The T5 Q&a Thread

[Aqua Keepers]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13300690#post13300690 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jnb
the cold spot - what is it? - how does it differ from the other end - just trying to learn






No joking, It doesn't make a huge difference but the lamps have what is called a cold spot which is at the label end of the lamp. You get a slightly better result if that end is cooled.

[/B][/QUOTE]

I'm lost on this too. Can someone break it down for me?

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13300314#post13300314 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Fireworm
Grim,

I have a 90g mixed reef, but getting more and more into the sps. I also have 2 clams. Right now on one side of the tank I have 1 400w 14k, and on the other side I have 1 250w 10 XM( for my acros) and 1 400w 20k. This is a lot of light and I know that, but it is even a bigger electric bill. I want to switch over to T5 to cut down my cost. That and I like the fact that I can change the color of the bulbs easier. I was thinking of going with the Icecap 6 bulb retro from reef geek. What I am wondering is if I will have enough light with that for the clams. My sps is high in the tank so they should be ok, but i don't want to end up killing my clams by not giving them enough light. Infact I would like to add more of them yet. What suggestions do you have?

6 overdriven should be fine

Front
Blue Plus
UVL Aquasun
Blue Plus
GE Daylight
Aquablue
Blue Plus

Should give you plenty of PAR and a nice 14K like look

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Re: t5 lighting

Re: t5 lighting

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13302025#post13302025 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by major926
hellow Grim, i have a 36"x12"x24" 45g tank with leathers & shrooms. my lighting is 192 watt CF. i'm thinking about upgrading to t5's, & try LPS. would a 4 bulb t5 fixture be enough light or should i go with the aquacintics tx5 5 bulb fixture? also what bulb config. do you recomend? thanks major926.

4 should be fine

Front
Blue Plus
Super Actinic
Aquasun
Aquablue

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13302302#post13302302 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JRechcygl
Grim, thanks again for all the help, we all appreciate it!!
Another question for you,
If people use 3x250 MH bulbs with much success in 180 and so forth wouldn't I be able to achieve the same success if not better if I could cram 800 watts of T5 in there. I noticed the Teks say the reflectors are 2 3/4 in the spec sheet and the SLR and the Aquactinic reflectors are 2" if I could cram 10 or 11 bulbs in there shouldn't that be good to grow SPS say 2/3 the way down but still leave room for LPS at the bottom, acans and caulastrea and the like.
If the T5 works, what would you recommend for 5' bulbs preferrably Geiseman, to achieve the highest PAR value but not too yellow/white.

Thank you very much!

The Tek reflectors are about 3 1/4" wide,

A friend here just did a PAR reading on a 24" tall tank with 6 60" T5's. It was putting better than 300 PAR at the sand which was a shallow sandbed. That will keep clams happy, easy. You aren't going to squeeze in more than 6 lamps unless you use two 35" Ice Cap or Aquactinics reflectors per lamp. That lamp mix was 50/50 blue plus aqiuablue

I'd do this

Front
Actinic Plus
Aquablue
Midday
Actinic Plus
Aquablue
Actinic Plus

 

[WrasseAttack!]

Hey Grim

I'm thinking of putting the 6x80 Tek 2 retro setup with Icecap ballasts from Reefgeek over a 72" long, 22" high tank. Would that work if I staggered the bulbs to get 72" of coverage? I have SPS and clams that are going into this tank.

Could you please recommend me some bulbs with high PAR but also around a 12-14K look?

Thanks!!

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13300690#post13300690 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jnb
the cold spot - what is it? - how does it differ from the other end - just trying to learn






No joking, It doesn't make a huge difference but the lamps have what is called a cold spot which is at the label end of the lamp. You get a slightly better result if that end is cooled.

[/B][/QUOTE]

It's one of those subjects I am hesitent to go into because I am not sure which lamps have this feature but seeing as it appears most of them we deal with do here it goes.

"The light output of a low-pressure mercury
vapor lamp (T5 Fluorescent) is determined by the saturated mercury vapour pressure which is determined by the
temperature of the liquid mercury deposited
somewhere on the inner wall of the lamp. In a
stabilized lamp this is the coldest part of the bulb:
the “cold chamber” or “cold spot”.
In case of a StarcoatTM T5 linear fluorescent lamp
this “cold spot” is situated behind the electrode at
the brand stamp end of the lamp. StarcoatTM T5
lamps were designed to reach their maximum
luminous flux at an ambient draught-free air
temperature of 35oC. As the cold spot is situated
near the metal cap, the temperature of the cap
can tell how close the Hg vapour pressure is to the
optimum : a cap temperature of approx. 43-45oC
corresponds to conditions resulting in maximum
light output in a stabilized T5 lamp.
RECOMMENDATIONS "

You can read page 2 here. Overall a very good paper on lighting

http://www.gelighting.com/eu/resources/literature_library/prod_tech_pub/downloads/t5_data_sheet.pdf

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13303151#post13303151 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by WrasseAttack!
Hey Grim

I'm thinking of putting the 6x80 Tek 2 retro setup with Icecap ballasts from Reefgeek over a 72" long, 22" high tank. Would that work if I staggered the bulbs to get 72" of coverage? I have SPS and clams that are going into this tank.

Could you please recommend me some bulbs with high PAR but also around a 12-14K look?

Thanks!!

You are going to have a problem getting 6 of the Tek II reflectors in that tank. The are 3 1/4" wide which presents a problem. You Would need to use 2 36" Ice Cap reflectors per lamp. They would work great but that gets a little pricey.

 

[edwarder]

Lighting too blue

Lighting too blue

Hi Grim. Im running 6 x 60'' driven by two Ice Cap 660s over a 180 gal mixed reef and Im not happy with the color. Its too blue for my taste. Bulbs Front to back:

Giesemann Actinic Plus
ATI True Actinic
GE 6500K Daylight
Giesemann Actinic Plus
ATI 12000k Aquablue Special
Giesemann Actinic Plus

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Re: Lighting too blue

Re: Lighting too blue

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13303261#post13303261 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by edwarder
Hi Grim. Im running 6 x 60'' driven by two Ice Cap 660s over a 180 gal mixed reef and Im not happy with the color. Its too blue for my taste. Bulbs Front to back:

Giesemann Actinic Plus
ATI True Actinic
GE 6500K Daylight
Giesemann Actinic Plus
ATI 12000k Aquablue Special
Giesemann Actinic Plus

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Swap the position of the front Actinic Plus with the Aquablue. If that doesn't work get a second Aquablue and use it in place of a Actinic Plus

 

[edwarder]

Thanks!

 

[WrasseAttack!]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13303255#post13303255 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by The Grim Reefer
You are going to have a problem getting 6 of the Tek II reflectors in that tank. The are 3 1/4" wide which presents a problem. You Would need to use 2 36" Ice Cap reflectors per lamp. They would work great but that gets a little pricey.

Arrr, that sucks. Could I do it with the SLR reflectors?

 

[Aqua Keepers]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13303216#post13303216 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by The Grim Reefer

It's one of those subjects I am hesitent to go into because I am not sure which lamps have this feature but seeing as it appears most of them we deal with do here it goes.

"The light output of a low-pressure mercury
vapor lamp (T5 Fluorescent) is determined by the saturated mercury vapour pressure which is determined by the
temperature of the liquid mercury deposited
somewhere on the inner wall of the lamp. In a
stabilized lamp this is the coldest part of the bulb:
the “cold chamber” or “cold spot”.
In case of a StarcoatTM T5 linear fluorescent lamp
this “cold spot” is situated behind the electrode at
the brand stamp end of the lamp. StarcoatTM T5
lamps were designed to reach their maximum
luminous flux at an ambient draught-free air
temperature of 35oC. As the cold spot is situated
near the metal cap, the temperature of the cap
can tell how close the Hg vapour pressure is to the
optimum : a cap temperature of approx. 43-45oC
corresponds to conditions resulting in maximum
light output in a stabilized T5 lamp.
RECOMMENDATIONS "

You can read page 2 here. Overall a very good paper on lighting

http://www.gelighting.com/eu/resources/literature_library/prod_tech_pub/downloads/t5_data_sheet.pdf [/B][/QUOTE]

So let's see if I learned something. The cold spot (usually where the brand stamp is) is where the bulb produces the most lumins. So we should position the bulb so that the brand stamp points down into the tank and we should run our fans from back to front across the end caps rather than running the fans lengthwise across the bulbs?

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13303614#post13303614 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by pito
/t5_data_sheet.pdf[/url] [/B]

So let's see if I learned something. The cold spot (usually where the brand stamp is) is where the bulb produces the most lumins. So we should position the bulb so that the brand stamp points down into the tank and we should run our fans from back to front across the end caps rather than running the fans lengthwise across the bulbs? [/B][/QUOTE]

No, the cold spot is just at the same end as the brand stamp. That is designed to be the coolest spot of a running lamp. The optimum output will be reached when that metal cap on the label end is around 113 degrees.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13303614#post13303614 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by pito
/t5_data_sheet.pdf[/url] [/B]

So let's see if I learned something. The cold spot (usually where the brand stamp is) is where the bulb produces the most lumins. So we should position the bulb so that the brand stamp points down into the tank and we should run our fans from back to front across the end caps rather than running the fans lengthwise across the bulbs? [/B][/QUOTE]

No, the cold spot is just at the same end as the brand stamp. That is designed to be the coolest spot of a running lamp. The optimum output will be reached when that metal cap on the label end is around 113 degrees.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13303328#post13303328 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by WrasseAttack!
Arrr, that sucks. Could I do it with the SLR reflectors?

Yep the Ice Cap SLRs work but you have to use two to cover the length.

 

[Aqua Keepers]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13303675#post13303675 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by The Grim Reefer
So let's see if I learned something. The cold spot (usually where the brand stamp is) is where the bulb produces the most lumins. So we should position the bulb so that the brand stamp points down into the tank and we should run our fans from back to front across the end caps rather than running the fans lengthwise across the bulbs?

No, the cold spot is just at the same end as the brand stamp. That is designed to be the coolest spot of a running lamp. The optimum output will be reached when that metal cap on the label end is around 113 degrees. [/B][/QUOTE]

So no need to cool that end down by running the fans a special way?

 

[Rueg]

I hate the electricity bill being so high. I am running 3 x 400w halides on a standard 180 gallon tank (72x24x24). I have a few SPS but the softies (mushrooms and Kenya tree) pretty much overgrow everything. If I was to switch to T5s and wanted to keep SPS what would you recommend? Would a solar flare be good enough to keep the SPS in the center of the tank and then the softies around the outsides (if they would only grow there that is)? What if I wanted all SPS? If I was to turn this tank into a fish-only tank what would you recommend?

Thanks! Trying to figure out what I want to do to lower the electric bill.

 

[NewbieFish]

I am a freshie doing research on going reef. I have been reading this thread and still have a couple of questions.

1) Would going T5 rather than MH generally eliminate the need for a chiller assuming Pacific Northwest climate?

2) People keep talking about overdriving their lamps with Icecap Ballasts. Is it that the ballast will overdrive a 48" lamp straight out of the box without doubling up connectors?

3) Considering a 48x24x24 120g tank. As a newbie I probably will not go SPS straight off the bat, but will the 8 lamp tek fixture eventually allow me to keep just about everything? If it cannot with stock ballasts will it be able to do so when OD'd?

4) Also how would a 8 lamp fixture compare to 2x 250w MH in terms of the utility bill? Is there somewhere with a light per watt comparison chart?

Thanks

 

[Aqua Keepers]

I'm trying to learn about lighting and it's roll to our hobby. Can someone point me in the right direction to learn about Par, Kalvins , lumins, and what ever else might be important to us reefers.

 

[spleen93]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13306795#post13306795 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by pito
I'm trying to learn about lighting and it's roll to our hobby. Can someone point me in the right direction to learn about Par, Kalvins , lumins, and what ever else might be important to us reefers.

This is probably a good place to start.