SPACEMANS2
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if you go back to his post he compared a 5 foot lamp t-5 to a 3 foot t-12 lamp. Using a IC ballast on a t-5 to overdive will increase the output but then again if you use and IC ballast on a t12 will increase its output as well
The T5 Q&a Thread
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if you go back to his post he compared a 5 foot lamp t-5 to a 3 foot t-12 lamp. Using a IC ballast on a t-5 to overdive will increase the output but then again if you use and IC ballast on a t12 will increase its output as well
Does it really matter how long the bulb is? If you take a reading from one spot, let say right in the middle of the bulb, it shouldn't matter if one bulb is longer then the other. The wattage of the bulbs are 75 and 80 a piece. That should be the determining factor.
InsaneClownFish
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Talk with Tom at Aquactinics about that: 203-234-9286. I don't believe you should remove the shield with your fixture that close to the water.
I had a custom hood built for my tank with a flip up front and about 10 inches to spare from the top of the water. So acessing the bulbs is not the problem. ( maybe heat ) The reason i had this built is so i could do this exact thing. I heard all the good things about T5s and was tired of fair results with my coral. So im diching my 150w and my 96w PC's for the 250w 14k and 8 T5's of mixed colors, 4 in the front and 4 in the back. I just wanted to know if it was over kill. Maybe go with less T5's, like 2 in the front and 2 in the back or 3 and 3. any ideas???
SPACEMANS2
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actually it does matter how long the bulb is
SPACEMANS2
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to sum this all up if one were to have a 36 inch long tank the florecent bulb that would put out the most light wouldnt be a t-5 bulb bet rather a t-12.
The Grim Reefer
Ready for some NOBALL!!!
Ummmm, 80 watts produced higher PAR along a 60" tube as compared to 75 watts along 36". The T5 is illuminating 2 more feet of tank length. As far as practical experience I can't think of anyone who has said they got better growth with the VHOs.
HecticDialectic
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No. It's not the same as a metal halide. A metal halide would work that way because it's a point source. A flourescent is X lenght, and at any point along that length, it's going to be making just about the same amount of light as another point...
Hello all I just changed my 175W MH from a blueline 14 K to a XM 20 K and my tank is much brighter and not as blue now
I now use one Blue + and one super actinic T5
Its just about time for 2 new t5s also so what would you suggest I do like a bluer tank ,should I do 2 Blue+
I now use one Blue + and one super actinic T5
Its just about time for 2 new t5s also so what would you suggest I do like a bluer tank ,should I do 2 Blue+
Tom Foolery
New member
Hey Grim,
Thanks for all your advice, however, I ended up making one small mistake with my bulb config. I dont know where that came from exactly, but the true layout is this:
Front
Blue Plus
AquaSun
SuperActinic
Aquablue
Blue Plus
I will go ahead and swap the aquablue and blue + like you said, but please, if you have a different suggestion because of the mix up, please let me know. Thanks!
The Grim Reefer
Ready for some NOBALL!!!
Go ahead and swap those two and see what your think.
SPACEMANS2
New member
again not true. from what you are saying in your case a single 3 foot flourecent bulb would produce the same amount of PAR as 2 or more 3 foot bulbs stacked next to each other. have still not bought my my thoughts? think of this. If you are in a room that is 50 sq feet. and you wanted to getthe highest par reading from a flourecent lamp. your optoins are a 1 foot tube vs a 10 foot tube both with the same diameter. which one would give you the most light ? better yet which would give you the most par? It would be the 10 foot tube because it has a 9 foot advantage of "extra light" on either side of the 1 foot being measured therefore supporting the par readings of the 1 foot being measured.
Hey Grim, I'm planning on having a tank made and was wondering how deep you think I could safely make it and still keep sps frags on the bare bottom. I will be using my 36" TX5 using 3xActinic Plus, Super Actinic, and an AquaSun. I may switch one Actinic+ for an aquablue, but i haven't decided yet.
Your posts here helped convince me to get the TX5 after my Nova Extreme completely died on me after 17 months. It was an excellent upgrade and I can already see a big difference in my tank. Thank you for all your help!
Your posts here helped convince me to get the TX5 after my Nova Extreme completely died on me after 17 months. It was an excellent upgrade and I can already see a big difference in my tank. Thank you for all your help!
The Grim Reefer
Ready for some NOBALL!!!
If you want SPS on the bottom 20~22" is about as tall as I would go.
SPACEMANS2
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in 36 inch system you couldn't fit a 60 inch tube. I agree with you that you probably can't think of anyone who has said they got better growth with the VHOs because there arnt many who have had VHOs as there sole lighting source. I make my claims from EXPERIENCE with a SOLE four bulb T-12 URI with internal reflector system ran off an Icecap ballast and a SOLE four bulb T-5HO ice cap SLR reflectors and ballast system .
InsaneClownFish
New member
Grim, with all the bantering back and forth about whose VHO is bigger than whose T5 tube, I think you missed my question on page 37..
The Grim Reefer
Ready for some NOBALL!!!
I think I would do an ATI Aquablue instead of the UVL lamp. With the Fiji Purple anf the GE 3000 the last thing you want is that UVL lamp, it looks a little pinkish.
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