AudioAdict
New member
I want to order the Tek 48" 8 lamp fixture.
Is this going to be too much light for a 60 gallon tank?? SPS only.
Is this going to be too much light for a 60 gallon tank?? SPS only.
Too many T-5's??
- Thread starter AudioAdict
- Start date
Henry Bowman
Reefing since '87
Nice avatar there ....
AND, I dont think that an 8 lamp fixture will fit over the tank depth wise (front to back).
I have a 6 light fixture on a 90 and theres only about 3" left at the back of the tank. You can keep SPS and corals with a 6 light unit, I do !
AND, I dont think that an 8 lamp fixture will fit over the tank depth wise (front to back).
I have a 6 light fixture on a 90 and theres only about 3" left at the back of the tank. You can keep SPS and corals with a 6 light unit, I do !
AudioAdict
New member
Thanks for the reply. I know the 8 lamp would be a little too wide. That didn't bother me much. I just want to have enough light. Are these units overdriven? Can new ballsts be installed to over drive them? Or is that even needed. I don't know much about T-5's so sorry about all the questions.
These avatars are one of the default RC avatars.
These avatars are one of the default RC avatars.
Henry Bowman
Reefing since '87
As to which units are overdriven, you'd have to ask the specific mfgr and or sales source. Aquactinics' Solar Flare is overdriven producing about 80 watts per bulb vs. the standard 57-60w. Contact Tom via the sponsors forum.
Ballasts can be replaced pretty easily. Icecap ballasts generally overdrive the T5 lamps safely. You'd have to check the icecap forum in the sponsors area to find out exactly for your application.
What I do know is that an Icecap 660 will overdrive 4ea 48" T5 bulbs and a 440 will overdrive 2ea 48" bulbs. My aquactinics fixture utilizes these ballasts to power the 6 bulb unit I have.
What are the deminsions of your 60?
Check this site for retro's www.reefgeek.com and this site for premade hoods www.aquariumspecialty.com Greg at reefgeek can give you more info. The aq-specialty site is not the cheapest but by far the best customer service of any that I have delt with in the past. Call Scott, he'll help you out with information on their aquactinics units and or you can check out the www.aquactinics.com website and look in the sponsors forum (they are listed there too). The owner of aquactinics name is Tom and he was very helpful when I was making a decision on T5 lighting.
Sorry I was repetitive in the answer but you should be able to get some direction and info from searching around in the places and people listed.
HTH
Ballasts can be replaced pretty easily. Icecap ballasts generally overdrive the T5 lamps safely. You'd have to check the icecap forum in the sponsors area to find out exactly for your application.
What I do know is that an Icecap 660 will overdrive 4ea 48" T5 bulbs and a 440 will overdrive 2ea 48" bulbs. My aquactinics fixture utilizes these ballasts to power the 6 bulb unit I have.
What are the deminsions of your 60?
Check this site for retro's www.reefgeek.com and this site for premade hoods www.aquariumspecialty.com Greg at reefgeek can give you more info. The aq-specialty site is not the cheapest but by far the best customer service of any that I have delt with in the past. Call Scott, he'll help you out with information on their aquactinics units and or you can check out the www.aquactinics.com website and look in the sponsors forum (they are listed there too). The owner of aquactinics name is Tom and he was very helpful when I was making a decision on T5 lighting.
Sorry I was repetitive in the answer but you should be able to get some direction and info from searching around in the places and people listed.
HTH
AudioAdict
New member
Thanks for all of your suggestions. The dimensions for the 60 are standard (48" x 18" x 17")
I really just want good growth and color out of my sps without the electric cost of halides.
Do you think the 6 lamp fixture (overdriven) will give me what im looking for?
I really just want good growth and color out of my sps without the electric cost of halides.
Do you think the 6 lamp fixture (overdriven) will give me what im looking for?
Henry Bowman
Reefing since '87
Absoloutly ! The unit I have is a 48" overdriven set that will do exactly what you want (if you keep the water pristine).
I was looking for a lower electricity alternative to MH. After alot of reading, research and deliberation, I ended up with the aquactinics solar flare. If I had to do it all over again, I'd get the same unit.
I was looking for a lower electricity alternative to MH. After alot of reading, research and deliberation, I ended up with the aquactinics solar flare. If I had to do it all over again, I'd get the same unit.
AudioAdict
New member
Thanks again for your input Mr. Bowman. I think I'm going to get the Tek 6 lamp fixture and see how that works out. If i need to, i can upgrade to icecaps in the future with that one. Right? I would go with the one you have but i work for a company which distributes for sunlight supply so i have easy access to Tek products. What bulbs are you running in your fixture?
jamesdawson
New member
Hey Kyle,
There are better choices than a TekLight.
They are not actively cooled and if you get any of the inevitable splash/spray on the reflectors they will be forever stained and compromised. If you put a splash shield on them your bulbs get cooked because there is no active cooling. PAR is very mediocre on these fixtures and customer service/warranty support by the manufacturer is also mediocre at best. Good T5 fixtures will give you at least twice the PAR of a Teklight.
You would be better off buying quality the first time. I suggest either Solar Flares for the ultimate in PAR plus moonlights built-in or the ATI PowerModule or SunPower (excellently priced at roughly the same price as the TekLight) that ReefGeek is going to have (hopefully) soon. Other options include the Fauna Marin UltraSolaris that Aquarium Obsessed imports or an Aquatinics T5 fixture. All these fixtures have active cooling and produce much better PAR than the Tek. They are also made by quality companies that stand by what they make if there's a problem.
Good luck,
James
There are better choices than a TekLight.
They are not actively cooled and if you get any of the inevitable splash/spray on the reflectors they will be forever stained and compromised. If you put a splash shield on them your bulbs get cooked because there is no active cooling. PAR is very mediocre on these fixtures and customer service/warranty support by the manufacturer is also mediocre at best. Good T5 fixtures will give you at least twice the PAR of a Teklight.
You would be better off buying quality the first time. I suggest either Solar Flares for the ultimate in PAR plus moonlights built-in or the ATI PowerModule or SunPower (excellently priced at roughly the same price as the TekLight) that ReefGeek is going to have (hopefully) soon. Other options include the Fauna Marin UltraSolaris that Aquarium Obsessed imports or an Aquatinics T5 fixture. All these fixtures have active cooling and produce much better PAR than the Tek. They are also made by quality companies that stand by what they make if there's a problem.
Good luck,
James
Henry Bowman
Reefing since '87
I have to agree with James here. The lights need to be cooled. GrimReefer did a study / experiment with cooling and or actively cooled lights (they have fans built into the unit).
In the cases where the lights are kept at 90-94 degrees the par of an overdriven Solar Flare meet and or beat a set of 250 W Metal halide lamps 24" below (bottom of the tank). Without the fans and or active cooling, the PAR (Light energy) fell by almost 50%. He also did tests on lights that were not overdriven with approx the same results. NOW.... you can go ahead with the TEK and put a fan (Clip on) to blow across them and get the shield that is extra when you purchase your unit. OR you could go the radio shack route and get a couple 110v fans and hack a couple holes in the top of your new light?
I understand why you may go the TEK route esp. if you can get a deal on them. But be prepare to find a way to cool the lamps to get the most out of your investment.
In the cases where the lights are kept at 90-94 degrees the par of an overdriven Solar Flare meet and or beat a set of 250 W Metal halide lamps 24" below (bottom of the tank). Without the fans and or active cooling, the PAR (Light energy) fell by almost 50%. He also did tests on lights that were not overdriven with approx the same results. NOW.... you can go ahead with the TEK and put a fan (Clip on) to blow across them and get the shield that is extra when you purchase your unit. OR you could go the radio shack route and get a couple 110v fans and hack a couple holes in the top of your new light?
I understand why you may go the TEK route esp. if you can get a deal on them. But be prepare to find a way to cool the lamps to get the most out of your investment.
jamesdawson
New member
Well Grim also did a PAR test on a TekLight with a fan blowing on the bulbs and it only raised PAR from 150ish to about 190ish. The PowerM'odule put out over 300. Poblem is, if you put a shield on the Tek, you can't blow a fan across the bulbs. Better to buy quality the first time. The ATI SunPower fixtures ReefGeek is bringing in will cost close to that of a TekLight.
James
James
AudioAdict
New member
I really can't say thanks enough for the information!! But, thank you. I think i'm gonna go with the Tek light. Mainly due to budget (very small), plus i really like the look of these units.
I was planning on getting some sort of fans (probably 6" or lager clip-on style) on each side of the tank to keep the bulbs cool enough. I am also planning on keeping the fixture about 6-8" off the surface of the water because of the lack of splash guard on the tek unit. Is this high? I'll still be able to grow corals near the bottom right? Probably the only area where i'll have any softies in the tank.
I was planning on getting some sort of fans (probably 6" or lager clip-on style) on each side of the tank to keep the bulbs cool enough. I am also planning on keeping the fixture about 6-8" off the surface of the water because of the lack of splash guard on the tek unit. Is this high? I'll still be able to grow corals near the bottom right? Probably the only area where i'll have any softies in the tank.
AudioAdict
New member
If i choose to upgrade the ballasts to icecaps, will i get more par from the light? Im not looking for the craziest thing on the market. I still want it to be adequite though.
I put two Current USa Nova Extreme 4 bulb fixtures over my 55 gallon. These have fans for cooling but not individual reflectors. Its lots of light. I am growing whatever I want including a pink lemonade frag.
You should be good with a six bulb fixture if it has good cooling and individual reflectors. While the Ice Cap will overdrive the bulbs, in my opinion you dont need it, you will have lots of light and if you choose the correct combination of bulbs, some amazing coloration.
You should be good with a six bulb fixture if it has good cooling and individual reflectors. While the Ice Cap will overdrive the bulbs, in my opinion you dont need it, you will have lots of light and if you choose the correct combination of bulbs, some amazing coloration.
Henry Bowman
Reefing since '87
Audio,
Like GMAX said, you should be OK. I'd say with the fan(s) you should be good too. 6" should be fine, just dont splash any water on them. If they can hang from the ceiling, get adjustable cable type hangars so you can raise the light with it still on and work on the tank. IceCaps will overdrive the lights which you may not need to do at all. I went for the IceCap overdriven lights because my tank is SPS (Small Polyp Stony Coral) and "generally" they are light lovers and I did not want to be limited. If I was setting up a mixed reef (already have one) I would probably not opt to go with overdriven T5's.
I think you'll be in good shape.
Good Luck !
Like GMAX said, you should be OK. I'd say with the fan(s) you should be good too. 6" should be fine, just dont splash any water on them. If they can hang from the ceiling, get adjustable cable type hangars so you can raise the light with it still on and work on the tank. IceCaps will overdrive the lights which you may not need to do at all. I went for the IceCap overdriven lights because my tank is SPS (Small Polyp Stony Coral) and "generally" they are light lovers and I did not want to be limited. If I was setting up a mixed reef (already have one) I would probably not opt to go with overdriven T5's.
I think you'll be in good shape.
Good Luck !
AudioAdict
New member
I plan on the tank being primarily SPS. Maybesome softies at the bottom.
With that in mind, do you think the Tek 6 lamp will do the job?
With that in mind, do you think the Tek 6 lamp will do the job?
The Grim Reefer
Ready for some NOBALL!!!
The tank is only 17 inches tall, the Tek is more than enough light for whatever you want to grow. You might look at the 5 lamp Aquactinic fixture as well.
If you use the Tek mount it so it's 4~6 inches above the water. Grab one of these http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&pc=1&N=0&Nty=1 Get the 4 fan unit
and mount it to the back of the tank so it blows straight across the side of the fixture with air passing above and below the fixture. You don't want to blow the air right at the lamps, just cause the air to move. Should be good for up to a 30% increase in output. You could use 2 of the 2 fan units and set them at each end near the endcaps but using it in the middle should also help keep the ballasts cooler.
If you use the Tek mount it so it's 4~6 inches above the water. Grab one of these http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&pc=1&N=0&Nty=1 Get the 4 fan unit
and mount it to the back of the tank so it blows straight across the side of the fixture with air passing above and below the fixture. You don't want to blow the air right at the lamps, just cause the air to move. Should be good for up to a 30% increase in output. You could use 2 of the 2 fan units and set them at each end near the endcaps but using it in the middle should also help keep the ballasts cooler.
AudioAdict
New member
Thanks a lot grim. I'll do that with those fans. What would you recomend as far as bulb configuration? I would like to go with all geissman bulbs because i can get them cheaper.
This is what i was thinking
From front to back
Pure actinic
11000k
6500
Pure actinic
11000k
Pure actinic
This is what i was thinking
From front to back
Pure actinic
11000k
6500
Pure actinic
11000k
Pure actinic
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