: 4 x 54
Tek: 6 x 54
Aquactinics 5 x 54, ltough it is only 10 incjes wide is that too small?


Thanks
Scott

 

[monkey61672]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8979551#post8979551 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by monkey61672
Aquactinics 5 x 54, ltough it is only 10 incjes wide is that too small?

Ok so I'm "ignent"

Aquactinics 5 x 54, though it is only 10 inches wide is that too small for the coverage of a 75 gal?

 

[The Grim Reefer]

No, it would be fine. You might want to get the leg to raise it up a tad to allow the light to spread a little better if you have a lot of critter on the sandbed.

 

[monkey61672]

Would the 6 bulb be better or would it just be an overkill?

 

[monkey61672]

I am sure you must be tired of hearing this, but what you are doing for the folks of this forum is awesome.

My wife made me laugh when I was telling her about all of the threads and posts on T5 lighting and how people actually had answers. She replied," You mean for once you will know what you are doing?"

thanks again for everything

 

[The Grim Reefer]

6 would be fine/better. A friend is using a 6 lamp retro and 4 are overdriven. His 75 looks great. The additional lamps allow for a better mix of lamps.

 

[hahnmeister]

I have seen up to 8 bulbs on a 75g, but it was an old Tek light, and with some so-so bulbs. 6 is better than 4 IMO... 4 doesnt give you alot of mixing potential should you want a bluer look or anything. You can get away with 4 bulbs... but 6 is better. Its a small price to pay considering you can always just leave 2 bulbs off if its too much light for your corals at the time, not to mention, only 324 watts. With a good lighting unit like a Fauna-marin, Aquatinics, or ATI, 6 is plenty.

 

[Josh125]

Well I'm getting ready to setup my tank and decided on the 4 bulb tek retro. I plan to keep the light ~ 4" off the water and now it's down to bulb selection.

I want the tank to be a deep blue, closer to 20K. What is a combo that would achieve this.

Again, just a thank you to all the T5 experts in this thread specifically Grim. I've learned a lot.

 

[wsnyder6]

Hi there,

I am looking to upgrade the lighting on my 46 bowfront to some t5 fixture. I had my eye on the Nova Extreme, until I read a few negative -ish comments about it.

What brands/fixtures would you T5 folks recommend I look at? I am keeping fish, softies, LPS and some SPS. Should I consider a halide/t5 fixture instead?

Thanks!

 

[BucNtears]

moving up from my 75 to a 180..the ligths i have now are tek 6 bulb 48inch from reef geek...can i add these lights to the new tank..what additional lighting do i need?

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8981833#post8981833 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Josh125
Well I'm getting ready to setup my tank and decided on the 4 bulb tek retro. I plan to keep the light ~ 4" off the water and now it's down to bulb selection.

I want the tank to be a deep blue, closer to 20K. What is a combo that would achieve this.

Again, just a thank you to all the T5 experts in this thread specifically Grim. I've learned a lot.

I would run 1 Aquablue, 1 Super Actinic and the rest blue plus.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8982302#post8982302 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by wsnyder6
Hi there,

I am looking to upgrade the lighting on my 46 bowfront to some t5 fixture. I had my eye on the Nova Extreme, until I read a few negative -ish comments about it.

What brands/fixtures would you T5 folks recommend I look at? I am keeping fish, softies, LPS and some SPS. Should I consider a halide/t5 fixture instead?

Thanks!

Gotta be careful with the width of the tank on a bowfront. I spect a 4 lamp Tek is about as wide as will fit. That will give you plenty of light.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8982393#post8982393 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BucNtears
moving up from my 75 to a 180..the ligths i have now are tek 6 bulb 48inch from reef geek...can i add these lights to the new tank..what additional lighting do i need?

I'd probably just get the Aquactinics 72" T5 with 7 rows of 36" lamps side by side. If you are running a canopy look at the Fauna Marin unit aquarium obsessed sells (sponsors page)