The T5 Q&a Thread

[jennmac415]

ok... this is what combo I switched to today...

2 rows of 7 bulbs each...

old combo

ATI blue plus
UVL super actinic
GE 6500K
Ati blue plus
GE 6500K
Ati blue plus
Ati Aquablue

new combo

Ati blue plus
Ati blue plus
GE 3000K
Geise. Actinic Plus
Ati Aquablue
Ati blue plus
Geise. Aquablue plus

at this point it is still not blue enough for me and colors are not "popping"...should I take out the GE 3000 and put back in the UVL Super actinic...Do I NEED that 3000 or what the heck should I do??? Some other order??
I really thought this would be it...plus one side of the GE 3000 bulbs is not coloring up the same as the other side...Grim... you can just knock me in the head... its ok...

[The Grim Reefer]

Try this. Let it run a couple days before deciding.

Ati blue plus
Ati blue plus>>>>Could try Super Actinic here
Ati aquablue
Geise. Actinic Plus
GE 3000K
Ati blue plus
Geise. Aquablue plus

[jennmac415]

ok, will do...does changing the order really change the look of the combination?

thanks so much!

[The Grim Reefer]

Not a huge change but in the case of the 3000K lamp it could make a pretty big difference.

[austinvanover]

Originally posted by The Grim Reefer
A strong 14K halide look, a tad on the blue side but bright.

Grim,

If I use another aquasun in the center with this cut back some of the blue coloring that you are speaking of? I want good coloration but I am not such a big fan of tanks that look overly blue.

[tsr770]

I figured I would come to the T5 guru's and see what you all think on this one.... Just ordered a new tank, 36" long x 30" wide x 20" tall. Being that the tank is so wide, they will not eurobrace it when building it, so my idea of having a single halide over the middle is kinda killed by a 1.5" wide piece of plastic. So the start of my questions is... if I hang a halide say 12" over the plastic brace, combined with 4 39w T5's 3-4" off the water , will the even lighting from the T5's hide the shadow that the halide will make from the brace?....

Or I could go all t5's, how many bulbs should I put over the 30" wide tank so that I can feel safe with SPS and possibly a clam down the road? I was thinking 4 TEK 2 bulbs retros in the canopy would be a good starting point?

[etrigo29]

Grim or anyone else wanting to chime in.

So I upgraded my 120 to a 156 Oceanic. Starphire...yah yah great for that but after the purchase I realized how small a market for 60" fixtures there were out there. That being said I'm doing a canopy.

I've looked around and 60" bulbs are a bit more limited. My thoughts were doing the 6 x 80 T5 VHO retro. So what do you suggest for bulb choices since my options appear more limited.

Thanks

[jamesdawson]

Originally posted by Dudester
I'll tackle this question, but I'll leave the rest to Grim. The Powermodule doesn't come with any mounting bracket, only the cable mounting hardware. That being said, you can easily rest it atop a support made of wood, acrylic, aluminum, or another heat-resistant surface. Of course you would want to conceal this inside a canopy. I believe jamesdawson mounts his Powermodule in this way.(?) If your tank is topless then I think the cable mounts are quite attractive.

Yes I did, here's a pic:



Good luck,

James

[wegotcrabs]

Grim im new to T5 lighting. You made this recommendation before. "ATI Powermodule would be my first choice folowed by aquactinics then Tek." What makes one fixture superior to another? Plus where does the Nova extreme fit into the picture, Im kinda on a budget. Also Im going to be using ATI lamps-so with that being said is there really a difference in fixtures. Sorry if this sounds like a stupid question-

[The Grim Reefer]

Originally posted by austinvanover
Grim,

If I use another aquasun in the center with this cut back some of the blue coloring that you are speaking of? I want good coloration but I am not such a big fan of tanks that look overly blue.

The Aquablue lamps are nearly ice white, no much blue to them at all. I would try the mix I recoed. Grab a GE 6500K daylight as a spare then you can experiment.

[The Grim Reefer]

Originally posted by tsr770
I figured I would come to the T5 guru's and see what you all think on this one.... Just ordered a new tank, 36" long x 30" wide x 20" tall. Being that the tank is so wide, they will not eurobrace it when building it, so my idea of having a single halide over the middle is kinda killed by a 1.5" wide piece of plastic. So the start of my questions is... if I hang a halide say 12" over the plastic brace, combined with 4 39w T5's 3-4" off the water , will the even lighting from the T5's hide the shadow that the halide will make from the brace?....

Or I could go all t5's, how many bulbs should I put over the 30" wide tank so that I can feel safe with SPS and possibly a clam down the road? I was thinking 4 TEK 2 bulbs retros in the canopy would be a good starting point?

That tank would do really well with a couple of 150 watt halides and say 4 T5's. You could have the halide say 6" above the tank and easily add as much or more light to the tank as a single higher wattage lamp lighting the whole tank from 12" above. If your did do a single lamp I doubt you would see a shawdow but the shimmer lines might be disrupted a bit below the brace.

For T5's I would do Tek II retros, not the ready fit junk. 8 lamps would cover it really good. Clams would be fine.

[The Grim Reefer]

Originally posted by etrigo29
Grim or anyone else wanting to chime in.

So I upgraded my 120 to a 156 Oceanic. Starphire...yah yah great for that but after the purchase I realized how small a market for 60" fixtures there were out there. That being said I'm doing a canopy.

I've looked around and 60" bulbs are a bit more limited. My thoughts were doing the 6 x 80 T5 VHO retro. So what do you suggest for bulb choices since my options appear more limited.

Thanks

Some of the smartest people I know have 5 foot long tanks

This was with a couple of VHO T6 lamps that were 4 feet long over my 105 when I first set it up.


They are a couple inches longer than 54 watt T5's but as you can see, they light up the 5 foot length pretty well. I am now running 6 54 watt T5's and the end 3 or 4 inches are not quite as bright but doesn't look bad at all. The lamps are only about an inch and a half above the tank. If they were higher up you probably couldn't even tell the ends were darker at all.

I would probably do 54 watt lamps unless you are going to have wall to wall SPS.

[The Grim Reefer]

Originally posted by jamesdawson
Yes I did, here's a pic:



Good luck,

James

I hate you

Damn thats sweet.

[etrigo29]

Originally posted by The Grim Reefer
Some of the smartest people I know have 5 foot long tanks

This was with a couple of VHO T6 lamps that were 4 feet long over my 105 when I first set it up.


They are a couple inches longer than 54 watt T5's but as you can see, they light up the 5 foot length pretty well. I am now running 6 54 watt T5's and the end 3 or 4 inches are not quite as bright but doesn't look bad at all. The lamps are only about an inch and a half above the tank. If they were higher up you probably couldn't even tell the ends were darker at all.

I would probably do 54 watt lamps unless you are going to have wall to wall SPS.

Nice.....now I somewhat regret selling my Tek fixture so cheaply. I guess that means I can learn from my mistakes and get a better fixture. I"ll probably still get a canopy done because of the ugly glass brace that there is. Well thanks again for the help Grim.

[The Grim Reefer]

Originally posted by wegotcrabs
Grim im new to T5 lighting. You made this recommendation before. "ATI Powermodule would be my first choice folowed by aquactinics then Tek." What makes one fixture superior to another? Plus where does the Nova extreme fit into the picture, Im kinda on a budget. Also Im going to be using ATI lamps-so with that being said is there really a difference in fixtures. Sorry if this sounds like a stupid question-

There really is a difference in the fixtures. The Nova Pro extremes are a little behind the Tek but not as much as the regular extremes. The ATI and Aquactinics have premium reflectors and active cooling which give them a lot better output. The Tek has pretty good reflectors but no active cooling so they don't do as well. The Nova Extreme Pro has active cooling but bozo reflectors so they cant quite match the Tek. The standard extreme has a simple flat reflector which is a big disadvantage but it does have the cooling.

[austinvanover]

Grim,
How high are your T5's above your tank?

[jennmac415]

OK, Grim, I switched the ATI Aquablue and the GE 3000Ks around... I can't tell if I like it or not because, like I said yesterday, it seems that one of the 3000ks is bad... I thought it just might be where I had it at first because that reflector is a little loose, so I was going to tighten it today ... I went ahead and made the switch around and guess what... the GE 3000K still does not light like it should...so I isn't the fixture, but the bulb... which of course makes me very happy actually... BUT.. do you know if I can get any of these bulbs at say, Lowes or HD I know they carry that brand.. just don't know if they carry the T5...otherwise, I can get either Hagen brand or Coralife at one of our LFS... which brand would you do and which bulb? I don't really want to have to order anything right now and wait for it...I should have enough par from my other bulbs, right?

[jennmac415]

OK, Grim, I switched the ATI Aquablue and the GE 3000Ks around... I can't tell if I like it or not because, like I said yesterday, it seems that one of the 3000ks is bad... I thought it just might be where I had it at first because that reflector is a little loose, so I was going to tighten it today ... I went ahead and made the switch around and guess what... the GE 3000K still does not light like it should...so I isn't the fixture, but the bulb... which of course makes me very happy actually... BUT.. do you know if I can get any of these bulbs at say, Lowes or HD I know they carry that brand.. just don't know if they carry the T5...otherwise, I can get either Hagen brand or Coralife at one of our LFS... which brand would you do and which bulb? I don't really want to have to order anything right now and wait for it...I should have enough par from my other bulbs, right?

[jennmac415]

SORRY... dbl post

[stephensturman]

ok i just got a tek 2 48" retro kit in a trade can i run 4 24" bulbs on that ballast or what do i need to do to be able to run 24" bulbs on a 48" retro? thanks

[The Grim Reefer]

Originally posted by austinvanover
Grim,
How high are your T5's above your tank?

only a little over an inch

[The Grim Reefer]

Originally posted by jennmac415
OK, Grim, I switched the ATI Aquablue and the GE 3000Ks around... I can't tell if I like it or not because, like I said yesterday, it seems that one of the 3000ks is bad... I thought it just might be where I had it at first because that reflector is a little loose, so I was going to tighten it today ... I went ahead and made the switch around and guess what... the GE 3000K still does not light like it should...so I isn't the fixture, but the bulb... which of course makes me very happy actually... BUT.. do you know if I can get any of these bulbs at say, Lowes or HD I know they carry that brand.. just don't know if they carry the T5...otherwise, I can get either Hagen brand or Coralife at one of our LFS... which brand would you do and which bulb? I don't really want to have to order anything right now and wait for it...I should have enough par from my other bulbs, right?

You should be fine on PAR. Hydroponics stores will likely have the 3000K lamps. Thats what they were developed for, growing plants. Lowes might have them I know nothing about hagen or coralife lamps

[The Grim Reefer]

Originally posted by stephensturman
ok i just got a tek 2 48" retro kit in a trade can i run 4 24" bulbs on that ballast or what do i need to do to be able to run 24" bulbs on a 48" retro? thanks

I wouldnt try it.

[mdbrit]

OK, I'm having problems justifying an ATI or TEK fixture over the CurrentUSA Extreme Pro.

The 6x39w current I can get for $300. I may change a few bulbs based upon Grim's recommendations, maybe the three blues, so total would be $360ish.

Next up would be the Tek 6x39w at $430 with bulbs. Quite a difference as I'd probably buy a couple more so I'd be looking at $450-470. Then I'd also need the acrylic shield and mounting legs for a total of over $500.

The 6x39W ATI fixture is going to be $660 +$120ish for bulbs. I'll also have to find a way to suspend it.

An alternative for $650 is the Current USA outer orbit 2x150w with 4x39w and built-in white and blue moonlights. This would be my first choice if it weren't for concerns over heat in the summer and running costs. Primarily it's the heat I'm concerned with as I have no room for a chiller really (and no desire to run one).

I love the idea of mixing bulbs to gain a pleasing color balance, I also love the metal halide shimmer as it looks more natural to me.

Tank is the Tech 70g and is 36w and 25deep. Any persuasive arguements will be greatly received! As you can tell, I'm having a hard problem with this. (after typing all this, maybe I should have started a new thread...?)

[jennmac415]

Originally posted by The Grim Reefer
Try this. Let it run a couple days before deciding.

Ati blue plus
Ati blue plus>>>>Could try Super Actinic here
Ati aquablue
Geise. Actinic Plus
GE 3000K
Ati blue plus
Geise. Aquablue plus

Grim... since one of the 3000ks is bad, what would it look like to take the 3000ks out and put the super actinic back in its spot??