The T5 Q&a Thread

[Todd March]

Re: Planning stage with T5 lighting for 125 gallon reef tank

Re: Planning stage with T5 lighting for 125 gallon reef tank

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14337290#post14337290 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Jp_here
It's a standard 125 Gallon tank 72x24x24. I want the ability to provide adequate lighting for anything from SPS to LPS and possibly clams. Most likely a mixed tank, I am planning on building my own canopy. Here is what I am thinking 9 80W T5's driven by 3 Icecap 660's ballasts if I need to overdrive the bulbs. If not I think I can squeeze 10 lights in there. I need some help figuring out what will be optimal vs. what will be overkill. Do I need to overdrive the bulbs or not? If so will overdriving bulbs be 3 or 4 lamps per ballast? If not then how many lamps per ballast can be wired with the 660’s?

Thanks for your time.
Jp

Jp, I wouldn't overdrive them, unless you aren't using good reflectors, or if you want to drop down to more like 6 or 7 bulbs. 9 HO normally driven bulbs will be plenty for 24", believe me, and you'll save on heat and bulb life too... I run 10 normally driven bulbs (ATI PM) over a 26" wide, 21" tall, tank, and I have ticked off palys on the sand, clams doing great on the sand, Montipora setosa growing 2" up from the sand, and Ponape Birdsnest, also on the sand and slightly under a rock (!), that won't color up perfectly due to too much light...!

If you overdrive them, you could easily get away with 6 or 7 bulbs. But 9 normally driven HO bulbs will give you more spectrum options and is how I would go. You could also, as I have seen many do, overdrive some bulbs (whiter bulbs like the Aquablue Special hold up well to being overdriven), and leave the more volatile spectrums of bulbs like the Blue+, or Super Actinic, as they were meant to driven...

 

[Challenge]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Par readings

Re: Re: Re: Re: Par readings

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14335332#post14335332 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by The Grim Reefer
Not sure I would risk overdriving with Workhorses. Just looking at your set up it looked like the fans might be hitting too far out on the lamps and the ballasts weren't getting a lot of airflow. Just worth a shot to see if you pick up more PAR.

Thanks grim,

I'll work on the fans and see what I get with some adjustments. Will plan on a better ballast down the road a few months (after the other half gets over the budget shock from this setup so far)

 

[MBVette]

Planning a 225g reef

Planning a 225g reef

Im in the process of planning a new tank that will be a 225 (72x24x30)

I would like to be setup a full reef tank including some sps & lps corals.

I understand with a tank this deep I might run into some issues at the very bottom of the tank getting some light down there. But what do you guys think I should be running for this tank?

Thanks

 

[jc16]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14324499#post14324499 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by The Grim Reefer
A lot depends on what you are doing for reflectors. A 250 watt halide with a reasonably good reflector AND 4 T5's in good reflectors is a hell of a lot of light but if both are used in close quarters the heat from the halide can kill the T5 lamps. 70 watt halides are about worthless. If you have good T5 stuff I would try 2 ATI Blue Plus, one Aquablue and one UVL 75/25 then a 150 watt halide. Grab a couple fans and mount one on each side of the canopy blowing in from the back so the air cools the rows of endcaps and lamp eands.

Hello i've noticed how you said heat from the mh bulbs would kill the t5s, what would heat do to them? do they run better with better par when cooled? i'm asking because i have a aquaperfekt fixture with 4 400w halides and 12 39w t5s and no cooling fans in the fixture, would be t5s be useless? and as the t5s are just for supplementation i am planning to use 10 ati blue+ and 2 fiji purples along with aquaconnect 14k mh bulbs is that a good combination and give me a 20k look? thanks grim you doing a great job answering all these question

 

[rtparty]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14340476#post14340476 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jc16
Hello i've noticed how you said heat from the mh bulbs would kill the t5s, what would heat do to them? do they run better with better par when cooled? i'm asking because i have a aquaperfekt fixture with 4 400w halides and 12 39w t5s and no cooling fans in the fixture, would be t5s be useless? and as the t5s are just for supplementation i am planning to use 10 ati blue+ and 2 fiji purples along with aquaconnect 14k mh bulbs is that a good combination and give me a 20k look? thanks grim you doing a great job answering all these question

Too much heat kills their output and their life. PAR is increased quite a bit when properly cooled. You don't want to cool the bulbs themselves but cool the endcaps and have air at least moving around them.

I can't believe it has no cooling at all in that fixture. I would go to foster and smith and grab a couple of the Azoo clamp on fans and cool the whole fixture itself. It has got to be hurting output on everything with no cooling.

I would run 8 ATI Blue Plus, and 4 UVL 75/25. That way you get reds and some actinic to help pop colors.

 

[socalchris]

i have a 6 bulb Teklight fixture...39w i believe.

i need to order all new bulbs within the next day or two...i'd really like for the new bulb combination to POP!!! right now my green digitata looks brown...and my pink tipped frogspawn looks...well definitely not pink tipped lol.

can anyone recommend me a super sick bulb combination? POP POP POP!!!! super important! plllzzz lol. thanks guys.

 

[rtparty]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14341947#post14341947 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by socalchris
i have a 6 bulb Teklight fixture...39w i believe.

i need to order all new bulbs within the next day or two...i'd really like for the new bulb combination to POP!!! right now my green digitata looks brown...and my pink tipped frogspawn looks...well definitely not pink tipped lol.

can anyone recommend me a super sick bulb combination? POP POP POP!!!! super important! plllzzz lol. thanks guys.

What do you have now?

ATI Blue Plus
UVL 75/25
ATI Blue Plus
UVL Aquasun or GE 6500K
ATI Blue plus
ATI Aquablue

 

[socalchris]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14342107#post14342107 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rtparty
What do you have now?

ATI Blue Plus
UVL 75/25
ATI Blue Plus
UVL Aquasun or GE 6500K
ATI Blue plus
ATI Aquablue

i don't know what i have now...lol. i bought the fixture used from a fellow rc'er so whichever bulb combo he previously had. i know some of the bulbs were giessman's, but exactly which one's i'm not sure. i'll try that combo out. thanks rtparty

 

[rtparty]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14342147#post14342147 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by socalchris
i don't know what i have now...lol. i bought the fixture used from a fellow rc'er so whichever bulb combo he previously had. i know some of the bulbs were giessman's, but exactly which one's i'm not sure. i'll try that combo out. thanks rtparty

that's probably your issue, old bulbs and could be crappy ones too. They should have a label on them

 

[ReefEnabler]

I've been messing with some supplemental T5 configs.

Been running 2 x 80w ATI Blue Plus for a while on Icecap 660 ballast.

Wanted to try out the ATI Actinic and found that it looked much whiter than the Blue Plus and the PAR was about the same (peaking around 1000 at the surface).

Is that due to the 660 overdriving the bulbs? Why is the Blue Plus bulb able to handle the overdriving and retain the blue while the actinic basically turns into a white actinic?

I tried the Giesseman Actinic and it looked almost exacty like the ATI, pure white compared to the Blue Plus.

Should I run an icecap 430 for the actinics?

 

[gbothepro]

Hey guys,

Will a 4 bulb tek fixture be good enough to keep some sps, lps, clams, and a anemone on a 72 gallon bow?

 

[socalchris]

1x UVL0027 39W 75/25 14000K AquaBlue T5 HO Fluorescent
3x ATI1011 39W Blue Plus T5 HO Fluorescent
1x UVL0003 39W 10000K AquaSun T5 HO Fluorescent
1x ATI1003 39W 12000K Aquablue Special T5 HO Fluorescent

One more favor rtparty...can you confirm this is correct? You didn't mention Kelvin ratings...so i just want to make sure before I order. I'm gonna get them from reefgeek.

 

[ganjero]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14333933#post14333933 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by The Grim Reefer
It can be as low as you want as long as it doesn't touch the water. About 4" up will keep you from having to clean the splash shield very often.

Ok I have it at 4.5" hopefully thats good.

Another questions, is the UVL aquasun supposed to be reddish?

 

[Todd March]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14342385#post14342385 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ReefEnabler
I've been messing with some supplemental T5 configs.

Been running 2 x 80w ATI Blue Plus for a while on Icecap 660 ballast.

Wanted to try out the ATI Actinic and found that it looked much whiter than the Blue Plus and the PAR was about the same (peaking around 1000 at the surface).

Is that due to the 660 overdriving the bulbs? Why is the Blue Plus bulb able to handle the overdriving and retain the blue while the actinic basically turns into a white actinic?

I tried the Giesseman Actinic and it looked almost exacty like the ATI, pure white compared to the Blue Plus.

Should I run an icecap 430 for the actinics?

The special elements used for true actinic lamps, which are right on the edge of being ultra violet light sources, are very unstable and don't last long at allâ€"they should be replaced much more often than all other T5's (these phosphors are expensive too, which is why true actinics fluorescents often cost more).

I can imagine that overdriving them would play havoc with their delicate phosphors...

That's some PAR that you are getting!

 

[redfishsc]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14342779#post14342779 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ganjero

Another questions, is the UVL aquasun supposed to be reddish?

Yes.

It's called the "pepto-sun" for a reason :lol:

I have their 50/50 bulb and their 75/25 bulb. Both of them are pink/red too.

In the right bulb combination, they can look VERY nice. I have the 50/50 bulb over a tank combined with two 460 Slimpaq blues and a UVL Super Actinic.

I can't get a good true-to-life photo of this tank, but it looks GREAT.

 

[rtparty]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14342768#post14342768 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by socalchris
1x UVL0027 39W 75/25 14000K AquaBlue T5 HO Fluorescent
3x ATI1011 39W Blue Plus T5 HO Fluorescent
1x UVL0003 39W 10000K AquaSun T5 HO Fluorescent
1x ATI1003 39W 12000K Aquablue Special T5 HO Fluorescent

One more favor rtparty...can you confirm this is correct? You didn't mention Kelvin ratings...so i just want to make sure before I order. I'm gonna get them from reefgeek.

That is correct. I don't mention Kelvin ratings because they don't work with T5's.

The Aquasun and 75/25 are very pink bulbs. Almost Pepto colored. If you want to add more of a neutral, ivory green then get the GE 6500K. But the 75/25 and Aquasun will kick up your reds, plus you get an actinic bonus with the 75/25. It is a great bulb

 

[ReefEnabler]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14342784#post14342784 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Todd March
The special elements used for true actinic lamps, which are right on the edge of being ultra violet light sources, are very unstable and don't last long at allâ€"they should be replaced much more often than all other T5's (these phosphors are expensive too, which is why true actinics fluorescents often cost more).

I can imagine that overdriving them would play havoc with their delicate phosphors...

That's some PAR that you are getting!

thanks.

thats PAR at the surface of the bulb, ie with the sensor less than an inch from the bulb itself. the par from the bulbs at the surface of the water is much less.

might have to get an icecap 430 ballast.

 

[socalchris]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14343447#post14343447 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rtparty
That is correct. I don't mention Kelvin ratings because they don't work with T5's.

The Aquasun and 75/25 are very pink bulbs. Almost Pepto colored. If you want to add more of a neutral, ivory green then get the GE 6500K. But the 75/25 and Aquasun will kick up your reds, plus you get an actinic bonus with the 75/25. It is a great bulb

awesome...thanks a lot. when i get them i'll post pics.

 

[dse18612]

I have a standard 55 gal with 4-65 watt pc Im going to go with t5's what would be the best bulb combo want more of a blue look I have shrooms,zoas,candycane,acan,anthelia Thanks

 

[ReefEnabler]

are there any T5 bulbs with a GREEN/Blue color??

basically like the ATI blus plus but more of a turquoise color?