T5 Lighting May Be For You

[Fishy1]

[Fishy1]

Last one......

[The Grim Reefer]

Nice colors Fishy,

By the way, you can add multiple pics in one post.

[Fishy1]

I don't know how to do that, Grim......but thanks for the compliment

Janey

[rjwilson37]

Awesome Fishy1, just awesome!

[The Grim Reefer]

Originally posted by Fishy1
I don't know how to do that, Grim......but thanks for the compliment

Janey

Sorry, ment to add the explaination. hit the IMG button again and fill in the blank. Saves you time. Try it out. I am sure we would all like to see more pics of your tank

[Fishy1]

Thanks, RJ It's because of you and this thread that I got my T5's.......no regrets......

Grim, I'll try that next time........thanks

Janey

[Timbor]

Hey RJ, perhaps you can give me some advice here...
I'm planning on setting up a 35 gal. reef tank this summer (36"long), and I'm trying to figure out what to use for lighting.
Here is my dilemma...

First off, I'm a student, so I dont exactly have thousands of dollars waiting to be spent. I had hoped to spend around $300 (cdn) on lights for my tank, but thats a rough estimate.

Next, I'm in Canada, so T5's are harder to come by... I looked into ordering some stuff online, but the cost was rather prohibitive.

There is a company near Toronto that carries some sunlight supply lights and retrofits, as well as a Canadian manufacturer called "miracles in glass"... so far I havent been able to find a website for them. The store has a 2*36" retrofit Tek light kit for about $280 (cdn) + bulbs, so lets say $350 with bulbs for a 2*39watt retrofit.

I had been looking at getting pc lights, this one in particular:
http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/s..._ID=pc-al36192

so thats $250(cdn) for 192 watts of pc lighting. So what I'm trying to figure out is how would 192 watts of pc lighting compare to 78watts of T5? I dont have money for 2 retrofit kits right now, and it would be a while till I could invest in another one to get 4 bulbs. Would it be better to just go with the 2 T5's instead of pc?

There is one other option... the Canadian manufacturer, "miracles in glass", make a 4*48" T5 hood unit (they dont make 36" units). It doesnt have individual reflectors for each bulb, and it would cost around $390 (cdn) with bulbs. How bad do you think it would look if I had a 4' fixture on my 3' tank?

Pretty long post, I know... I'm just beating my brains out trying to figure this out! Thanks for the help,

Tim

[The Grim Reefer]

Timbor

Have you checked www.reefgeek.com ? They ship to canada. a 4 lamp Tek hood is like 330 USD with all the lamps and shipping.

[Timbor]

Yeah, I've already checked with them... but once you add import duties and pay taxes, the price would jump to at least $500 cdn.... bit outta my range! :P

Tim

[The Grim Reefer]

Yeeeeooooouuuuuch!!!!

Go rob a street light and get some blue sunglasses

Hey you could get T6's from Big Al's and overdrive them with an Ice Cap ballast. The T5 reflectors will fit if you can get them. You just have to spread the bulb clip a tad.

[Coralover]

Originally posted by Timbor
Yeah, I've already checked with them... but once you add import duties and pay taxes, the price would jump to at least $500 cdn.... bit outta my range! :P

Tim

Damn I wish you lived close to me. Im selling my 36" Tek Light: 4-39W T5 HO with 4 bulbs(2 blue plus and 2 daylights) for $280.00, and it's brand new. I just opened it to see if it worked and it looks great but want a something a little brither, I still have the box too. I payed like $345.00 for everything with tax and shipping.

The only reason I haven't used them is cause im waiting to move so I can set up my tank.

[Timbor]

where do you live??

[Ti]

Originally posted by The Grim Reefer
Yeeeeooooouuuuuch!!!!

Go rob a street light and get some blue sunglasses

Hey you could get T6's from Big Al's and overdrive them with an Ice Cap ballast. The T5 reflectors will fit if you can get them. You just have to spread the bulb clip a tad.

that could be a pretty spanking set up there.

[Coralover]

San diego.:/

[Timbor]

lol... thats pretty much the farthest away in the US you can get form here!

Tim

[Ehydo]

Timbor,

The 192watts of PC would be better than 78 watts T5 definately. I have on my 29, which is 30 inches long, 2 65 watt PC bulbs. My tank does fine with some hard corals.
I also have a 72 Gallon with 8 54 watt T5s without individial reflectors. The 72 is much brighter than the 29 will ever be.

I have no clams but am willing to try one in the 72 with the T5s so I cannot tell you about that situation.

[rjwilson37]

Originally posted by Timbor
Hey RJ, perhaps you can give me some advice here...
I'm planning on setting up a 35 gal. reef tank this summer (36"long), and I'm trying to figure out what to use for lighting.

Tim

Lighting is a very tough question, and it is expensive. Since your on a budget, the PC lighting may be a good choice for you, but you need to consider the replacement bulbs of 2 times $25 every 8-10 months. My T5 bulbs are replaced every 16-18 months, which for 4 bulbs is a little over $100. What are the dimensions of the 35g tank your setting up?

Lighting is pretty much your most expensive cost when setting up a new aquarium depending on what you want to keep. I love the color and look of my tank under the T5's especially compared to Power Compacts. My tank is only 20" high, so T5's work well for me to keep anything I want in the tank as far as lighting is concerned. I probably should have went with a 6 bulb setup instead of the 4 bulb setup, but it is working well and I don't need to change it.

Lighting is a cost you only want to have to spend once, or your waisting money by buying one thing and moving to another. I switched lighting 3 times from PC's to 24" T5's over my 29g and then moved to a 55g and needed the 36" T5's.

Ohhh... The special individual reflector's is what makes T5's work so well, without the reflector's they are pretty much no where near Power Compacts because of all the lost light not being reflected. If you had a retro and painted the inside of the hood white, it reflects alot and it is better than no reflection at all.

[Timbor]

How would the T5's work if there was just one curved aluminum reflector for all the bulbs, instead of individual reflectors? Would they still be nearly as effective?

My 35gal is 36"long*12"wide*18" deep. In a tank like that, what would I not be able to keep with 192watts of pc, compared to a 4 bulb T5 setup?

Tim

[artc1688]

I am currently using the cheap 6X55w T5 fixture from eBay.
Wish I have the money to buy a tek light but my current setup should be fine for now..

my GSP (both green and purple) are growing like crazy. Bubble coral is 2x larger than when I first put into the tank. zoa are growing everywhere... back of the tank, on the side....

check out the picture and you can see the results... Love T5 lights..

[rjwilson37]

Originally posted by Timbor
How would the T5's work if there was just one curved aluminum reflector for all the bulbs, instead of individual reflectors? Would they still be nearly as effective?

My 35gal is 36"long*12"wide*18" deep. In a tank like that, what would I not be able to keep with 192watts of pc, compared to a 4 bulb T5 setup?

Tim

I think with that tank only being 18" high and having the 196w of PC's you could do just about anything you wanted. Just make sure you keep the SPS type corals towards the top of the tank and have good flow if you want to try your hand at some SPS. You should also sort of follow a rule of thumb in stocking and setting up your tank, and that is to take your time. After about 2-3 months of the setup you can try some hardy soft corals, then after about 5-6 months you could try your hand at some hardy LPS corals and maybe some medium difficulty soft corals. Then when your tank is 10-12 months and you get your calcium stabalized at around 400-420, you can try a clam and some SPS.

Good Luck!

Very nice picture artc1688!

[Timbor]

Yeah, I think I'll save myself the money and look into putting a sump in. RJ, I see you have a 20high for your sump... I have a spare 20 high sitting around that I could use as a sump. Do you have any plans/pictures I could see that could help me design a sump/fuge for myself?

Tim

[rjwilson37]

The dimensions of this design are for a Euroreef ES5-2 on the right with a 3" riser instead of a 2" riser for the skimmer, and a Mag 7 return pump on the left. This still left enough room for a 4.7 gallon refuge in the middle.

[Ehydo]

RJ,

How do you like that euroreef skimmer first of all and how often do you change your t5 bulbs?

[rjwilson37]

I will be changing my bulbs out at the 16-17 month mark and will do it one bulb at a time each week, to not shock the corals from a complete bulb switch over.

I love my Euroreef skimmer, it work great and removes a lot of green sludge (skimmate) over a 2-3 day period. I clean the collection cup about every 2-3 days, so it does not get to nasty smelling under my tank. It collects about 1/4 to 1/3 full every 2-3 days of skimmate and I have it set to collect a medium skimmate.