Let's See Some T5 Only Lite Tanks (remember Just T5 Lite Tanks) :-)

[R33f3r]

I like the purple/violet color of the actinics better than the color of blue+, after all it's a matter of taste when it comes to supplementing

[NewSchool04]

I am a big fan of the actinic and blue + together for my dawn dusk lights. Blue + in the front, the actinic in the back. Gives a very nice glow to the tank.

[Ti]

Originally posted by Nuhtty
I have heard T5s take some time to "break in"

Can you post any pics comparing the two?

I was reading the manual that came with the sunlight supply fixture, it said, they are most bright in the beginng and dim after the break in period.
I will attempt to take pics later this week when I get home early enough from work.

yeah, they need to burn in.. theres no way a 2x96 watt setup can out light a 4x39 with proper reflectors..

what kind of bulbs did you get?

I got (in this order from front to back)
Blue plus, 11k, actinic, 11k

I moved my maxima to the sandbed in anticipation of the acclimate it to the new light, since the SLS reflector T5 is supposed to penetrate much better.

[dfiddy]

Originally posted by gabe3d
Here is a full shot of my tank.

wow.. absolutely gorgeous looking tank! very nice indeed! great work!
definitely makin' me want to go out and use some of that christmas $$ loot $$ i still havent spent and buy me a set of T5s!!

[Nuhtty]

gabe

when I see that pic I cant believe its only under T5s

[RedEyeReef]

Originally posted by Nuhtty
gabe

when I see that pic I cant believe its only under T5s

Agreed! makes we want to ditch my 4 - 400w SE MH's & 4 - 4' Actinic VHO's for 20 - 48" T5's over my reef. On Ice Caps that is about 1600 watts (20 x 80w), less electricity, less heat and OOOhh COLOR......

[Nuhtty]

Im going to go with 6x39w 36" T5 teklights. Hope to be able to keep everything

[gabe3d]

Thanks everyone. THe only thing i regret is that i didn't wait or maybe i was just lazy to buy the retrofit 60'' on my tank. I got the fixture which i hang from the ceiling. There are some few inches of dark spots on each sides which annoys me sometimes but what the heck . Maybe when i get a larger tank i'll get some new ones, hehe.

[slanky]

Wow gabe3d,

Thanks for posting those pics. I had two of the cheap-o GE sun bulbs in my mix, along with the ATI blue+ bulbs. Now that I've seen what a difference having the Aquablue specials makes in terms of your SPS coloration, I went and ordered two of the ATI Aquablues to replace the cheap GE daylight bulbs

While I get good growth under the GE bulbs mixed with the Blue+, it presents a somewhat washed out look in terms of coloration on some of the corals. So I'm looking forward to seeing what the Aquablues look like on my own tank.

[horkn]

its not that the GE bulbs are cheap, just inexpensive..


there is a difference between cheap and inexpensive, since the ge bulbs are tested to last longer than any of the sun/blue, blue. or actinics...

[slanky]

Originally posted by horkn
its not that the GE bulbs are cheap, just inexpensive..


there is a difference between cheap and inexpensive, since the ge bulbs are tested to last longer than any of the sun/blue, blue. or actinics...

I don't mean cheap as in quality. The bulbs are fine. But they are terribly less expensive than their ATI counterparts

[R33f3r]

The thing about the 6500k bulbs (ATi SunPRO, not the GE crapola) is that they REALLY bring out the colors in orange/red/yellow pigmented corals. I have a really nice metallic red/purple welsophyllia morph that is getting redder by the day (I have never seen one this red). IME, you will need different spectrums to really make all of your corals stick out.

[gabe3d]

Originally posted by R33f3r
The thing about the 6500k bulbs (ATi SunPRO, not the GE crapola) is that they REALLY bring out the colors in orange/red/yellow pigmented corals. I have a really nice metallic red/purple welsophyllia morph that is getting redder by the day (I have never seen one this red). IME, you will need different spectrums to really make all of your corals stick out.

This is true IME as well, especially the colors orange and pink in my case comes out to be a little duller than what I was used to when i had the suns running.

[horkn]

Originally posted by slanky
I don't mean cheap as in quality. The bulbs are fine. But they are terribly less expensive than their ATI counterparts

yeah, i figured that.


but i think i have my next set of bulbs figured out....

[slanky]

Originally posted by horkn
yeah, i figured that.


but i think i have my next set of bulbs figured out....

I'm pretty curious how much better the ATI suns perform than the GE's. Looking at the spectrum of each bulb on Reefgeek, it does appear the ATI bulb has a bit more spectrum coverage than the GE bulbs. Oh well, I'm going to try the Aquablues first, and then if it's too blue and I start losing coloration, I'd probably replace one of the Aquablues with an ATI sun, rather than going back to the GE's to see if that helps at all.

[gabe3d]

At the end of the day it is a subjective matter. I think the best way is to just try different combinations yourself, the bulbs are cheap enough to buy and try. But i think i'm pretty settled with bulb combination i have now. Now the question is, what to do with the extra six bulbs i have.

Gabe

[gabe3d]

Originally posted by slanky
Wow gabe3d,

Thanks for posting those pics. I had two of the cheap-o GE sun bulbs in my mix, along with the ATI blue+ bulbs. Now that I've seen what a difference having the Aquablue specials makes in terms of your SPS coloration, I went and ordered two of the ATI Aquablues to replace the cheap GE daylight bulbs

While I get good growth under the GE bulbs mixed with the Blue+, it presents a somewhat washed out look in terms of coloration on some of the corals. So I'm looking forward to seeing what the Aquablues look like on my own tank.

I'm glad that i was able to help you chose bulbs. Good luck.

[sjm817]

gabe3d
I like how the lighting looks. I especially like how the background is very black. The plumbing on the back does not stand out. This is what I will be trying to achieve. IS this how it looks or is it just the camera exposure?

If it does look that way, how did you set it up?

[The Grim Reefer]

The GE has it's peak output in the blue spectum (good) but also puts out a lot of green (bad). It also has narrow ranges at the peaks where the ATI is broader and produces more Yellow/Orange and Blue light than green. I think it will come down to personal taste. I plan to run wichever looks the best.

[gabe3d]

Originally posted by sjm817
gabe3d
I like how the lighting looks. I especially like how the background is very black. The plumbing on the back does not stand out. This is what I will be trying to achieve. IS this how it looks or is it just the camera exposure?

If it does look that way, how did you set it up?

This is actually how it looks. However i do clean the back of my tank once a week to keep algae from growing on the back. Another contributor to black background is also the actinics on the back. Back then when i had the sun in the furthest back slot the back ground looked blackish brownish. It made all the algae stand out. As for the plumbing, i have painted them black (only the ones that can be seen). I use to have htem white but couldn't stand it any longer.
Gabe

[JVHam]

Does anyone have experience with Aquamedic T5's?

[horkn]

gabe, what kind of paint did you paint the pvc with?

[jjac]

Hey, I got some help on another thread that made me decide on T5's for sure. My tank measures 48"x24"x24". Do you think that 6 lamps would be enough or should I go for 8?
Thanks

[mordibv]

Are you retrofitting or buying the ready made hoods? I am going to 8 bulbs as soon as I burn out my halides . I am presently using 4 with an icecap and 1 250 watt se20k with a 150 10k de pendant . I plan on using the pendant on a grow out tank when I get another hood built for the 120 and will order 4 more bulbs etc . Really depends on what u want to keep . It may be possible to get away with 6 . I am pleased so far with the temp's in my living room .Using halides made my house cool and heat way to erratic with the thermostat being in the living room with the tank..Good luck ..

[jjac]

I will probably just go with 2 of the 4 lamp retro's from Happy Reefing. Is $199 a good price for a four lamp kit including lamps and reflectors? Are the lamps any good that come with these kits?
Thanks for the help!