The T5 Q&a Thread

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Grim,
I know that Sanjay is doing a T5 workup but you should post something , or make a website maybe listing your PAR value findings of different bulbs / ballasts.

Even a list of PAR values for different bulbs / fixtures would be a huge help and better help for people picking bulbs.

I honestly don't get the "Hey Grim, what bulbs should I use..." posts.
Perhaps your taste in color isn't my taste in color. Maybe I like my tank more or less blue than you do. When people choose MH bulbs it's usually due to PAR, then by color, but when they choose T5 bulbs it's based on "Hey what bulb combo would you use" then if they don't like the color they blame T5s, not their bulb combo and you get posts like
"T5s suck, all my colors were washed out, MH gives better colors"
When you ask what bulbs they used, they tell you that they used mostly blue bulbs, well DUH! Of course everything looked washed out!

I think it also has a lot to do with coral placement. Just because Grim says use your GE 6500 bulb in third position, if your red and yellow corals are mostly under the 6th bulb than THAT is where your GE bulb should go.

I guess most people use 4 or 6 bulb fixtures so it doesn't matter so much on bulb placement but order extra bulbs people. Play around with them till you get a color combo that works for the corals that you keep.

Just my 2 cents. :)
 
Okay, bulb mix-n-match time. I really want the colors to "Pop" & fluoresce. The tank is a 75 gallon mixed reef, with a mixture of zoas, mushrooms, LPS, & a few SPS. Due to errors in ordering these are the bulbs I have:

Giessman AquaBlue Plus (1 bulb)
TRU Actinic 03 (4 bulbs)
UV Lighting 50/50 Actinic/White (1 bulb)
TRU 10,000k (3 bulbs)

I have space for 6 bulbs with individual reflectors, 2 bulbs/ballast.

I was thinking
Front
AquaBlue+
Actinic 03
10,000k
Actinic 03
10,000k
50/50

How does that sound?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10104323#post10104323 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Eclectic Taste
Okay, bulb mix-n-match time. I really want the colors to "Pop" & fluoresce. The tank is a 75 gallon mixed reef, with a mixture of zoas, mushrooms, LPS, & a few SPS. Due to errors in ordering these are the bulbs I have:

Giessman AquaBlue Plus (1 bulb)
TRU Actinic 03 (4 bulbs)
UV Lighting 50/50 Actinic/White (1 bulb)
TRU 10,000k (3 bulbs)

I have space for 6 bulbs with individual reflectors, 2 bulbs/ballast.

I was thinking
Front
AquaBlue+
Actinic 03
10,000k
Actinic 03
10,000k
50/50

How does that sound?

A good place to start/
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10101498#post10101498 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by The Grim Reefer
You should be fine with an 18" tall tank. I would add an actinic and at least a couple blue plus lamps

What do you think the ideal setup of bulbs are for a tank of this size with a 6 bulb fixture?

thanks
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10106915#post10106915 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ianiwane
What do you think the ideal setup of bulbs are for a tank of this size with a 6 bulb fixture?

thanks

Ideally you will have a little red spectrum and a whole bunch of blue/green. Other than that it is personal taste,

Front
Blue Plus
Super Actinic
GE 3000K or UVL Aquasun
Blue Plus or Super Actinic
Aquablue or GE 6500K
Blue Plus
 
Hello Grim,

A few questions if you'd be so kind.

1.) What are your thoughts on AquaScience bulbs? They're made by Fauna Marin and I see a lot of Europeans using them.
2.) What do you think about the Sfiligoi "Super Actinic" T5 Bulbs? How do they compare to other actinics?
3.) I'm really on the verge of spending the cash for those new Sfiligoi stealth fixtures with active cooling. I'll get the 12 bulb version. How do you think these compare to other fixtures?
4.) Your thoughts on korallen-zucht lamps and fixtures. I hear they're coming out with a T5 fixture that has LED's to get that MH shimmer.

Thanks.
 
I havent seen the KZ lamps but hear good things.

I wouldn't spend the money they want for the Sfigoli fixture until someone does a PAR reading on one.

The Sfigoli Super Blue Actinic is at least as good as the UVL Super Actinic. I honestly can't say one is better than the other although Greg at reefgeek thinks the Sfigoli looks better on his tank.

The Aquascience lamps are OK but for the price I would get ATI.
 
Ok must say Grim, thankyou for the thread!!your the T5 man!!
ive just spent the last hour going over this thread and waw allot of info!!
Ok for my question, im building a 36X36X16 tank thats gona be bare bottom . Its gona be a SPS dominated tank, for lighting im eather gona go with a lumaric reflector with a 250watt 14k bulb (bulb and ballest yet to be chosen) Or with a T5 settup,
How would you do the T5's? retro with how many bulbs? or do two teks with howmany bulbs?
 
I wouldn't do T5's

A single Lumenarc will cover that whole tank.

Using the Tek 2 reflectors you would need 8 or so 36" T5's to do the job. More wattage, more lamps, waste of money.
 
Anyone (Grim) know the par values for the following bulbs?? And any major color differences in the two? I'm sure the Blue+ is more output but just how much more? And is the PA 03 strictly for florescence?
80W Pure Actinic 03 T5 HO Fluorescent by Giesemann
&
80W Blue Plus T5 HO Fluorescent by ATI
 
The pure actinic is a true actinic, not much PAR. Blue Plus is a blue lamp that has a lot of PAR. If you have to choose between the two there is no choice, BLUE PLUS hands down. Having a Pure actinic running with some Blue Plus is a nice look
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10110009#post10110009 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by The Grim Reefer
The pure actinic is a true actinic, not much PAR. Blue Plus is a blue lamp that has a lot of PAR. If you have to choose between the two there is no choice, BLUE PLUS hands down. Having a Pure actinic running with some Blue Plus is a nice look

Will I see a big difference in color running 4 B+ and 1 PA as opposed to running 3 B+ and 2 AP?
 
Anyone know or have a link to some overall dimensions for IC and Tek retros?

Do the 48" wide kits need exactly 48" inside the canopy?
How many lamps could I fit over a standard 90 gal - say 17.5" front to back inside the canopy?

TIA
 
grim, i can see your a busy man but ,if you can spare a few, i'm looking for a t5 combination in conjunction with mh's. i'm running the current usa fixture with 2x250 mh and 4x54w t5(HQI)with the stock bulbs and it's way to white(bright)for my taste. i want to run 14k pheonix for my mh's but am not sure what t5 configuration to go with. i want a blue white look that will make the corals"pop" and of coarse as high of PAR as possible. have any recommendations? Thanks again for all your work and input!!!
 
Grim, what T5 setup would you recommend for a 36"Lx16"Wx12"H tank? I would like to make it a mixed reef. I'm thinking of a 4 bulb TEK T5 retro setup with Icecap reflectors, but I'm not sure if that's too much light on a shallow tank and I'm not sure of the bulb configuration and ballasts. Also I was thinking of a 6" tall canopy to have the lighting higher.

Thanks
 
Here's a question for ya grim. I have a 4x54 retro icecap for my 125g 6' standard tank and i'm wondering if i should go with a 2x250w MH or a 3x80w icecap in between? I want to keep sps and everything clams, anywhere anyhow. I'm looking for price and heat. I'm thinking the t5's are better, but would like to know your thoughts.
 
Anyone know or have a link to some overall dimensions for IC and Tek retros?

They are a little under 48" with the endcaps installed. You can fit 6 over a 90 if you use Ice Cap reflectors or the original Tek reflectors, the Tek II reflectors you can only fit 5.


Does anyone know what brand ballasts come with the TEK T5 fixtures? Are they any good?

Universal or Triad, both are pretty good.
Grim, what T5 setup would you recommend for a 36"Lx16"Wx12"H tank? I would like to make it a mixed reef. I'm thinking of a 4 bulb TEK T5 retro setup with Icecap reflectors, but I'm not sure if that's too much light on a shallow tank and I'm not sure of the bulb configuration and ballasts. Also I was thinking of a 6" tall canopy to have the lighting higher.

4 lamp Tek retro with the Tek reflectors, don't need Ice Caps on that shallow of a tank.

Here's a question for ya grim. I have a 4x54 retro icecap for my 125g 6' standard tank and i'm wondering if i should go with a 2x250w MH or a 3x80w icecap in between? I want to keep sps and everything clams, anywhere anyhow. I'm looking for price and heat. I'm thinking the t5's are better, but would like to know your thoughts.

I'd probably go with the halides, it would be hard to cram 7 T5's in the canopy
 
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