T5 Lighting May Be For You - Page 2

rjwilson37 · #26 10/05/2004, 10:12 PM

The T5 Blue Pluses from ATI help bring out the blue in hard corals to help color them up, so it is said. I have the Actinic 03 to bring out the Flourescense in corals and the Blue Plus is to bring out the Blue in hard corals. Then I have two 11k bulbs for the front and back to help the corals grow and it is a hint on the blue side rather than a 10k more on the white side. I like it, but only time will tell.

I had the 6k Sun on the old tank up front to help with the Clams on the bottom, but had somehow had the 11k up front and the Sun in the back and they were doing fine. So I just skipped out on the Sun for this current setup and went with 2 11k instead of 1 Sun and 1 11K.

rjwilson37 · #27 10/06/2004, 12:34 PM

My Little Black Box! and some views from the top down!

rjwilson37 · #28 10/06/2004, 02:36 PM

I don't think my ROB takes a bad picture, she takes such great photo's.

kaweahnet · #29 10/12/2004, 04:36 PM

OK, I'm relatively new. However, I am ditching my current reef for a new glass bow front that I just bought. I need to make a lighting decision real soon and am quite impressed with the 156W of T5 in the 29 gallon.

I have an 80 gallon glass tank that is 24" deep. I was going to get the 6x65W power compact but I'm hearing it doesn't penetrate deep water very well. Here is what I was looking at: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=4330195624

Now that I am looking at T5's I see this nice little puppy here with over 400W :-). It's just a little bit more expensive: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...sPageName=WDVW

What do you think?

rjwilson37 · #30 10/12/2004, 08:53 PM

I have the 156w over my 55 gallon tank, the old 29 gallon tank was sold a while back ago, I was just using the 24" 96w T5 lighting from the old tank until I got my upgrade to the 36" 156w of T5 Lighting.

The big plus about T5's is that each bulb can have it's own special reflector which directs more light down into the tank. These special reflector's are suppose to increase the output down into the tank by more than 300% and the company that has the best reflector is Sunlight Supply. I have the Sunlight Supply Tek-Light hood with ATI bulbs to get the best for the buck over my tank. I have heard a few that did not by the Tek-Light and were dissapointed with the T5's they recieved. That particular T5 setup your looking at will give you around 5w a gallon with better penatration than that PC setup you were looking at, but I would go with the Tek-Light myself. Just the ATI bulbs to fill the Tek-Light which is 8 of them would cost around $225-$250, so I would be susspicous of someone selling a hood with bulbs for 339.00. I just sold my used Tek-Light 24" setup with 4 bulbs for 250.00 and had another 3 people that wanted it, so 339.00 for an 8 bulb, I just don't think the quality is there that you may be looking for. After I got my first Tek-Light this past December, I heard from the other's that they were really dissapointed in there T5's they purchased and wished they had read more about it and purchased the Tek-Light because they just thought T5's were T5's so it really doesn't matter.

Good Luck with your decision and I am sorry I can't be of more help on that particular setup. My buddy was looking at that exact setup, but went with the 48" 8 Bulb Tek-Light hood for over his 90 gallon and is extremely happy. It ran him around 600.00 with bulbs, but he says it is worth every penny, since his tank is 24" high as well.

rjwilson37 · #31 10/12/2004, 08:54 PM

Oh.. He got his Tek-Light from here where he said it was the cheapest after looking everywhere for the best deal.

http://www.reeftanklighting.com/shop...cts.asp?page=2

kaweahnet · #32 10/12/2004, 10:05 PM

The Tek-Light appears to be only $385 for the 8x54W (400W), that's not bad at all.

Do these need to be suspended above the tank like the MH's do? I should have mentioned before that suspending above the tank becomes a huge obstacle and I am trying to avoid it.

BTW, I'm very impressed with your reef - I love the colors and variety of corals. If you can do that without MH - then I look forward to my future T5 experience. I'm a reef moron right now, so I am just going by the way it looks, and it looks darned nice!

rjwilson37 · #33 10/12/2004, 10:42 PM

Thanks kaweahnet!

The T5's are best at 2-3" above the tank. Mine right now is just sitting on some small 2x4 blocks I cut, so it is 2" above my tank basically sitting on top of my tank so to speak since it is sitting on the blocks that sit on my tank top.

That Tek-Light price there is without bulbs, so you still need to choose the bulbs. I would try to make sure you get a German brand like ATI and not the GE brand which is half as much. I think you get what you pay for in this fishy business pretty much and if you pay a little, you get little quality.

horkn · #34 10/12/2004, 11:14 PM

lovin your tank RJ. and i am sold on the t5ho now. i am going with a 2 bulb retro at first, then another 2 bulb unit when more funds are present.

so the clams seem to like the t 5 lighting...how long have they been around now, esp the maxima

kaweahnet · #35 10/12/2004, 11:22 PM

OK, T5 is really looking sweet, and now I see that if you're at 3W/gal then I can get away with the 6x54W (300W) which puts me at just over 4W/gal.

The question my lady is asking me now is how serious it is that we replace the bulbs every 6 months (as we are seeing is recommended). The true actinic bulb is $40 and the 11,000k isn't much cheaper.

Yes, I'm a reefer on a budget because I have my kart racing habit to support too!

weimluv1 · #36 10/12/2004, 11:45 PM

That is the beauty of the T5....they have the longest bulb life thus far. Bulb life is around what? 16-18 months!?

VHO bulbs need changed every 6 months, maybe that is what you're thinking of.

kaweahnet · #37 10/12/2004, 11:47 PM

SWEET!!!! That just made up my mind! 6x54 it is!

FYI, for those looking into T5, there is also this thread which is very good for bulb choices: http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...t&pagenumber=1

weimluv1 · #38 10/13/2004, 01:53 AM

yeah i think it's really sweet, too.

that is why i'm switching to the Tek light 4x24w HO T5 hood during december.

it makes me mad though, because i spent almost 400 on my VHO DIY hood....100 of it was on bulbs....just to find out i will need to spend another 100....every 6 months!!! grrrrrrr.....

horkn · #39 10/13/2004, 06:04 PM

the bulb life, low heat , and lower energy bills have me going the way of t5 ho....

the energy bill decrease from the bulbs alone is worth it

B52 Bomber · #40 10/13/2004, 06:20 PM

I spent $150 for my 48inch 4x54watt T5 setup. Sweet deal, works great... Included two 10k and two actinic. It's not listed on their website, so you'll have to call him.

http://www.petmeister.com/

I can post a pic if anyone wants.

rjwilson37 · #41 10/13/2004, 08:33 PM

Yep, give us some pictures, we love the pictures!

kenny77 · #42 10/13/2004, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by B52 Bomber
I spent $150 for my 48inch 4x54watt T5 setup. Sweet deal, works great... Included two 10k and two actinic. It's not listed on their website, so you'll have to call him.

http://www.petmeister.com/

I can post a pic if anyone wants.

yes please. can you PM me with more info. that is exactly what im looking for

kaweahnet · #43 10/13/2004, 11:08 PM

Well, I went out on a limb here and only took part of your advice RJ. I bought a T5 unit, but not a Tek-Light. After talking to the seller I ended up buying his 8x54 (432W) T5 hood (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...sPageName=WDVW). Not that I didn't believe that the Tek-Light was worth the money, but more the fact that the I could get an extra 108W, three switches and bulbs for less money. That was a hard thing to pass up. I'm sure the Tek-Light is better ... but I am taking a gamble here to save a few bucks. I am going to order some ATI bulbs (because I know for this price the included ones aren't the good ones) and play around with those too.

I set it up with three switches (4/3/1) so I can play around with 54W of moonlight - which I'm afraid will be too much but I won't string LED's around my canopy so I'm going to give this a shot. Can't hurt.

Unfortunately, it is a brand new tank and I do not have any corals to do before and after pics, but I will let you all know what I think of the unit when I receive it.

I paid < $1/watt for T5 including the bulbs and hood. We'll see how it works.

The Grim Reefer · #44 10/14/2004, 12:33 AM

Not a bad price Kaweahnet but you get what you pay for. As long as the quality of the components in the unit is good it is a much better deal than power compacts, Your lamps will last longer and you have a much better choice of lamps.

The biggest advantage to T5 is the wrap around reflector that that directs all of the light from the lamp into the tank. The fixtures where they cram all the bulbs next to each other prevents the light produced from the upper half of the lamp from getting into the water.

If you could re space the bulbs, say six of them, in the hood where you could use the SLR or SLS reflectors in it I bet you would put a lot more light in the tank using less electricity. Could be a fun down the road project.

rjwilson37 · #45 10/14/2004, 05:32 AM

You said it Grim Reefer, the big advantage of T5's and why they penatrate so deep and work so well in Marine Tanks is the individual reflector for each bulb. Without the individual reflector for each bulb it just does not penatrate and direct all that great light down into the tank. I hope it works well for you, keep us informed.

Jordan55 · #46 10/14/2004, 05:35 AM

I am getting a custom canopy built and he said he isn't putting in reflectors because he is painting the inside a glossy white and it will already be reflected, is this okay?

rjwilson37 · #47 10/14/2004, 06:14 AM

What kind of lighting are you getting. MH with T5's to suppliment for blue and actinic, or just all T5's.

DgenR8 · #48 10/14/2004, 07:32 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jordan55
I am getting a custom canopy built and he said he isn't putting in reflectors because he is painting the inside a glossy white and it will already be reflected, is this okay?

My understanding is that you need a reflector for each bulb. Painting the inside of your canopy white will be better than painting it flat black, but to really get the full punch from T-5s, you'll need the individual reflectors.

Obi-dad · #49 10/14/2004, 07:37 AM

Without the 'M' shape reflectors and using just white paint, some of the light from the top of the bulb will be reflected back onto the bulb (re-strike), and some of the light refelected by the white paint will strike the water at high angles - the higher the angle the more the like reflects off the surface of the water instead of entering the water. The M reflector directs most of the light from the bulb directly down into the water avoiding re-strike and light entering at high angles to the water.

When I was suggesting white paint, I wasn't implying it should be used alone. For my canopy I use the individual reflectors, and then white paint inside the whole canopy.

gliebig · #50 10/14/2004, 08:05 AM

It seems like everyone i've heard using T-5's has a "smaller" tank. I am in the process of moving from a 55 to a 125 gallon. How would a T-5 setup work for a 6ft long tank? Seems like a lot of $$$ for the setup and replacing that many bulbs.

** OK. Did a little research and answered my question. I found this setup on reefgeek. http://www.reefgeek.com./products/ca...ng/104074.html

$1K. ouch. One thing i couldn't find is how many ballasts this comes with./ how many bulbs for each ballast