whos using T5 HOs?

[cristiand]

Great thread, little help needed

Great thread, little help needed

Wow, amazing tanks guys. So i have a 75 gallon with 6 VHO's, I have some SPS corals towards the top, I get OK growth and coloration. I run Workhorse 7 ballasts, I have a canopy with fans. Do you guys think 4 T5's on a Icecap 660 will be better than what I currently have, or should I try to fit more T5's in there? Thanks in advance, it is amazing to see what T5's can do.

 

[tas5tas]

Wow, amazing tanks guys. So i have a 75 gallon with 6 VHO's, I have some SPS corals towards the top, I get OK growth and coloration. I run Workhorse 7 ballasts, I have a canopy with fans. Do you guys think 4 T5's on a Icecap 660 will be better than what I currently have, or should I try to fit more T5's in there? Thanks in advance, it is amazing to see what T5's can do.

4 5's with individual reflectors will have almost double the output of 6 VHO's and will run a lot cooler too. For a 4 bulb setup I would run the following combo......


Front

ATI Blue Plus
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Pro Color or KZ Fiji Purple
GMAN Pure Actinic


That combo will yield great PAR and AWESOME coloration. Closest combo I've seen to a 400w Radium. The colors are mindblowing with this combo.

 

[blennymower]

Hey guys, I have MH and I want to make the transition to t5s but I can't afford anything but the teks, would they still give me the same results more or less?

 

[divewsharks]

4 5's with individual reflectors will have almost double the output of 6 VHO's and will run a lot cooler too. For a 4 bulb setup I would run the following combo......


Front

ATI Blue Plus
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Pro Color or KZ Fiji Purple
GMAN Pure Actinic


That combo will yield great PAR and AWESOME coloration. Closest combo I've seen to a 400w Radium. The colors are mindblowing with this combo.

I personally wouldn't go with the Pro Color, low PAR and I think the KZ blends better with the other bulbs. JMO

 

[divewsharks]

Hey guys, I have MH and I want to make the transition to t5s but I can't afford anything but the teks, would they still give me the same results more or less?

How deep in your tank. The Teks are good fixtures; yes there are better, but they are good.
Don't use the splash shield, add some clip-on fans to help cool the fixture and you will boost output. Just make sure you keep fixture above splash zone and wipe down the reflectors regularly, they stain easily.

 

[blennymower]

How deep in your tank. The Teks are good fixtures; yes there are better, but they are good.
Don't use the splash shield, add some clip-on fans to help cool the fixture and you will boost output. Just make sure you keep fixture above splash zone and wipe down the reflectors regularly, they stain easily.

Thanks, I have a 20''deep tank. What's the beef with the splash guard? How come everyone is telling me to not put it on.

 

[divewsharks]

Thanks, I have a 20''deep tank. What's the beef with the splash guard? How come everyone is telling me to not put it on.

One of the flaws of the current Tek fixture is that it does not have any active cooling. When using the splash guard it locks a majority of the heat in, which causes the bulbs to run hotter. T5 bulbs run better (more efficient/greater output) when cooled to particular temp range. By removing the splash guard you relieve some of that heat pressure and by adding a couple of clip-on fans (directed at the fixture not the bulbs) it helps to cool the whole thing, thus increasing the performance of the fixture (+20-30%).

hth

 

[ReefShmeef]

Hey everyone, I posted this before but im hoping to get all the advice I can before I turn my pockets inside out I really want to give an ATI PM fixture a shot, but im iffy on the number of bulbs to get for an all SPS reef. Im just a little thrown off because it says the 8x24w fixture is good for an SPS dominated reef up to 50 gallons and I have a 55 gallon Elos (29,52 x 22,44 x 19,7 h inch.) And the 10 bulb seems a little excessive...would the 8 bulb be plenty? Im pretty new to T5s and I guess there is something about them im just not getting? What fixture do you think would be best in my case 8x24w or a 10. Hope to hear from you. Thanks

 

[snaza]

Hey everyone, I posted this before but im hoping to get all the advice I can before I turn my pockets inside out I really want to give an ATI PM fixture a shot, but im iffy on the number of bulbs to get for an all SPS reef. Im just a little thrown off because it says the 8x24w fixture is good for an SPS dominated reef up to 50 gallons and I have a 55 gallon Elos (29,52 x 22,44 x 19,7 h inch.) And the 10 bulb seems a little excessive...would the 8 bulb be plenty? Im pretty new to T5s and I guess there is something about them im just not getting? What fixture do you think would be best in my case 8x24w or a 10. Hope to hear from you. Thanks

8 would be plenty. you could probably get away with 6 if you raised the fixture a bit

 

[InsaneClownFish]

Great thread and fantastic T5 only tanks. More pics please.

 

[rtparty]

Hey everyone, I posted this before but im hoping to get all the advice I can before I turn my pockets inside out I really want to give an ATI PM fixture a shot, but im iffy on the number of bulbs to get for an all SPS reef. Im just a little thrown off because it says the 8x24w fixture is good for an SPS dominated reef up to 50 gallons and I have a 55 gallon Elos (29,52 x 22,44 x 19,7 h inch.) And the 10 bulb seems a little excessive...would the 8 bulb be plenty? Im pretty new to T5s and I guess there is something about them im just not getting? What fixture do you think would be best in my case 8x24w or a 10. Hope to hear from you. Thanks

Save yourself the money and go get the ATI Sunpower in the 6x24W version. Raise it to like 6 inches off the water. If you don't have enough light you can always add a 4x24W version also. I know 2 fixtures may not look the best but it will cost the same as the 8x24W PM and you will have 2 more bulbs. You will also be able to turn on 4 bulbs for dusk/dawn and that is a HUGE plus IMO.

I highly doubt you will need more light though. People have seriously underestimated the power of T5's and that includes ATI and Reefgeek.

 

[jennmac415]

"People have seriously underestimated the power of T5's "

I agree with that statement 100%!!!! I just don't think most people really know how much light they put out....when I first went "all T5s" I actually FRIED my beloved beautiful open brain... it was ON THE SAND BED and it completely bleached!

 

[oscar6]

Awesome tanks everyone!

I need a little advice.

I have 2 Icecap 660 T5 Retro kits with 48" reflectors (8 bulbs total). I was going to arranged them in a "pendant" fashion with an island of corals in the middle.

Is this enough light over a standard 180gal for SPS growth?
What bulbs would you choose?

 

[chatyak]

Fellas, I need a little help please.

I have a 125 gallon with 3 MH lumen-bright mini reflectors, 3 XM bulbs (brand new), and 2 working ballasts.

I wanted to sell them all plus a skimmer I have and get T5 lighting for my tank.

Would the sunlight supply 8-bulb be ok? It's onl 48" but I don't need light stretching to the ends of each side, it could be low light corals there.

The problem is... I need to sell it all in order to raise enough money to purchase the new unit, otherwise the tank has no light.

 

[Denadai]

My 45G , 6x24W Sunpower

 

[takayan]

Denadai,
Great tank!
What is your filtration system? I would like to know your complete system setup!

 

[WhoDey64]

I am in the middle of an upgrade and I was highly considering going to a single 250 MH system over a 36Lx18Wx20H" tank. I currently run a Nova Extreme Pro 6x39w system and really have no complaints with it other than its ugly profile and uni-reflector, however I am going from a mixed reef to a mostly sps setup and I am just not sure if this unit will do the job. The new tank is 20" deep, is it worth using the same fixture or will it be under gunned? If I can reuse the fixture and save the money that would be a bonus.

 

[elijaher]

Awesome t5's tanks.

 

[rholguin]

Denadai- what is the height of your tank and how high do you have your light fixture? Btw beautiful tank.

 

[Denadai]

Denadai- what is the height of your tank and how high do you have your light fixture? Btw beautiful tank.

The tank size is 25x21x17. The space between water surface and Sunpower is 4,3

Best Regards