The T5 Q&a Thread

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13838816#post13838816 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RobertK
Thanks. I should add that I'm not looking for a big boost in light intensity here. My tank is fully stocked and doing well, but I'd like the colors to pop a bit more. I got some micromussa frags recently that had insane coloration in the grower's tank but look very ordinary in mine.

The VHO actinics are nice but the Blue Plus T5's are also killer plus they produce a ton of PAR.

Another option would be keeping your two VHO Actinics on the Ice Cap ballast and run 4 normally driven T5's too.

In that case do this

Front
VHO Actinic
ATI Blue Plus
UVL 75/25
ATI Blue Plus
UVL Aquasun
VHO Actinic

Wont really matter if the VHO's are above the euro brace, you would be using them for effect, not power

Wire that so the two T5 Blue Plus are on the same ballast.

Run the VHO actinics as dusk/dawn, then add the Blue Plus T5's for late morning late afternoon and the 75/25 and sun for Midday. 3 stage lighting is the schnitz.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13838905#post13838905 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Byrd503
Thank You Grimm!!!
33 pages and a month later-OMG

If you dont mind as I have read thru roughly 20 pages, the first 10 the last ten.

I am wanting to upgrade my current PC bulbs in my 24 gallon Nano, I am certain this is overkill but I have an opportunity to get either a 6 bulb, or 8 bulb fixture, both are 24 watt T5s with individual reflectors.
The difference in price is 15.00 dollars so I was leaning towards the 8 bulb.
My tank is only 14 inches deep at the "deepest" and 6 inches at is shallowest. With the fixture add 4 inches in height for the high and low. Dont laugh to hard.

I also have a 1/10 hp chiller so no heat issues-again LOL-I like a little overkill can you tell?

I would like to possibly have "whatever I want" in the tank but am afraid the 8 bulb will be to intense for certain livestock. For the 15 dollars extra it seems to good to pass up but if it will cause limitations I will choose the 6 bulb. Not sure if how it is wired I could run 6 of the 8 so I need to choose between the 2, I dont want to re-wire and void the warranty.

Thanks in advance if you get a chance to reply.

PS do you have a PayPal where I can send donations?:smokin:

If the fixtures are those cheesey Catalina units they use Workhorse ballasts so you can leave slots open and they still works but I would still stick to 6 lamps and make 2 of them actinic. 2 actinic, 2 ATI Blue Plus, 1 GE 6500K Daylight and 1 UVL Aquasun

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13839476#post13839476 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by chark
I have a 10 bulb ATI Power Module my lights are too blue. I have sps and lps and would like good growth and color but not too blue. Any suggestions? Here is what I have now:

Front
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Aquablue
ATI Actinic
ATI Blue Plus
KZ Fiji Purple
KZ New Coral Light
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Actinic
ATI Aquablue
ATI Blue Plus
Back

All suggestions will be appreciated.

Cecil

Add a Pro Color and Ge 6500K Daylight where suggested.

Front
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Aquablue Change to ATI Pro Color
ATI Actinic
ATI Blue Plus
KZ Fiji Purple
KZ New Coral Light CHange to GE 6500K Daylight
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Actinic
ATI Aquablue
ATI Blue Plus
Back

 

[RobertK]

Thanks, Grim. You said:

For lamps try
Front
ATI Blue Plus
UVL Super Actinic
UVL Aquasun
ATI Aquablue

and

Another option would be keeping your two VHO Actinics on the Ice Cap ballast and run 4 normally driven T5's too.

In that case do this

Front
VHO Actinic
ATI Blue Plus
UVL 75/25
ATI Blue Plus
UVL Aquasun
VHO Actinic

Is there room for that many bulbs in a 48 x 15" canopy? How would the amount of light with these two arrangements compare to the amount of light my corals have with the 4 x 110W VHO setup I have now?

Thanks again,
Robert

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13840653#post13840653 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RobertK
Thanks, Grim. You said:



and



Is there room for that many bulbs in a 48 x 15" canopy? How would the amount of light with these two arrangements compare to the amount of light my corals have with the 4 x 110W VHO setup I have now?

Thanks again,
Robert

Each T5 needs 2 1/2" so they would all fit.

4 normally driven T5's is probably about even. If you could live with a couple fans blowing in from the back at each end to cool the endcaps 4 overdriven would be a large increase in PAR. the 6 lamp setup would be a decent increase.

 

[RobertK]

I don't want the fans. I think I'll do the 4 T5s with the HO ballasts you recommended, and add in the VHO actinics on the 660 if I need more light.

Thanks Grim, that helps a lot!
Robert

 

[snaza]

Hi Grim,

I started a thread but thought id ask you the same question

Ok, I have 120G tank and I decided to plumb in a small nano(8G) (so it using the same water column, sump, skimmer etc).

Ive put frags in both tank and found all the frags in my nano lose colour intensity, while in the 120G the colours are still great. not bleaching just all the bright greens and blues have faded to really drab colours

Both tanks are running T5s and all SPS are getting around 300-400par in both tanks.

Flow in the nano was moderate but i added another pump tonight to see if that helps. Could lack of flow cause the SPS to lose colours? There wasnt a lack of flow in the nano but probably more in my 120g so thats the only difference i would think of.

120g is running 7x54w HO IC SLC RETRO.
Nano is 26x8x8 and running 4x24w cheap fixture.

both tanks are running 50% blue plus, aqua blue. 120G has the 7th bulb as a fiji.

Any ideas?

 

[Todd March]

For Grim and Powermodule owners:

As I posted here, running my bulbs on the opposite ends of the fixture that they are suppose to be (coldspot mated to the fan vent holes), they were brighter and the spectrum changedâ€"whiter overall. This got me to thinking, as it has been posted that ideally the coldspot (the end with the writing on it) should be around 113F, and I just happen to own a laser beam thermometer (bought for my 800F pizza oven), so I did some readings....

Now ATI recommends keeping the fan control for the Powermodule at 4.5 volts, which I have had my fans set on the last 4 months. On the 4.5 volt setting the temperatures of the coldspot range from 140F-160F. Increasing the fans settings to 6 or 7 volts help a little, but not dramatically. It's not until you turn the fan's setting to 12 volts that the temperature of the coldspot lowers to 117F-130F. For some reason the KZ Fiji Purple bulbs run much warmerâ€"around 15-20F warmer than my ATI or G-mann bulbs...?

You can see the difference with your eyes when the coldspot is cooler on the higher fan settingâ€"the bulbs are brighter and the spectrum is less blue, whiter for lack of a better description, on my rather blue selection anyway (4 Blue+, 2 AB Special, 2 Pure Actinic, 2 Fiji). I also notice much less color banding from the different bulbs in my 10 lamp Powermodule at the higher fan setting. The light looks more uniform and crisp across the tank. I much prefer the light at these cooler coldspot temperatures.

For those of you with Powermodules, I highly recommend playing around with the fan's volt settings. The higher settings make the fans more audible, but it's not outrageous in my living room. I didn't do any testing at the highest setting, at 12 volts, as on this setting the fans really do get audible and rather loud at that...

 

[sayn3ver]

Grim,

It's been awhile but I am back again. I have an older Tek 4x54w fixture (Tek 1 reflectors). My33g long (48x12x12) was taken down to revamp it. I went to clean the fixture today and noticed that while the reflectors are in pretty good shape, they do have some stains from the spray.

I am in the process of turning the tank into a frag setup, and since I have nothing in it right now, I am trying to do this right.

I have been considering replacing the fixture with either icecap retros or modding the TEK fixture. ideally I would get a powermodule but i cannot afford one at this time.

Do you have a recommendation on what I should do or should I just save for the better fixture? I would like to be able to propagate all types of coral.

Lance

 

[snaza]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13841608#post13841608 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Todd March
For Grim and Powermodule owners:

As I posted here, running my bulbs on the opposite ends of the fixture that they are suppose to be (coldspot mated to the fan vent holes), they were brighter and the spectrum changedâ€"whiter overall. This got me to thinking, as it has been posted that ideally the coldspot (the end with the writing on it) should be around 113F, and I just happen to own a laser beam thermometer (bought for my 800F pizza oven), so I did some readings....

Now ATI recommends keeping the fan control for the Powermodule at 4.5 volts, which I have had my fans set on the last 4 months. On the 4.5 volt setting the temperatures of the coldspot range from 140F-160F. Increasing the fans settings to 6 or 7 volts help a little, but not dramatically. It's not until you turn the fan's setting to 12 volts that the temperature of the coldspot lowers to 117F-130F. For some reason the KZ Fiji Purple bulbs run much warmerâ€"around 15-20F warmer than my ATI or G-mann bulbs...?

You can see the difference with your eyes when the coldspot is cooler on the higher fan settingâ€"the bulbs are brighter and the spectrum is less blue, whiter for lack of a better description, on my rather blue selection anyway (4 Blue+, 2 AB Special, 2 Pure Actinic, 2 Fiji). I also notice much less color banding from the different bulbs in my 10 lamp Powermodule at the higher fan setting. The light looks more uniform and crisp across the tank. I much prefer the light at these cooler coldspot temperatures.

For those of you with Powermodules, I highly recommend playing around with the fan's volt settings. The higher settings make the fans more audible, but it's not outrageous in my living room. I didn't do any testing at the highest setting, at 12 volts, as on this setting the fans really do get audible and rather loud at that...

Very cool Todd. Do you have PAR meter to see if output is increased? I just run an IC retro with 4 x 5inch fans at 9v. par at water level is about 600 with the fans on. If i slow them to 3v the par decreases to 500. I dont have laser to check temp though. Might have to go get one

 

[Todd March]

Thanks for your information, too, snaza, confirms what I see here. I swear I keep looking at the tank and keep thinking, "I'm not imagining it, right?"

No PAR meter, that would be cool though to see the readings... Maybe someone else on this thread has a PAR meter and Powermodule and can take this experimentation further....!

 

[pelochas]

this may be an odd question

marine depot has a good price on a 36 inch current usa nova extreme t5 retrofit 460nm actinici fixture for sale for about $100 which is about $40 off msrp.

i unfortunately have a 48inch long tank with two 175 watt MH with iwasaki bulbs. that light i bright white and i definately want some blue and color in the tank.

i wish the sale had some 48 inch long t5 retrofits for me but would you pass up on this offer? im not looking for growth or par but just some color to add my MH lighting and $40 off a new fixture with bulbs from a good reviewed Current USA Nova Extreme fixture is something to think about before passing the deal buy.

Should i buy 36 inch T5 retrofit or pass for something 'USED' in the $100 range?

 

[RobertK]

Doh! I measured wrong. The canopy lid is 48 x 15 when open but only 13.5" wide when closed, so that eliminates the 6 bulb option. There's only room for 4 bulbs, so I guess I'll go with the 4 T5s on the HO ballasts, and if I really need more light I'll put them on the 660 and throw some fans on the hood.

Thanks again,
Robert

P.S. Does anyone know how much PAR the VHO bulbs put out?

 

[snaza]

Anyone seen the NEW ATI sunpower units. They look 100x better then the old ones. They look better than the Powermodules

http://www.atiaquaristik.com/index.php?id=125,0,0,1,0,0

I wander if the if the output is almost the same as the Powermodul. I know it only has 1 fan per fixture but it is much cheaper

 

[roushracer]

Grim -

I can only afford to replace 3 lights on the new 36" Nova Extreme Pro for now. Which would be worth keeping and which should I replace? Keep the Current 10k's?

I was thinking of going with this for now (I want something with the 14k-20k look)

Front
Gmann Actinic Plus
Current 10k
Gmann Actinic Plus
Current 10k
Current 460nm Actinic
Gmann Aquablue

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Maybe, Try asking in the SPS forum.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13840874#post13840874 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by snaza
Hi Grim,

I started a thread but thought id ask you the same question

Ok, I have 120G tank and I decided to plumb in a small nano(8G) (so it using the same water column, sump, skimmer etc).

Ive put frags in both tank and found all the frags in my nano lose colour intensity, while in the 120G the colours are still great. not bleaching just all the bright greens and blues have faded to really drab colours

Both tanks are running T5s and all SPS are getting around 300-400par in both tanks.

Flow in the nano was moderate but i added another pump tonight to see if that helps. Could lack of flow cause the SPS to lose colours? There wasnt a lack of flow in the nano but probably more in my 120g so thats the only difference i would think of.

120g is running 7x54w HO IC SLC RETRO.
Nano is 26x8x8 and running 4x24w cheap fixture.

both tanks are running 50% blue plus, aqua blue. 120G has the 7th bulb as a fiji.

Any ideas?

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13841608#post13841608 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Todd March
For Grim and Powermodule owners:

As I posted here, running my bulbs on the opposite ends of the fixture that they are suppose to be (coldspot mated to the fan vent holes), they were brighter and the spectrum changedâ€"whiter overall. This got me to thinking, as it has been posted that ideally the coldspot (the end with the writing on it) should be around 113F, and I just happen to own a laser beam thermometer (bought for my 800F pizza oven), so I did some readings....

Now ATI recommends keeping the fan control for the Powermodule at 4.5 volts, which I have had my fans set on the last 4 months. On the 4.5 volt setting the temperatures of the coldspot range from 140F-160F. Increasing the fans settings to 6 or 7 volts help a little, but not dramatically. It's not until you turn the fan's setting to 12 volts that the temperature of the coldspot lowers to 117F-130F. For some reason the KZ Fiji Purple bulbs run much warmerâ€"around 15-20F warmer than my ATI or G-mann bulbs...?

You can see the difference with your eyes when the coldspot is cooler on the higher fan settingâ€"the bulbs are brighter and the spectrum is less blue, whiter for lack of a better description, on my rather blue selection anyway (4 Blue+, 2 AB Special, 2 Pure Actinic, 2 Fiji). I also notice much less color banding from the different bulbs in my 10 lamp Powermodule at the higher fan setting. The light looks more uniform and crisp across the tank. I much prefer the light at these cooler coldspot temperatures.

For those of you with Powermodules, I highly recommend playing around with the fan's volt settings. The higher settings make the fans more audible, but it's not outrageous in my living room. I didn't do any testing at the highest setting, at 12 volts, as on this setting the fans really do get audible and rather loud at that...

According to ATI their lamp's cold spot will be at the label end if you don't cool the lamps BUT if you do cool them the cold spot will migrate to whichever end is coolest.

Try doing the temp readings at each end and see which is cooler. You want the giesemann tamps label end at the cooler end.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13842844#post13842844 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by pelochas
this may be an odd question

marine depot has a good price on a 36 inch current usa nova extreme t5 retrofit 460nm actinici fixture for sale for about $100 which is about $40 off msrp.

i unfortunately have a 48inch long tank with two 175 watt MH with iwasaki bulbs. that light i bright white and i definately want some blue and color in the tank.

i wish the sale had some 48 inch long t5 retrofits for me but would you pass up on this offer? im not looking for growth or par but just some color to add my MH lighting and $40 off a new fixture with bulbs from a good reviewed Current USA Nova Extreme fixture is something to think about before passing the deal buy.

Should i buy 36 inch T5 retrofit or pass for something 'USED' in the $100 range?

Get a good 2 lamp retrofit from reefgeek.com with ATI Blue Plus lamps. You wont regret spending the extra 59 bux.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13842865#post13842865 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RobertK
Doh! I measured wrong. The canopy lid is 48 x 15 when open but only 13.5" wide when closed, so that eliminates the 6 bulb option. There's only room for 4 bulbs, so I guess I'll go with the 4 T5s on the HO ballasts, and if I really need more light I'll put them on the 660 and throw some fans on the hood.

Thanks again,
Robert

P.S. Does anyone know how much PAR the VHO bulbs put out?

You could always snag a Workhorse 7 ballast and run one VHO with it.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13843017#post13843017 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by snaza
Anyone seen the NEW ATI sunpower units. They look 100x better then the old ones. They look better than the Powermodules

http://www.atiaquaristik.com/index.php?id=125,0,0,1,0,0

I wander if the if the output is almost the same as the Powermodul. I know it only has 1 fan per fixture but it is much cheaper

The lighting stork is supposed to be dropping one at Casa de Grimo in the next couple weeks. Supposedly they have 0 fall off from heat running the fan at 4.5 volts. We Will See.