The T5 Q&a Thread

[lukinrats]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13053042#post13053042 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by The Grim Reefer
I've seen these for 10 bux for a long time and they still are if you add them in to the retrofit kits

AHH!!! I see! I just looked on HL, and the only ones I saw where actinic... They were $19, but I was not trying to add one to a kit
____________________________________________________

Hey Grim, I need to post a picture of it or something, but I forgot to mention that the Catalina actinic bulbs that came with my lights, put out some really good par

 

[gig]

yeah, they come in a 10K as well. they had a special where you could buy them for $10, so i went for it as a cheap alternative for my CAD fixture over my FOWLR 45G tank.

 

[jennmac415]

Grim,

I just had a 39 watt ATI Aquablue Special bulb completely burn out... it has only been running since the end of last Septemeber and only 6 hours per day...any ideas why this would happen? I am wondering if the other one will be quick to follow? These are in the 72" Constellation.

 

[jennmac415]

Grim,

I just had a 39 watt ATI Aquablue Special bulb completely burn out... it has only been running since the end of last Septemeber and only 6 hours per day...any ideas why this would happen? I am wondering if the other one will be quick to follow? These are in the 72" Constellation.

 

[jennmac415]

why did that double post? I only clicked once...sorry

 

[afboundguy]

Quick question for you Grim,

I read the whole thread started by Sanjay about testing T5's vs MH and came across a question that went unanswered.

The question was do you take the temp on the surface of the bulb or the surrounding air? I have access to a laser temp guage and would like to try and mess around with my fans to keep it as close to 95 F for peak performance.

It was also asked if you set up a temp sensor to the fans to turn on at 96 F and off at 94 F if that would work? I wouldn't think this would work because the sensor would have to be right up against the bulb and even then I don't know if it would be very acurate.

So basically what is the best/easiest way to keep the bulbs at 95 F? Thanks.

 

[DjScibbity]

OK grim (or anyone else),
last question (for awhile ) All else being equal (price, etc) which light of these two listed would you put on a 90 gallon (mixed reef, good amount of SPS):

TX5 (5-bulbs but good reflectors) or Nova Pro (Six bulbs and ok reflectors)

Thanks a lot

-JP

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13053382#post13053382 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jennmac415
Grim,

I just had a 39 watt ATI Aquablue Special bulb completely burn out... it has only been running since the end of last Septemeber and only 6 hours per day...any ideas why this would happen? I am wondering if the other one will be quick to follow? These are in the 72" Constellation.

$#!^ happens

Dunno, lots of reasns why a lamp can burn out,

 

[The Grim Reefer]

According to what I've read you should look for 105 on the metal endcap on the lamp. the 95 is the ambient air temp.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13053396#post13053396 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by afboundguy
Quick question for you Grim,

I read the whole thread started by Sanjay about testing T5's vs MH and came across a question that went unanswered.

The question was do you take the temp on the surface of the bulb or the surrounding air? I have access to a laser temp guage and would like to try and mess around with my fans to keep it as close to 95 F for peak performance.

It was also asked if you set up a temp sensor to the fans to turn on at 96 F and off at 94 F if that would work? I wouldn't think this would work because the sensor would have to be right up against the bulb and even then I don't know if it would be very acurate.

So basically what is the best/easiest way to keep the bulbs at 95 F? Thanks.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13055603#post13055603 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DjScibbity
OK grim (or anyone else),
last question (for awhile ) All else being equal (price, etc) which light of these two listed would you put on a 90 gallon (mixed reef, good amount of SPS):

TX5 (5-bulbs but good reflectors) or Nova Pro (Six bulbs and ok reflectors)

Thanks a lot

-JP

TX5 with out a doubt

 

[LexSkizzle]

Grim,
How would you compare the 6 bulb T5 fixtures with Moonlights sold on Ebay to a Nova or tek T5 6 bulb fixture? Does anyone actually have one of these fixures on a their tank? Would it be a bad idea to purchase one of these fixtures and then purchase good quality bulbs to replace the bulbs included or will this not work at all?

Thanks!

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13055960#post13055960 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by LexSkizzle
Grim,
How would you compare the 6 bulb T5 fixtures with Moonlights sold on Ebay to a Nova or tek T5 6 bulb fixture? Does anyone actually have one of these fixures on a their tank? Would it be a bad idea to purchase one of these fixtures and then purchase good quality bulbs to replace the bulbs included or will this not work at all?

Thanks!

The thing is you have no idea what ballasts are being used, does it have active cooling and does it work well etc.

You are better off buying a known fixture but good lamps can help a sub par fixture perform better.

 

[LexSkizzle]

So my main concern with these would really the ballast since according to the seller they do have individual reflectors, cooling fans, etc. Do you think internal ballast from these fixtures sold on Ebay usually do not put out the actual power their suppose too?

 

[urville]

Turns out I had 2x UV Pure Actinic's and 2x SunSun BL-BIO's which i could only find a tiny piece of info on and only in Russian. No Spectra graphs on them...

Hope I'm not hijacking but this could really help... given what Grim has told me and Sanjay's info this should help some people not have to ask.

UV spectragraphs, seem to be in another format where as most of these graphs appear as rel. intensity, the halides appear as spectral irradiance. Though as you see I found at least one that was intensity. Not sure how all those figure against each other.

The 250watt 12k reeflux mogul lamp spikes hard right at 450nm, maybe 440-460nm again at about .47 spectral irradiance. It spikes at 540nm roughly, maybe 580nm, and then 680-690nm.

In fact it's not much different than an XM 15k at the same wattage and base, etc. Mainly the XM is higher in the spikes other than at 450nm but only by .25 spectral irradiance, and nothing gets over .10 other than the spike at 450nm. I choose the reeflux's.

Choosing the T5's was only hard because UV uses a different scale and I have no idea what it is or how it factors against everyone elses spectros using intensity.

KZ refuses to give spectros, as does Current. Giesemann Pure Actinics, and UV Super Actinics have the best actual true 420nm actinics spikes period according to thier graphs.

Giesemann Pure Actinic

UV Super Actinic

So, instead of getting the Giesemann Pure's I opted for the UV Super Actinics as they peak harder at 420nm than the Giese's though it appears I lose spikes at 550nm, 580nm, and a plateau at 800-880nm. I choose them because the Reeflux has no 420nm and I needed to supplement that true Actinic as much as possible.

Here is where I am a bit stumped. I can simply add more 420nm since I have so much 450nm in the form of 3x 250 watt halides, or i can opt to add some more full spectrum in. So I can Quad up on the Super Actinics, I can use Super Actinics and Giesemann Pure Actinics, or add UV 75.25's or even Giesemann Aquablues which are nearly identical to ATI Aquablues.

Giesemann Aquablue

UV 75.25

Most liekly I think I'll end up with either more actinics or the UV 75.25, but which of those i have no idea. I know white can really drown out anything else, and I hate the whiter look. Like 10k's with supplements, I'd have to add alot of supplements.

HTH

 

[krowleey]

any suggestions on a 30 inch tank for t-5 setup? seems 30 inch is VERY oddball for a premade hood.

 

[MrSpiffy]

Hey, Grim! First of all, just wanted to say thanks on behalf of us all for the awesome knowledge and advice you provide!

I'm going to move to T5's from halides on my 40BR (yep, I'm a n00b at this T5 stuff...), and plan to upgrade the tank to a 65G in the very near future, so I want something that'll work well after the upgrade. I want to keep a nice mix of LPS, some zoas, some basic SPS (for now), and possibly a clam or two. So, a wide variety of stuff. With the 18" depth from front to back, would 6 T5 HO's be enough for what I want in the 22" tall 65G? I'm planning on the T5 retro kits from HelloLights.com, since this Icecap stuff is out of my price range. Are they decent kits, from what you know?

And as for bulb combos, I want something with a slight blue tinge to it, with popping colors but not something extremely blue, and saw your previous recommendation of:

ATI Blue Plus
UVL SA
UVL AS
ATI Blue Plus
UVL AS
ATI Blue Plus

Think that's what will work for what I'm looking for? And why not Geissman bulbs and such? I usually see the UVL and ATI bulbs, but hardly anything else. Is it price? Availability? Finding them all at one store/website?

Thanks again!

On a side note... how many splits has this thread had?!? Holy crap...

 

[MrSpiffy]

Oh, btw... they're 24W 24-inch bulbs, not the 36" bulbs. But I figure putting the clam in the middle will make things just fine. Plus it leaves dimmer areas for my low-light stuff, like blastos and such. I'll stagger the bulbs some so the sides still get light, just not as much as in the middle of the tank.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13056704#post13056704 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by LexSkizzle
So my main concern with these would really the ballast since according to the seller they do have individual reflectors, cooling fans, etc. Do you think internal ballast from these fixtures sold on Ebay usually do not put out the actual power their suppose too?

They are going with the cheapest parts available to get the price that low.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13057619#post13057619 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by urville
Turns out I had 2x UV Pure Actinic's and 2x SunSun BL-BIO's which i could only find a tiny piece of info on and only in Russian. No Spectra graphs on them...

Hope I'm not hijacking but this could really help... given what Grim has told me and Sanjay's info this should help some people not have to ask.

UV spectragraphs, seem to be in another format where as most of these graphs appear as rel. intensity, the halides appear as spectral irradiance. Though as you see I found at least one that was intensity. Not sure how all those figure against each other.

The 250watt 12k reeflux mogul lamp spikes hard right at 450nm, maybe 440-460nm again at about .47 spectral irradiance. It spikes at 540nm roughly, maybe 580nm, and then 680-690nm.

In fact it's not much different than an XM 15k at the same wattage and base, etc. Mainly the XM is higher in the spikes other than at 450nm but only by .25 spectral irradiance, and nothing gets over .10 other than the spike at 450nm. I choose the reeflux's.

Choosing the T5's was only hard because UV uses a different scale and I have no idea what it is or how it factors against everyone elses spectros using intensity.

KZ refuses to give spectros, as does Current. Giesemann Pure Actinics, and UV Super Actinics have the best actual true 420nm actinics spikes period according to thier graphs.

Giesemann Pure Actinic

UV Super Actinic

So, instead of getting the Giesemann Pure's I opted for the UV Super Actinics as they peak harder at 420nm than the Giese's though it appears I lose spikes at 550nm, 580nm, and a plateau at 800-880nm. I choose them because the Reeflux has no 420nm and I needed to supplement that true Actinic as much as possible.

Here is where I am a bit stumped. I can simply add more 420nm since I have so much 450nm in the form of 3x 250 watt halides, or i can opt to add some more full spectrum in. So I can Quad up on the Super Actinics, I can use Super Actinics and Giesemann Pure Actinics, or add UV 75.25's or even Giesemann Aquablues which are nearly identical to ATI Aquablues.

Giesemann Aquablue

UV 75.25

Most liekly I think I'll end up with either more actinics or the UV 75.25, but which of those i have no idea. I know white can really drown out anything else, and I hate the whiter look. Like 10k's with supplements, I'd have to add alot of supplements.

HTH

Not sure I'd depend on those graphs. The Aquablue and 75/25 don't really look a lot alike. The 75/25 has kinda purpe hue to it.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13057766#post13057766 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by krowleey
any suggestions on a 30 inch tank for t-5 setup? seems 30 inch is VERY oddball for a premade hood.

CHeck out marine depot. Current makes some 30" fictures that are sold there.