nomadnumber29
New member
Just built my canopy and will install fans this weekend. Got an ice cap retro and need to cool the bulbs. But I think I saw somewhere that you can't blow air across the bulbs? So how do you place the fans for cooling?
The T5 Q&a Thread
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PrivateJoker64
In Memoriam
Great link, thanks! I hadn't seen that before.
nomadnumber29, it isn't so much that you want to cool the bulbs as you want to get the ambient air immediately around the bulbs to 95 degrees (which will, by default, cool the bulbs). In my case I put a thermometer near the bulb and played with different fan speeds/orientations.
It is far easier to overcool than to undercool the bulbs in my setup (not the norm) and I noticed that if they got below 78 or so degrees they were noticeably dimmer.
It is far easier to overcool than to undercool the bulbs in my setup (not the norm) and I noticed that if they got below 78 or so degrees they were noticeably dimmer.
Aqua Keepers
New member
I asked the same question as nomadnumber29 a while back. Grim told me to place the fans in the back of my canopy blowing in across the end caps.
A retro halide is only 6in wide and a set of T5's is 6 or 8inches wide. All retro kits. My hood has 26inches of mounting room. I doing it all custom because my LFS told me that 2 150w and 2 96w PC would be enough for a 120 gal 48L x 24w x and 24 deep.
unless my SPS are right at the top I cant keep them, and clams unless there right at the top.
This is the catch 22 with adding T5's for supplimentation that I am finding. You need a lot of them to keep up with the Halides. In your case they will fit but how are you going to acess the inside of your tank? Remember halides need to be 8" from the water and T5's need to be 4" away. I think this is the reason most still prefer VHO's for suppliment. Per watt the T5's will kill the VHO's, but not per bulb.
tas5tas
New member
This thread is useless without pictures!!!!
People should take pictures of their tanks with the lights on and list their bulb setup.
If noone has ever seen a 20k or 14k look or any look for that matter it is useless to tell someone it will look that way without have pictures.
Not trying to ruffle feathers, just trying to help other reefers. Bulbs and shipping gets expensive and it would be better to get it right the first time.
People should take pictures of their tanks with the lights on and list their bulb setup.
If noone has ever seen a 20k or 14k look or any look for that matter it is useless to tell someone it will look that way without have pictures.
Not trying to ruffle feathers, just trying to help other reefers. Bulbs and shipping gets expensive and it would be better to get it right the first time.
schoch79
New member
I agree with you but the problem with doing so is that different cameras render colors differently and especially digital cameras because you can adjust so many settings on one that on the same tank you can get probably thousands of different colors for the same thing in a tank and many of them not even be true to life. That is often the case with a lot of the brighter looking corals that you see online especially on the online coral vending sites. They take advantage of that so that they could artificially color up a coral and sell it easier.
SPACEMANS2
New member
I totally agree with this. I switched from a 4bulb URI T-12 VHO with Icecap ballast system to 4bulb T-5HO overdrivin with Icecap Reflectors and balast system. What I was going for was a stronger lighting for my system. I truley belive this was one of my most costliest mistakes I have ever made because I had to buy new end caps and reflectors and bulbs. I was curious to see hopw my corals would react so I put the new T-5 bulbs in all at one time. A big no no right? wrong! No bleaching. My shrooms didnt go take shelter. growth didn't speed up. as the do when I used to change my T12 VHO bulbs. the only difeence is there is more heat in my canopy with t-5s and yes when my t-5s are cooled in the canopy and the ambient temperature in it is about 92 degrees. I dont have a par meter but I would bet my tank that bulb for bulb URI T-12Vho's powered by icecap balast produce more usable light then t-5ho's with individual IC reflectors overdriven by IC ballast. maybe grim could test my theory.
The Grim Reefer
Ready for some NOBALL!!!
Don't go by your eyes. Another reefer with the same PAR meter as me took readings on the surface of a URI Actinic White VHO with internal reflector. His 75 watt 3 foot lamp had less PAR than my 60" 80 watt Aquablue with no relfector. Those are both basically 50-50 lamps
The Reefer Vacation continues, play nice
The Reefer Vacation continues, play nice
The Grim Reefer
Ready for some NOBALL!!!
No. I don't have any T12 VHO stuff. Kind of limits the ability to play. T5's are well worth the price just on the superior lamp selection alone. URI now know as UVL obviously saw the writing on the wall as they seem to be putting all their new R&D into their T5 products.
SPACEMANS2
New member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10820327#post10820327 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by The Grim Reefer
Don't go by your eyes. Another reefer with the same PAR meter as me took readings on the surface of a URI Actinic White VHO with internal reflector. His 75 watt 3 foot lamp had less PAR than my 60" 80 watt Aquablue with no relfector. Those are both basically 50-50 lamps
The Reefer Vacation continues, play nice
Grim you are almost inenvertantly helping me prove my point WATT PER WATT T-5s may put out more. You are comparing a 60 inch t-5ho to a 36 inch T12 VHO. If you were to do readings of a 36inch T-5 VHO with internal reflector to a 34 inch t-5ho with SLR, Which is as close to the same legth as one can possibly get. VHO would be on top. T-5HOs are energy savers because they put out more per watt but compared to a t12 VHO of the same leghth they dont put out more.
schoch79
New member
I don't think that t-5's neccesarily have more par than VHO's but the thing is that they are supposed to be more energy efficient and from what I understand produce less heat. Also for the size difference you can pack more t-5's in the same space you can pack fewer VHO lamps. That and more variety in bulbs is what makes t-5's the better choice as the sole choice of light. On the other hand, used as supplemental actinic lighting most people would say that the VHO's are better because they do put out more light per bulb of equal length and if you can only have the one bulb than t-5's would be washed out aside the MH's. That is how I understand it. If I am wrong I apologize.
Grim,
Should I upgrade my T5 ballast? I have a 4 x 54 Tek retrofit kit with SLR IceCap reflectors on my 60 gallon reef tank. I only have a few SPS corals that seem to be doing fine for now. Since I plan to do my tank SPS dominated I was wondering if I should upgrade my Tek ballasts for an IceCap 660 to overdrive the bulbs and get more par.
Should I upgrade my T5 ballast? I have a 4 x 54 Tek retrofit kit with SLR IceCap reflectors on my 60 gallon reef tank. I only have a few SPS corals that seem to be doing fine for now. Since I plan to do my tank SPS dominated I was wondering if I should upgrade my Tek ballasts for an IceCap 660 to overdrive the bulbs and get more par.
SPACEMANS2
New member
Incorrect. no need to appologize. By the time you put individual relfectors on a t5 you have the same amount if not less space under your canopy. even if you didnt use reflectors the amount of space in a retro would be the same because most common t-5 and t-12 standoffs " the things that hold the end caps in place" are the same length. Because I have experience with both sole t-5 and URI t12 systems ran on ice cap ballast, color of the Water is the only real advantage t-5 has. T-12s make the corals standout like none other produce more growth than t-5s
InsaneClownFish
New member
Grim,
I'm planning my build of a 22g Zero Edge open top overflow tank as pictured here:
http://www.zeroedgeaquarium.com/zeroblog/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/zeroedge7.jpg
24x18x12deep
I'll be using the hanging tree, and I am leaning towards an Aquactinics Tx5 24w x 5.
I'll be keeping some zoos and rics along the edge and bottom, but I'd like to focus on sps around the center of the tank along with a maxima and possibly a crocea.
Would this be enough light to effectively grow and color up sps? Any thoughts or suggestions on a mounting height would be greatly appreciated.
From everything I've read here, I'm thinking a good bulb combo would be as follow:
Front
ATI Blue +
GE 3000k
KZ Fiji Purple
UVL 75/25 14k
ATI Blue +
Thanks! :rollface:
I'm planning my build of a 22g Zero Edge open top overflow tank as pictured here:
http://www.zeroedgeaquarium.com/zeroblog/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/zeroedge7.jpg
24x18x12deep
I'll be using the hanging tree, and I am leaning towards an Aquactinics Tx5 24w x 5.
I'll be keeping some zoos and rics along the edge and bottom, but I'd like to focus on sps around the center of the tank along with a maxima and possibly a crocea.
Would this be enough light to effectively grow and color up sps? Any thoughts or suggestions on a mounting height would be greatly appreciated.
From everything I've read here, I'm thinking a good bulb combo would be as follow:
Front
ATI Blue +
GE 3000k
KZ Fiji Purple
UVL 75/25 14k
ATI Blue +
Thanks! :rollface:
HecticDialectic
New member
Well he did say that the 60" bulb T5 did not have a reflector. That's a very big point to consider. A good reflector should add 30-40% light increase over no reflector. Overdrive them and you're looking at another 30% increase in output... So if that 60" bulb had a reflector and was being overdriven, it would have easily doubled the output of the VHO.
I'd take that to mean that a T5 is either going to be the same or higher in output to the same length VHO, but less wattage and heat.
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