The T5 Q&a Thread - Page 7

garygb · #**151** 12/01/2007, 11:54 PM

Grim,
Thanks for sharing your knowledge of lighting--an often confusing/controversial subject. My question is this: How would 3 96-watt quad PC's in Coralife Aqualight fixtures compare in brightness to a Tek light 6 bulb 39-watt fixture. In the PCs, the three quads were 6700K. Now in the Tek light fixture I have 3 6000K (Midday) Geiseman and 3 10,000K Aquamedic bulbs. I'm hoping the PAR value is just as high now with my Tek light as it was when I had the three PC's over the tank. BTW, the tank is 18 inches deep with a 5-6 inch deep sand bed, so I'm thinking I should be able to safely keep very high light specimens in this tank, right?

Gary

reefly · #**152** 12/02/2007, 12:15 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by The Grim Reefer
Its going to take a lot of T5's to cover such a large footprint. 12 39 watt lamps about 6" above the water is what I would use.

How do calulate how much lite that will produce, how do I know it's not too much or too little.

Can I get a lite meter and measure it?

For example if 8 or 10 was enough I could save money not only in the purchase of $ but also in operating costs.

The Grim Reefer · #**153** 12/02/2007, 12:20 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by garygb
Grim,
Thanks for sharing your knowledge of lighting--an often confusing/controversial subject. My question is this: How would 3 96-watt quad PC's in Coralife Aqualight fixtures compare in brightness to a Tek light 6 bulb 39-watt fixture. In the PCs, the three quads were 6700K. Now in the Tek light fixture I have 3 6000K (Midday) Geiseman and 3 10,000K Aquamedic bulbs. I'm hoping the PAR value is just as high now with my Tek light as it was when I had the three PC's over the tank. BTW, the tank is 18 inches deep with a 5-6 inch deep sand bed, so I'm thinking I should be able to safely keep very high light specimens in this tank, right?

Gary

You should be fine for most critters. Just keep the real high lighting stuff up on the rocks a little.

I would say you are putting at least as much light in the tank as you were with the PC's/

The Grim Reefer · #**154** 12/02/2007, 12:24 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by reefly
How do calulate how much lite that will produce, how do I know it's not too much or too little.

Can I get a lite meter and measure it?

For example if 8 or 10 was enough I could save money not only in the purchase of $ but also in operating costs.

You would need a PAR meter.

I think if it were mine I would get 3 Lumenarc reflectors and run Iwasaki 175 watt halides on Ice Cap ballasts over it. I bet you could gat at least a year out of those lamps.

garygb · #**155** 12/02/2007, 12:55 AM

Good to hear. Thank you for the quick response,
Gary

acrouse · #**156** 12/02/2007, 03:43 PM

Grim-thanks for answering again. I will keep looking for other T5 fixtures for my 72". But unfortunately I did look at the right fixture price at 650.00--which is now 950.00 with out bulbs. They have just had a major price increase!!

thanks jolene

acrouse · #**157** 12/02/2007, 04:32 PM

To be exact I finally found my paper I had prices on and Nov. 10th
fixture was 684.95 and Nov. 30th 949.95. An increase of $265.00. Maybe quality wise the fixture is still worth the increase.
jolene

FlamesFan · #**158** 12/02/2007, 11:20 PM

does anyone have a width measurement a standard T5 retrofit end peice is? Im trying to figure out if I can fit 8 bulbs inside my current tank hood.

db_triggerfish · #**159** 12/02/2007, 11:39 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by FlamesFan
does anyone have a width measurement a standard T5 retrofit end peice is? Im trying to figure out if I can fit 8 bulbs inside my current tank hood.

i have Icecap they are 2.5 inches and the IC reflector is 2-5/8 inches. i know you can fit 7 across on a standard 90g because i have a 75g same width and only using 6 for now but i know i can fit 7. One thing to consider is the plastic frame on top of the tank they are like 1.5 inches on the front and back. But you can angle the reflector to point in so the light does not get wasted on the tank frame.

Detritivore · #**160** 12/03/2007, 01:16 AM

hi all,

i currently have an acrylic 125g (60L x 24W x 20T) that has one 250w Phoenix and one 250w 10K XM SE. the way the bracing works on the tank means i have to get a 3rd halide to cover up the whole tank (there are 3 gaps in the bracing rather than 2). however, instead of that, i am considering replacing the halides with a bank of maybe 8 or 10 54w T5's. would that be a good idea? or should i just get another halide. if i stick with halides, i will be getting some T5 anyway for sup., so i figure it might be better just to go all out T5 and save some electricity. what do you think? btw, the tank will be primarily SPS and i don't stack my rocks very high (highest ones are about halfway up the tank)

thanks

The Grim Reefer · #**161** 12/03/2007, 01:26 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by acrouse
To be exact I finally found my paper I had prices on and Nov. 10th
fixture was 684.95 and Nov. 30th 949.95. An increase of $265.00. Maybe quality wise the fixture is still worth the increase.
jolene

Aquarium Specialty sells the 72" for 949.00 the 48" version is 680.00. Could have sworn they had been priced like that for a while, maybe not.

The Grim Reefer · #**162** 12/03/2007, 01:38 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Detritivore
hi all,

i currently have an acrylic 125g (60L x 24W x 20T) that has one 250w Phoenix and one 250w 10K XM SE. the way the bracing works on the tank means i have to get a 3rd halide to cover up the whole tank (there are 3 gaps in the bracing rather than 2). however, instead of that, i am considering replacing the halides with a bank of maybe 8 or 10 54w T5's. would that be a good idea? or should i just get another halide. if i stick with halides, i will be getting some T5 anyway for sup., so i figure it might be better just to go all out T5 and save some electricity. what do you think? btw, the tank will be primarily SPS and i don't stack my rocks very high (highest ones are about halfway up the tank)

thanks

an 8x54 retrofit should do fine. I would order through reefgeek and get the Ice Cap retro but use 2 of the standard ballasts for 4 lamps and 1 Ice Cap 660 for the other 4 so they are overdriven. Should work sweet over your tank. They can put together a retro kit like that for you.

Detritivore · #**163** 12/03/2007, 01:43 AM

thanks grim, any recommendations for bulb combos? will that be enough to reach SPS at or near the bottom of the tank?

The Grim Reefer · #**164** 12/03/2007, 01:55 AM

Yeah for 8 try this

Front
Blue Plus
ATI Aquablue (overdriven)
UVL Aquasun (overdriven)
UVL Super actinic
Blue Plus
ATI Pro Color (overdriven)
Aquablue (Overdriven)
Blue Plus

Stilgore · #**165** 12/03/2007, 05:37 PM

My 375 has been up and running for a few months now. I am currently lighting it with 2 400w MH and 2 250w MH on standard parabolic reflectors.

I was looking to upgrade my MH reflectors and supplement with some t5s.

After looking at the cost of all the upgrades I decided it might be a good idea to just go all the way with a t5 setup. The cost for a total upgrade wouldn't be much more than the partial upgrade I was thinking about with my MHs. It should save on the electricity bill in the long run.

I would like to get your advice on the best way to accomplish lighting my tank with all t5s. The dimensions of the tank are: 10ft long x 24 inches wide x 30 inches tall. It is a room divider veiwable from the two long sides. It is shaping up to be a mixed reef, however, I want to light it with the hopes of going mostly SPS in the future.

Thanks for your input,
Stilgore

The Grim Reefer · #**166** 12/03/2007, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Stilgore
My 375 has been up and running for a few months now. I am currently lighting it with 2 400w MH and 2 250w MH on standard parabolic reflectors.

I was looking to upgrade my MH reflectors and supplement with some t5s.

After looking at the cost of all the upgrades I decided it might be a good idea to just go all the way with a t5 setup. The cost for a total upgrade wouldn't be much more than the partial upgrade I was thinking about with my MHs. It should save on the electricity bill in the long run.

I would like to get your advice on the best way to accomplish lighting my tank with all t5s. The dimensions of the tank are: 10ft long x 24 inches wide x 30 inches tall. It is a room divider veiwable from the two long sides. It is shaping up to be a mixed reef, however, I want to light it with the hopes of going mostly SPS in the future.

Thanks for your input,
Stilgore

You would need to run 2 8x54 watt Ice Cap retros side by side. That is going to use around 1200 watts.

uhuru · #**167** 12/03/2007, 06:32 PM

With the recent price increase on TX5 fixtures, I was wondering if it would be just as good to go with a ATI 4 bulb powermodule fixture?

The tank is a 40 breeder SPS dominant. Also in each case, please advise on a good bulb combo. Thanks I really appreciate it!

The Grim Reefer · #**168** 12/03/2007, 10:10 PM

Yep, just checked. Go with the 4 lamp ATI.

Front
Blue Plus
UVL Aquasun
Aquablue
Blue Plus

uhuru · #**169** 12/03/2007, 10:30 PM

Thanks for the quick response, you rock!

ooja3k · #**170** 12/03/2007, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by The Grim Reefer
Yep, just checked. Go with the 4 lamp ATI.

Front
Blue Plus
UVL Aquasun
Aquablue
Blue Plus

Grim, In the past for a 4 bulb setup you have recommended:

Blue Plus
UVL Aquasun
UVL Super Actinic
Blue Plus

Is there any reason this time you swaped an Aquablue for the UVL Super Actinic? Is it because of the extra PAR needed for a SPS dominated tank?

masher09 · #**171** 12/04/2007, 12:15 AM

I have a 125 FOWLR. I want to get T5's that will enable me to go to reef in the future. How do I pick a fixture? Do I need a 72" fixture. Must of the fixtures I see are 48".

I like the idea of ice caps to reduce power consummption but like I said I'm looking for a direction.

Ideas please!!!!

Masher

tbone28 · #**172** 12/04/2007, 12:38 AM

Grim,

I heard I can add white-colored LED's. Is that true? Being that LED's are 1W, would my Powermodules overpower them? Or give me the shimmer that I want? I'm not looking for a moonlight shimmer. Rather, a shimmer while my main lights are on.

Any suggestions as to what brand of LED to buy?

Thanks

The Grim Reefer · #**173** 12/04/2007, 01:12 AM

Only real solution is the Aquactinics Constellation. Aquarium Specialty from the sponsors page sells them.

Quote:

Originally posted by masher09
I have a 125 FOWLR. I want to get T5's that will enable me to go to reef in the future. How do I pick a fixture? Do I need a 72" fixture. Must of the fixtures I see are 48".

I like the idea of ice caps to reduce power consummption but like I said I'm looking for a direction.

Ideas please!!!!

Masher

The Grim Reefer · #**174** 12/04/2007, 01:17 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by ooja3k
Grim, In the past for a 4 bulb setup you have recommended:

Blue Plus
UVL Aquasun
UVL Super Actinic
Blue Plus

Is there any reason this time you swaped an Aquablue for the UVL Super Actinic? Is it because of the extra PAR needed for a SPS dominated tank?

If your only doing SPS you dont get much out of the SA, I think I would rather have the extra PAR but you would have enough even with the SA. You could even try 2 blue plus the aquablue and the ATI Pro Color

The Grim Reefer · #**175** 12/04/2007, 01:20 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by tbone28
Grim,

I heard I can add white-colored LED's. Is that true? Being that LED's are 1W, would my Powermodules overpower them? Or give me the shimmer that I want? I'm not looking for a moonlight shimmer. Rather, a shimmer while my main lights are on.

Any suggestions as to what brand of LED to buy?

Thanks

I am not up of the LED's as far as which to use but the white should get you shimmer if you have a blue look to the T5's. You just need the really bright LED's.