Want to upgrade my lighting

C

coral_reefer_25

New member
I currently have a single 175W halide. It's a 14,000K XM bulb, which is very blue.

I want to upgrade to a 10,000K with supplemental actinics.

I'm thinking of going with a T5 retrofit setup, but I'm slightly confused. I have seen T5 normal output and T5 high output.

Can someone recommend a good and somewhat inexpensive T5 retrofit kit? I'm limited on space in my canopy, as my tank is only 12" wide (front to back) and the halide reflector takes up all of that.

I just need to know how much actinic light I need to have to compliment a single 175W 10,000K halide.
 
The Coralife Aqualight Pro is a complete combo kit and it uses Power Compacts for the actinics.

I already have a MH....I'm just changing out the bulb, and I want to ADD a T5 kit. I just don't know if I can get by with T5 NO or if I need to go with T5 HO.

I just remembered that I have a Workhorse 7 ballast that is brand new. But I don't think I could safely run two 24W HO T5's on it. I think it would be overkill.

What do you all think?
 
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The individual reflectors are a must, and with the individual reflectors, T5's will take up just about the same amount of space as a VHO... so no real benefit for saving space. T5's are supposed to last a little bit longer, but doing high output does cut down their life a little bit... and it seems to me that high output would be the way to go but that's just my opinion. The blueplus bulbs are definitely blue, but don't have the same effect that the super actinic VHO's have (as TitanFan hinted at). From what I've heard, the URI T5 actinics do, but I have no personal experience (my main light is a T5 TEK fixture with a mix of bulbs from 6500K to the blue plus and I have VHO super actinics on the sides). As far as recommending a good/inexpensive retrofit, I can't help you out. I found a pretty good deal on a used fixture with almost new bulbs that ended up costing me significantly less than any of the retrofits or fixtures (neither of which generally come with bulbs) I was able to find at the time. Good luck
 
I don't have the space in my canopy for two additional reflectors, so I guess I'll go with the VHOs.

Can I run a single 75W VHO on a WH7 ballast, or will I need two?

If I'm going to have to run two 75W VHOs on that ballast, then that's going to be a TON of light on top of my 29g tank.

175W 10,000K MH and 150W VHO actinics. Is that going to be too much??

Not to mention the heat! It already tops out at 78 degrees with a single 175W Halide.
 
You might ask around RE the WH7 ballast. I don't think it will overdrive the 24W bulbs. It may just work for anything under the max load. I do know that the WH is not recommended for T5s, although many people use them with T5s. It doesn't have the end of life protection circuit or the program start mode. The former is needed to make the circuit safer (if a bulb burns out, the unit shuts down), and the latter prolongs bulb life.

For the actinic supplement, the UVL bulbs (superactinics) in T5 look nice. I really like them. For some reason I have been having a problem with them, though. One didn't work on arrival (Reefgeek replaced it), and one quit working after a week. It may have only been coincidental, and perhaps both bulbs were damaged due to rough shipping. I got some actinic whites at the same time, and they are still working, though.

So considering the WH issue with T5s, and the fact that you are only using these for actinic supplmentation, I'd lean toward using VHO instead.
 
The vho shouldnt add that much heat. My tank with 2 175MH and 75W of T5 tops out at 82. T5 runs hotter than VHO. It is recommended to run fans with T5. The VHO won't really add usable PAR. Its mainly for our pleasure not the corals. The good thing about retro is if it is too much you can just remove one bulb. Endcaps are cheap so no real loss there. It would just leave you an extra bulb for a futre replacement. Just be sure you get a real white 10K bulb so you don't over power with blue. If that is not the look you are looking for.
 
So considering the WH issue with T5s, and the fact that you are only using these for actinic supplmentation, I'd lean toward using VHO instead.
Click to expand...

I'm kinda with you on that one...I didn't realize that there were such issues with the WH and T5s.

But do you think a 175W Halide and 150W of VHO will be too much? Granted, the VHO will only be actinics.

I'm wanting to get away from such a blue look to the tank...The 14,000K XM that I have is really really blue...and quite honestly, I think it has become more blue since I got it.

I'm wanting to switch to a 10,000K Ushio (or Hamilton....I forgot which I have) in order to get that crisp white color, but I also want the animals to have good color under the actinics too.

If I get two VHO actinics, do you think I'll be right back in the same blue boat?
 
Titansfan, you beat me to it.

Yes, I'm wanting to get away from the blue look. I liked it at first, but as I mentioned, I think the XM has gotten even more blue.

Do you think the WH7 will overdrive one 75W VHO? I can't find on their site where it is possible to run just one. And they start out at 48" lengths under the "Choose your bulb" section...which translates into 110W....not 75W.
 
I am not sure on the workhorse. I have never used them therefore I don't want to make guesses. Maybe a quick call to a distributor can answer that.
I am interested though in your opinion on the 10k XM looking blue. I was thinking about trying out a 10K bulb next. I would want a VERY crisp white no blue. The 2 T5 bulbs really do put out a lot of blue.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7989093#post7989093 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TitansFan
I am not sure on the workhorse. I have never used them therefore I don't want to make guesses. Maybe a quick call to a distributor can answer that.
I am interested though in your opinion on the 10k XM looking blue. I was thinking about trying out a 10K bulb next. I would want a VERY crisp white no blue. The 2 T5 bulbs really do put out a lot of blue.
Click to expand...

I've never seen a 10K XM....I have a 14K.
 
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