The T5 Q&a Thread

[Quatro]

Who carries ati's pro color?

 

[Dudester]

ReefGeek does, I just ordered me one

 

[barjam]

That new bulb sounds nice, the problem with other more daylight bulbs I have tried is that with the more red comes more yellow, I sure don't need anymore yellow.

Grim you mentioned less par? Did you take a reading by chance?

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Of course

It was about equal to the Blue Plus which aint but about 10% less than aquablue.

 

[mario8402]

Grim,
Any idea if the 48" T5 GE 6500k's that you recommend can be found at Home Depot or is this a "hobbyist" bulb only to be found at a LFS or online LFS?

 

[JerseyWendy]

Grim, I just ordered the UVL 75/25, 14,000k and should have it by next Friday. I'll post a picture once I've made the switch. Is this bulb pretty comparable to the ATI Pro Color? (I'm having my fingers crossed here.)

---
Wendy

 

[tas5tas]

Grim....

Is there any way to fit a 6 bulb retro on a 55gal long? I'm thinking all that will fit is a 4 bulb.

 

[SD-Fishguy]

What's "better" the ati powermodule or aquacentics constelation or retro icecap t-5 system?

regardless of price?

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10880297#post10880297 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mario8402
Grim,
Any idea if the 48" T5 GE 6500k's that you recommend can be found at Home Depot or is this a "hobbyist" bulb only to be found at a LFS or online LFS?

They might be. They are the Ecolux or something like that.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10880420#post10880420 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JerseyWendy
Grim, I just ordered the UVL 75/25, 14,000k and should have it by next Friday. I'll post a picture once I've made the switch. Is this bulb pretty comparable to the ATI Pro Color? (I'm having my fingers crossed here.)

---
Wendy

I dunno, I am using them both

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10880445#post10880445 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tas5tas
Grim....

Is there any way to fit a 6 bulb retro on a 55gal long? I'm thinking all that will fit is a 4 bulb.

Why would you want to? 4 lamps in Ice Cap reflectors is gonna give you enough light to raise anything in a 55. If you want to get nuts just get an Ice Cap ballast and overdrive the lamps.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10880777#post10880777 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SD-Fishguy
What's "better" the ati powermodule or aquacentics constelation or retro icecap t-5 system?

regardless of price?

Output wise the Ice Cap. All are very good.

 

[SD-Fishguy]

thanks.

I'm tempted by the ati 8 bulb t-5 system.

 

[pherbert]

Mr. Reefer,

I'm a newbie who just got water, sand and rock in my 90 gallon tank this weekend. Currently this is lit by a borrowed light fixture a friend was gracious enough to let me use, but I need to get a replacement ASAP. As a newbie I'm still a little shocked at the cost of these lights.

In your opinion, would one each of these lights for a total of six be sufficient?

--48 inch Current USA Nova Extreme 4x54W T5HO with 4 Lunar Lights
--48 inch Current USA Nova Extreme 2x54 watt T5 HO 10K/460nm

To rephrase the question a little differently, what corals would I NOT be able to grow with a setup like this?

Thanks in advance, in reading through this thread I can see you have dispensed vast quantities of knowledge to the masses here!

 

[The Grim Reefer]

You would be fine with soft corals and most LPS corals if you are careful where you place them, Don't try SPS except for maybe Montiporas up on the rocks.

 

[Jeremy23]

upgrade?

upgrade?

I have been running 2 110 vhos (actinic white)and 2 40w(actinic) over my 55 for 5 years now. I was disassembling a light fixture that was for 2x65w p.c and found two workhorse 5 ballasts inside. Fixture was never used much. I understand that these ballasts will run 2 54w t5's each. I would like to use some kind of supplemental lighting (dawn/dusk) This is the equipment i have and i would like to know what you recommend for some lps. 1 icecap 430 elect. ballast. 1 40w elect ballast and 2 wh5 ballasts? Sorry so long.

 

[IMPERATORFAN]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10879694#post10879694 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by The Grim Reefer
Was there any physical damage to the lamp? Burnt pins, black marks on the lamps etc.

Yes. A black ring inside the bulb about 1 inch away from pins. Both burnt bulbs showed this.

First, are you using 54W T5 HO lamps? Second, could you please post how you wiring the 430 ballast into the endcaps and what style endcaps are you using?

I doubt they are HO bulbs. Would that matter? I've seen a few comments on 3k and 6700k bulbs on here. I was guessing those were regular t5 bulbs (not hobby specific).

I wired it according to icecap 2 bulb chart. But now that you mention it, I did have to 'break down and repair' a few of the endcaps when they got a little hosed up from when I pulled out some old wire.

 

[spscrackhead]

well i got a tek t5 6 bulb unit for my 75 and i have these bulbs on it in this order
Blue Plus
Super Actinic
GE 3000K
GE 6500K
Blue Plus
Aquablue
now this unit is 2 weeks old. all of the greens are poping like grazy, but any of the blues, purples,pinks, ect are just brown. why? is it the bulbs?

 

[schulzcm]

hello grim,

I have a 40 breeder and have been running 4x39w T5's on SLR reflectors that are not overdriven for that past few months. I use 2 blue+, 1 super actinic, and 1 gman midday based on what i read on this thread. I am pretty happy with the overall affect but would like to get the reds and purples to pop a little more. I have a mixed reef with lps, zoos on the bottom and some new high light demanding sps on the top. I have heard people say that 6 bulbs is overkill for this tank but i'm just worried about my newly acquired acros not getting enough light and losing color. Should I not be worried and stick with what i got? or if I did upgrade would this bulb pattern be ok?

front
Blue +
super actinic
GE 3000k
super actinic
Gman midday 6000k
Blue +

This way i get the red and purples to brighten up and I threw another actinic in kind of as a filler cuz i dont want to go overboard on light. Let me know what you think! thanks so much.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Re: upgrade?

Re: upgrade?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10882841#post10882841 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Jeremy23
I have been running 2 110 vhos (actinic white)and 2 40w(actinic) over my 55 for 5 years now. I was disassembling a light fixture that was for 2x65w p.c and found two workhorse 5 ballasts inside. Fixture was never used much. I understand that these ballasts will run 2 54w t5's each. I would like to use some kind of supplemental lighting (dawn/dusk) This is the equipment i have and i would like to know what you recommend for some lps. 1 icecap 430 elect. ballast. 1 40w elect ballast and 2 wh5 ballasts? Sorry so long.

4 normally driven T5's in good reflectors will be plenty of light for whatever you want to raise in a 55