The T5 Q&a Thread

[The Grim Reefer]

That wouldn't be enough to make halides work, at least I don't think they will. You might be able to mount them at the front angled towards the back of the tank but that might not give you as much intensity as T5's.

 

[Fishfreak218]

Hey,
Im looking at the 4x24w Tek T5 light and was wondering about 3 things:
1.) How long are the hanging kits [I think my ceilings are a little high]

2.) If I wanted a 14k look what bulbs do you reccomend?

3.)How far away should I leave my lights from the tank? [6"?]

Thanks!
-Josh
P.S. if anyone has any pics of this light on there 20g. tank can you post them or send them to me via PM

 

[Fishfreak218]

.

 

[Fishfreak218]

srry for the tripple post....I got a little impacient

 

[jamesdawson]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10751211#post10751211 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Fishfreak218
Hey,
Im looking at the 4x24w Tek T5 light and was wondering about 3 things:
1.) How long are the hanging kits [I think my ceilings are a little high]

2.) If I wanted a 14k look what bulbs do you reccomend?

3.)How far away should I leave my lights from the tank? [6"?]

Thanks!
-Josh
P.S. if anyone has any pics of this light on there 20g. tank can you post them or send them to me via PM

Josh,

Teklights suck with only 1/2 the PAR of quality fixtures that are actively cooled.

If your going to spend money in this hobby you should get quality. Good 24" fixtures can be had by Aquatinics (TX5) see Aquarium Specialty, also ATI and Fauna Marin have 24" fixtures. Call ReefGeek about ATI and Aquarium Obsessed about Fauna Marin.

James

 

[Fishfreak218]

Ohhh, thats perfect because the only reason why I was going with the Tek t5 is that I heard they were the best.
Personally, I dont like the way they look or the fact that they are 12" wide on a 12" wide tank!!!!!
I try to go for quality, and the reason I was getting this light was b/c I was told it was the leading light for T5's. I'll look into all the fixtures you mentioned! thanks

EDIT* I didnt see the 24" version on either of their websites... I did find the Aquactinics though. Are those nice? I like the width of it and the fact that it has a splash guard

 

[jamesdawson]

Josh,

Aquatinics are good and available. Teks are one of the worst from a company that gives non-existent customer service. The others are German and just starting to trickle in, you will have to call and probably get on a waiting list for them.

Good luck,

James

 

[snapperface]

Hey guys need your help are the Aquactinics Tx5HO Fixtures any good? If get two 36' would that be enough light for sps and clams? My tank size 72L x18w x 22h.

thanks

 

[snapperface]

Hey guys need your help are the Aquactinics Tx5HO Fixtures any good? If get two 36' would that be enough light for sps and clams? My tank size 72L x18w x 22h.

thanks

 

[jamesdawson]

They would be OK. For just a few bucks more you could get the 72" Constellation and they would put out more PAR then two 36" Tx5s. So unless you want to have 2 fixtures instead of 1 for ease of maintenance or whatever, the Constellaton gives you a little more PAR for your money.

James

 

[jennmac415]

I will be putting my new 72" constellation fixture on my tank either tonight or tomorrow,... I can post pics then if you would like.

 

[snapperface]

thanks but it's enough light for sps right

 

[snapperface]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10752483#post10752483 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jennmac415
I will be putting my new 72" constellation fixture on my tank either tonight or tomorrow,... I can post pics then if you would like.

yea please

 

[tas5tas]

What kind of look would I get with the following setup from front to back

ATI Blue Plus
UVL 14000k Aquablue
UVL Super Actinic
UVL 10000k Aquasun

All bulbs will be 48" in length on an Icecap 660 with individual Icecap SLR reflectors.

Would it be extremely blue?? I know that the UVL Super Actinic is more of a purple thank a blue....similar to a black light.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

damn my clumsy fingers :lol:

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Should look sorta 14K halide like at most. A little blue but not too much.

 

[barjam]

I see reference to reflector A being x% more efficient than reflector B in different threads, is there a more concrete reference to this? Did someone do a testing thread that I missed? The only thing I have found was Han's post comparing the Tek 2 to the icecap SLR.

I just ordered icecap SLR reflectors and I am trying to figure out what kind gains I could expect over my crappy no name individual reflectors.

Thanks

 

[Philby]

Hello everyone -

I've got an opposite question from most of the questions in the thread, but hopefully someone can help me out.

I've got my lights already (4x39w Ice Cap Retro, 2x icecap 430s, 1x actinic white, 1x aquasun, 2x Super Actinic - mounted 6-8" above water) and I need advice for what tank to get.

My stand and canopy are already built, so I've got a footprint of 36Wx18D to work with - and I'm wondering what the optimal height is?

I'll probably be keeping a mixed reef (rics, zoas, SPS), but it'll be mostly SPS i'm guessing. Would it make more sense to do the tank a little taller (say 24", 65gal volume) so that non-sps could be placed towards the bottom and SPS could be up on the rocks a little higher? Or should I stick with something like 20" (55 gal) so I can have SPS anywhere, and pick non-sps that can deal with the light (or shade them)

Obviously more water volume is good for water stability, and the cost isn't any different since i'm having the tank built and anything 20"-25" high is the same price cause of the size sheets they use...but I don't want my PAR to suffer too much.

So what height should I go? 20"? 22"? 24"? more? less?

TIA

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10758963#post10758963 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by barjam
I see reference to reflector A being x% more efficient than reflector B in different threads, is there a more concrete reference to this? Did someone do a testing thread that I missed? The only thing I have found was Han's post comparing the Tek 2 to the icecap SLR.

I just ordered icecap SLR reflectors and I am trying to figure out what kind gains I could expect over my crappy no name individual reflectors.

Thanks

I did a seat of the pants comparison between Ice Cap and the old Tek reflectors and at about 18" of water and a few inches of air the Ice Caps had a 20% advantage. A "no name" reflector I tested against an Ice Cap was about 23% lower than Ice Cap but another (Sold by Aqualux lighting as computer designed) was only a few percent lower than the Ice Cap.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10759008#post10759008 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Philby
Hello everyone -

I've got an opposite question from most of the questions in the thread, but hopefully someone can help me out.

I've got my lights already (4x39w Ice Cap Retro, 2x icecap 430s, 1x actinic white, 1x aquasun, 2x Super Actinic - mounted 6-8" above water) and I need advice for what tank to get.

My stand and canopy are already built, so I've got a footprint of 36Wx18D to work with - and I'm wondering what the optimal height is?

I'll probably be keeping a mixed reef (rics, zoas, SPS), but it'll be mostly SPS i'm guessing. Would it make more sense to do the tank a little taller (say 24", 65gal volume) so that non-sps could be placed towards the bottom and SPS could be up on the rocks a little higher? Or should I stick with something like 20" (55 gal) so I can have SPS anywhere, and pick non-sps that can deal with the light (or shade them)

Obviously more water volume is good for water stability, and the cost isn't any different since i'm having the tank built and anything 20"-25" high is the same price cause of the size sheets they use...but I don't want my PAR to suffer too much.

So what height should I go? 20"? 22"? 24"? more? less?

TIA

Go with the biggest tank, you will be glad you did. If you really get bitten by the SPS bug you will want to add a couple more lamps down the road but that is easy, just add a normally driven 2 lamp retro to the canopy for Blue/Actinics and use your two Ice Cap sets for the higher PAR lamps. For your curret 4 lamp system order a Blue Plus lamp and use it in place of one of the Super Actinics to see what you think of the look. You want a spare lamp laying around any way, if one goes out the ballast will not work until its replaced.