The T5 Q&a Thread

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14022008#post14022008 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by the2ofus
About placement;

the pc I have now has the 420nm actinic in front and 10,000K in back. When adding the first two ATI Blue Plus lamps, placing one in front of the pcs' and one in back to start correct?
When I add the second two I will pull out the first actinics and ballast and replace with the UVL Super Actinic and aquasun or should I remove the 10000K for the second set and the actinics last when I install the 5th and 6th t5's (ATI Aquablue and the other Blue Plus)?

In the end the 6 t5's should be what from front to back?

Thanks for your help.

~Matt~

When you add the first two in front and behind the PC's is right. When you add the second two T5's put them in where both rows of PC are at. Leave yourself about 2 1/2" of space for each row of T5's. 4 T5's will put more light in the tank than your 420/10K PC rig is. No reason to try to jam 4 T5's in there with the PC's too.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14026465#post14026465 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by arctictwist
grim, or anyone else, have any experience with ati's new Pro color bulb?

I am using one. Thought it was an Aquasun for the last few months but it was the pro color I had the lamps pulled doing fixture tests and it was the pro color. I could have sworn I had put an aquasun in its place.

They don't have a lot of PAR but they do bring out pink and purple colors nice. I use that and a UVL 75/25 to bump the reds up some. I use 4 blue plus, those two and a GE 6500K Daylight in my system.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14026962#post14026962 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RTBS
No but I have just ordered 1 in the replacement lamps for my ATI Powermodules.
Have ordered the following
4 -- ATI Blue Plus
2 -- ATI 12000K Aquablue
1 -- ATI True Actinic
1 -- ATI Pro Color
We have 2 4X80W units and lamps come on in pairs
I have no idea what order to fit the lamps, anyone??
We cannot easily get 80W marine tubes in my country so have had to order from the US so its a bit of a guess to see if the mix of bulbs is right.
If anyone is running this combination I would appreciate a picture
Cheers

You want the actinic and the Pro Color front of center so the light they produce strikes the viewing side of the corals.

If you are using the two fixtures for 8 rows try this

Front
Blue Plus
Aquablue
Pro Color
Blue Plus
Actinic
Blue Plus
Aquablue
Blue Plus

That should allow you to turn on the actinic/blue plus on the rear fixture, then add the two blue pluses on the front fixture, then the blus plus/aquablue on the rear fixture and Pro Color and Aquablue on the front fixture for a nice ramp up to full lights. You may prefer to bring in the Pro Color sooner and use the two Aquablues for the last on, depends on your personal taste.

 

[RTBS]

Thanks for that, Will give it a shot when they arrive.
Cheers for the quick response.

 

[FishNFun]

Grim, can you give me some advice lighting advice regarding a new 36" Nova Extreme Pro (really good deal @ $276.00 shipped)? The tank is 65G (24" tall) with the actual distance from surface to sand about 21" or 22". I plan on setting the light right on the tank - no legs. I'm planning on having primarily LPS and some softies (maybe a couple SPS up high way down the road). I'd like to get a nice pop from the LPS too. Should I ditch all the stock bulbs or can I just replace some of them? What combination would you run on this unit? Thanks!

 

[CFranklin25]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for feedback on the red spectrum accent bulbs, KZ Fiji Purple and ATI Procolor. I want to add one of these to the mix when I get new bulbs next week.
I am leaning towards the Fiji because in Grim's PAR readings it had quite a bit more output than the procolor (330 vs. 215 I believe).

Is it true that the Fiji has been known to lose its spectrum and light output after a short period of time, say 4-6 months?

To those who have tried both, which did you like better?

my other bulbs will be blue plus and aquablue special...


thanks.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14027863#post14027863 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by FishNFun
Grim, can you give me some advice lighting advice regarding a new 36" Nova Extreme Pro (really good deal @ $276.00 shipped)? The tank is 65G (24" tall) with the actual distance from surface to sand about 21" or 22". I plan on setting the light right on the tank - no legs. I'm planning on having primarily LPS and some softies (maybe a couple SPS up high way down the road). I'd like to get a nice pop from the LPS too. Should I ditch all the stock bulbs or can I just replace some of them? What combination would you run on this unit? Thanks!

I would ditch the stock lamps pretty quick.

As far as I know the pro is pair so lamps 1&3 2&4 and 3&6 each come on together. If that is correct try this for lamps and placement

Front

ATI Blue Plus
UVL Aquasun
ATI Blue Plus
UVL 75/25
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Aquablue

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14027956#post14027956 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by CFranklin25
Hi everyone,

I'm looking for feedback on the red spectrum accent bulbs, KZ Fiji Purple and ATI Procolor. I want to add one of these to the mix when I get new bulbs next week.
I am leaning towards the Fiji because in Grim's PAR readings it had quite a bit more output than the procolor (330 vs. 215 I believe).

Is it true that the Fiji has been known to lose its spectrum and light output after a short period of time, say 4-6 months?

To those who have tried both, which did you like better?

my other bulbs will be blue plus and aquablue special...


thanks.

I have not ran the fiji long enough to speak about it's longevity. I really don't think they do anything special unless you want to run say a mix of those and aquablue type lamps in a 50/50 mix but opinions vary on that. Hopefully others will chime in. You might want to try a new thread with the question as well

 

[atlfishes]

I was going to get a T5 54w retro from reefgeek. What are the recommended reflectors now days? Is it still Icecap, even though reefgeek said theirs rated higher? Thanks
Front

Is this your 6 bulb recommendation for mixed reef? Thanks
ATI Blue Plus
UVL Aquasun
ATI Blue Plus
UVL 75/25
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Aquablue

 

[snaza]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14027956#post14027956 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by CFranklin25
Hi everyone,

I'm looking for feedback on the red spectrum accent bulbs, KZ Fiji Purple and ATI Procolor. I want to add one of these to the mix when I get new bulbs next week.
I am leaning towards the Fiji because in Grim's PAR readings it had quite a bit more output than the procolor (330 vs. 215 I believe).

Is it true that the Fiji has been known to lose its spectrum and light output after a short period of time, say 4-6 months?

To those who have tried both, which did you like better?

my other bulbs will be blue plus and aquablue special...


thanks.

I really like the Fiji better. Has a nice violet,purple tint. The pro color was too red for me. Didn:t look natural. im about to change my fiji bulb now but been running it just over a year now. Still has the same par as the Blue plus, both are 1 year old.

This photos is will all bulbs on and this is my combo


Front

Ati - Blue plus
Ati - Aqua blue
Ati - Blue plus
Kz - Fiji purple
Ati - Blue plus
Ati - Aqua blue
Ati - Blue plus

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14029456#post14029456 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by atlfishes
I was going to get a T5 54w retro from reefgeek. What are the recommended reflectors now days? Is it still Icecap, even though reefgeek said theirs rated higher? Thanks
Front

Is this your 6 bulb recommendation for mixed reef? Thanks
ATI Blue Plus
UVL Aquasun
ATI Blue Plus
UVL 75/25
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Aquablue

Reefgeeks reflectors are better. The mix of lamps you listed would be fine.

 

[CFranklin25]

That's exactly the look I'm going for...Great looking tank snaza, thanks for posting!!

 

[mklukas]

I read through a couple of these threads and what your doing for the community here is great Grim! I'm sure you've suggested something for a setup similar to mine but I haven't found it so far, so here's what I've got:

125g Tall, 60x18x24" this is my first saltwater tank and I haven't 100% decided if I'm doing FOWLR or a Reef tank, I'd like the lighting to be able to support either and I'm looking at going all T5 right now.

I'm going to set the tank up in a peninsula style so it will be viewable from both of the 60" sides as well as one 18" side. Because of this would 48" bulbs offset slightly to the front provide sufficient lighting or do I need to step up to 60"?

I'm thinking about a 6 Bulb retro kit from ReefGeek. In my situation would the HO be sufficient or should I step up to VHO?

Finally if you have any bulb recommendations for a FOWLR and/or Low-Med light coral it would be much appreciated, keeping in mind it'll be viewed from either side.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14029888#post14029888 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mklukas
I read through a couple of these threads and what your doing for the community here is great Grim! I'm sure you've suggested something for a setup similar to mine but I haven't found it so far, so here's what I've got:

125g Tall, 60x18x24" this is my first saltwater tank and I haven't 100% decided if I'm doing FOWLR or a Reef tank, I'd like the lighting to be able to support either and I'm looking at going all T5 right now.

I'm going to set the tank up in a peninsula style so it will be viewable from both of the 60" sides as well as one 18" side. Because of this would 48" bulbs offset slightly to the front provide sufficient lighting or do I need to step up to 60"?

I'm thinking about a 6 Bulb retro kit from ReefGeek. In my situation would the HO be sufficient or should I step up to VHO?

Finally if you have any bulb recommendations for a FOWLR and/or Low-Med light coral it would be much appreciated, keeping in mind it'll be viewed from either side.

HO would be fine if you aren't even sure about corals yet. with the lamps centered you will get even looking light to each end.

Front
ATI Aquablue
GE Daylight 6500K
ATI Aquablue
ATI Aquablue
GE Daylight 6500K
ATI Aquablue

You may need to play with the positions a bit but those lamps should give you a nice look

 

[gbothepro]

This thread is unbelievable! Grim and others do a really great job here. I need some help choosing a light fixture. Which of these would be better for a standard 55 gallon? TEK 4x54 or Aquactinics Tx5. These are my only 2 choices, only have so much space. current pro has a 6 bulb fixture tha fits but im not really interested. And what mix of bulbs fora nice blue look?

Thanks.

 

[gbothepro]

This thread is unbelievable! Grim and others do a really great job here. I need some help choosing a light fixture. Which of these would be better for a standard 55 gallon? TEK 4x54 or Aquactinics Tx5. These are my only 2 choices, only have so much space. current pro has a 6 bulb fixture that fits but im not really interested. And what mix of bulbs fora nice blue look?

Thanks.

 

[AD87]

Grim have you seen the new 454 uvl t-5 bulb that they are putting out soon. Do you know what it comparable to, I was thinking its gotta be close to the blue plus.

 

[painkiller1009]

I spoke to someone at UVL and they said to would be comparable to the ATI blue+ bulb.
There out now also, heres a link.
http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=28_39_194

 

[yama63]

Hey wanted to see if any one has heard of this company. Looks like a nock off t-5 can't find any info on this company.
This is the add floating around Price is great. bit i have see cheap lights before.

KATANA HIGH OUTPUT GISEMANN STYLE MODULE PENDENTS …includes bulbs actinic 20k and 10k 2 separate on off switches for the 4 bulb system and 1 switch for the 2 bulb system both systems have electronic ballast and 6 foot power cords comes with adjustable footings and mirror reflector.... BRAND NEW JUST RELESED THE 2-3 AND 4 FOOT 4-BULB SYSTEMS NOW COME WITH LED BLUE MOON LIGHTS,INDIVIDUAL REFLECTERS AND 3 SEPARATE POWER CORDS.... 1 year plus warranty and excellent customer support

Thanks

 

[The Grim Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14032809#post14032809 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gbothepro
This thread is unbelievable! Grim and others do a really great job here. I need some help choosing a light fixture. Which of these would be better for a standard 55 gallon? TEK 4x54 or Aquactinics Tx5. These are my only 2 choices, only have so much space. current pro has a 6 bulb fixture tha fits but im not really interested. And what mix of bulbs fora nice blue look?

Thanks.

I'd get the Tx5.

Front
ATI Blue Plus
UVL Super Actinic
GE 6500K Daylight
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Aquablue