The T5 Q&a Thread

[kudora]

well after upgrading other equipment on the tank it was time for lights and i went with what you recommended. tank is 60x18x18 and i bought 54wx4 powered by 2 VS ballasts from reef geek

FTS

thanks again grim, i also posted pics of raising my canopy and installing the lights on tswiftys 90 thread found here in the middle of this page.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1428872&perpage=25&pagenumber=18

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Looks good

 

[Palmettopark]

Mr. Grimm I have a question I currently run a 150watt sunpod Metal Halide on my 20 long. Im not happy with the coverage over the reef due to dark corners. Im thinking about getting a 30 inch Current USA SunDial T5 HO 4x24W w/ Timers & LED
to light the whole tank, but it only runs 96 watts. My question is do you think going this route 50 watts less in lighting will hurt my reef I currently have a 20long with a mix of softies and LPS no SPS.

 

[sbcaes]

hey grim. i noticed there was a shift in the aquactinics fixtures particularly in my case the 24" would getting the 95 vs98% reflectivity make a huge difference? thoughts? it a 50 dollar difference at the moment. lmk know.

 

[Wellcraft]

I decided to go with a T5's retro so I can cover my 60" tank and my 2 choices are tek or icecap, what is most recommended and why? If there is something a bit better let me know.

I'm looking for best reflection, HO no overdriven, 60", electric ballast (my understanding is they are better and help to consume less electricity).

On the icecap what is the difference between 660 and 430 ballast?

Who sells 60" retros?

What else should I consider for a retro?

Thansk in advance.

 

[Wellcraft]

Forgot to ask, what is SLR reflectors on icecap?

 

[lukinrats]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12995172#post12995172 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by The Grim Reefer

If I remember your setup right 30" tall tank, lamps 12" above and you calculated 450 PAR on the sandbed? I would be impressed if it broke 100 based on all the other fixtures I've done PAR readings on. HOWEVER, you said you have rocks 6" below the waterline. It is possible that you are hitting them with enough to bleach so like I said in that post drop them down some if you can and see what happens. If you can, get us a picture of how the lamps align with the reflectors, you might have come across an alternative to overdriving.

WHen you do your PAR readings try taking a reading when you first turn the fixture on for the day and track the PAR up to it's peak as the lamps warm up. Then let them run for about a half hour after that and see how close the PAR is to the peak. It's possible that you might need to add an external fan to cool the lamps a bit. I am not sure how the cooling is oriented on those units but the lamps gotta be getting toasty two to a reflector like that.

No, No.. Negative!!! Sorry, but even I know there is no way I am getting 450 par at the sand bed on a 30 tall... What I did say was that I was reading anywhere from 6-8000 on the lux meter... I know it is not accurate, but I used that conversion chart, and it was saying from 100 to 200 (I think).
I do already have some pictures that I took of the fixture for you from the last time we conversed

So, I will remember your suggestions on the PAR meter, and I guess we will see what happens

Thanks for the info
Later,
Nathan

 

[lukinrats]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12995172#post12995172 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by The Grim Reefer

If I remember your setup right 30" tall tank, lamps 12" above and you calculated 450 PAR on the sandbed? I would be impressed if it broke 100 based on all the other fixtures I've done PAR readings on. HOWEVER, you said you have rocks 6" below the waterline. It is possible that you are hitting them with enough to bleach so like I said in that post drop them down some if you can and see what happens. If you can, get us a picture of how the lamps align with the reflectors, you might have come across an alternative to overdriving.

WHen you do your PAR readings try taking a reading when you first turn the fixture on for the day and track the PAR up to it's peak as the lamps warm up. Then let them run for about a half hour after that and see how close the PAR is to the peak. It's possible that you might need to add an external fan to cool the lamps a bit. I am not sure how the cooling is oriented on those units but the lamps gotta be getting toasty two to a reflector like that.

No, No.. Negative!!! Sorry, but even I know there is no way I am getting 450 par at the sand bed on a 30 tall... What I did say was that I was reading anywhere from 6-8000 on the lux meter... I know it is not accurate, but I used that conversion chart, and it was saying from 100 to 200 (I think).
I do already have some pictures that I took of the fixture for you from the last time we conversed

So I will remember you suggestion for the PAR readings... I guess we will see what happens

 

[lukinrats]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12995172#post12995172 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by The Grim Reefer

If I remember your setup right 30" tall tank, lamps 12" above and you calculated 450 PAR on the sandbed? I would be impressed if it broke 100 based on all the other fixtures I've done PAR readings on. HOWEVER, you said you have rocks 6" below the waterline. It is possible that you are hitting them with enough to bleach so like I said in that post drop them down some if you can and see what happens. If you can, get us a picture of how the lamps align with the reflectors, you might have come across an alternative to overdriving.

WHen you do your PAR readings try taking a reading when you first turn the fixture on for the day and track the PAR up to it's peak as the lamps warm up. Then let them run for about a half hour after that and see how close the PAR is to the peak. It's possible that you might need to add an external fan to cool the lamps a bit. I am not sure how the cooling is oriented on those units but the lamps gotta be getting toasty two to a reflector like that.

No, No.. Negative!!! Sorry, but even I know there is no way I am getting 450 par at the sand bed on a 30 tall... What I did say was that I was reading anywhere from 6-8000 on the lux meter... I know it is not accurate, but I used that conversion chart, and it was saying from 100 to 200 (I think).
I do already have some pictures that I took of the fixture for you from the last time we conversed

So I will remember you suggestion for the PAR readings... I guess we will see what happens

 

[Zestay]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12989208#post12989208 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by The Grim Reefer
The UVL actinics are a little blue/violet/purple. Don't mess with the tru lamp. You should use 1 ATI Blue Plus or Giesemann Actinic plus and 2 UVL Super Actinics and either ATI or Giesemann Aquablue..

mkay


so this is the layout im thinking.
the tanks a room divider so im guessing this is right =P

or should i move the super actinics to the inside?

 

[ukroylisa]

Ice Cap v Aquactinics 39W SLR's?

Ice Cap v Aquactinics 39W SLR's?

I posted this elsewhere but no answers.
My impression is that Aquactinics give a SLIGHT improvement in PAR, but are more expensive than IC. But IC are wider, so I can fit in one more lamp with Aquactinics. Has anybody compared the durability, stain resistance etc of the two? Thoughts anyone. Experience of the two?
Roy

 

[kpk]

Hey all what is a good 60"-72" fixture for a 30" deep tank? I was looking at getting the Giesemann 8*80 from Aquarium Specialty, but they went up $500 overnight...

Thanks,
Kyle

 

[unbreakable]

Grim,

what would be the best brand of bulbs to use for an SPS tank to make the colors pop and keep the blue look of the tank without losing a lot of PAR (is that asking too much lol)? ATI or Geisman? its a 6x54w T5HO fixture on a 75g tank

thanks

 

[Shouse94]

Hey Grim,
Sorry but I have another follow-up question to my last post.
You originally said this lamp combo would be fine:
Front

Blue +
Aquablue
GE 3k
Blue +

I'm a little concerned this wont give me that nice 14k blue tint I'm looking for. My old setup that I thought was too yellow was:
Blue +
GE 6k
Aquablue
Actinic

I thought about going this route:
Blue +
Sun Pro
Aquablue
Blue+

I think this could be nice too but 1. I'm sacrificing on PAR (55g SPS Reef) and 2. I can get GE bulbs for free so would like to use them if I can. Any thoughts on the matter knowing i can get free GE bulbs? Worth trying to make it work? Do you have any pics of your tank when you were running 3k bulbs? thanks

 

[Mark426]

I have about got my light where I want it. HOWEVER... I need help finding just one more lamp. The best way to describe what I want is... the ATI Blue Plus is too blue and the ATI Aquablue Special is too white. Is there something in between?

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12996209#post12996209 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Palmettopark
Mr. Grimm I have a question I currently run a 150watt sunpod Metal Halide on my 20 long. Im not happy with the coverage over the reef due to dark corners. Im thinking about getting a 30 inch Current USA SunDial T5 HO 4x24W w/ Timers & LED
to light the whole tank, but it only runs 96 watts. My question is do you think going this route 50 watts less in lighting will hurt my reef I currently have a 20long with a mix of softies and LPS no SPS.

SHould be good. 150 watt halides don't exactly produce historic amounts of PAR.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12996362#post12996362 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sbcaes
hey grim. i noticed there was a shift in the aquactinics fixtures particularly in my case the 24" would getting the 95 vs98% reflectivity make a huge difference? thoughts? it a 50 dollar difference at the moment. lmk know.

Honestly the difference isn't going to make or break you, I'd save the 50 unless you are doing clams and sps

 

[The Grim Reefer]

SLR = Single Lamp Reflector

Reefgeek sells 60" retros but the only company that makes a 60" reflector is the Tek and they are really too wide, 3 1/4 inches front to back. If your tank is 60" long you are way better going with 48" lamps. You can get the Ice Cap or Aquatinics reflectors and the selection of lamps is way better. If you have a 72" tank I personally would either use 2 39 watt lamps to cover the length or use 2 36" Ice Cap reflectors to make a 60" reflector. Ballast wise for the 60" lamps the Ice Cap ballast is cheaper than buying 3 80 watt T5 ballasts (the 660 can run 3 60" lamps, 430 does 2) and is higher quality and will last longer than the spec T5 balllasts.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12996471#post12996471 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Wellcraft
I decided to go with a T5's retro so I can cover my 60" tank and my 2 choices are tek or icecap, what is most recommended and why? If there is something a bit better let me know.

I'm looking for best reflection, HO no overdriven, 60", electric ballast (my understanding is they are better and help to consume less electricity).

On the icecap what is the difference between 660 and 430 ballast?

Who sells 60" retros?

What else should I consider for a retro?

Thansk in advance.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12996494#post12996494 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by lukinrats
No, No.. Negative!!! Sorry, but even I know there is no way I am getting 450 par at the sand bed on a 30 tall... What I did say was that I was reading anywhere from 6-8000 on the lux meter... I know it is not accurate, but I used that conversion chart, and it was saying from 100 to 200 (I think).
I do already have some pictures that I took of the fixture for you from the last time we conversed

So I will remember you suggestion for the PAR readings... I guess we will see what happens

Interesting. I will be anxious to see how that does.

I am sure you already thought of this but just in case get a PAR vs. Lux reading, we can see how close that formula works. If you have multiple circuits in the fixture try it with different lamps running so you can see if different spectrums of light really do throw the formula off and how much.

Damn I feel like a drill sargent barking out orders to a recruit Sorry, just want to get as much info as we can out of this.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12996801#post12996801 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Zestay
mkay


so this is the layout im thinking.
the tanks a room divider so im guessing this is right =P

or should i move the super actinics to the inside?

Play around with it and see which you like best.