T5's are in! Quick before and after pic.

blackie lawless · #1 04/22/2006, 06:49 PM

Finally, after about 6 hours I was able to get my 4x54w retro fired up.

Here is a quick before and after of my favorite Zoas'. The difference is absolutely incredible.

Zoa's under 390w of CF:

Same Zoa's getting there first taste of 4x54w T5's on Ice Cap 660.

I will be posting more pics later of the lights under my canopy and so forth. All n all, not a hard install for someone whom has never meesed with electrical stuff before. Now I gotta go get some dinner, I am beat.

dvanacker · #2 04/22/2006, 07:24 PM

SWWEEEEEETTT ......day and night difference.

The new setup really shows off the true beauty of those zoo's.

PHATBEN · #3 04/22/2006, 07:25 PM

wow I can wait to see more pics.... I just bought a tek 4x54 for my 90 gallon to replace my 4x65 pc and I was afraid it wasn't going to be enough light... I can see a big difference in your before and after... and now I cant wait to get mine... I hope mine make as much difference as yours

Ti · #4 04/22/2006, 08:00 PM

great pics.

blackie lawless · #5 04/22/2006, 10:02 PM

Thanks for the comments guys. It is night and day. Phatben, it is very bright! More then enough IMO. Obviosuly the true test will be when I introduce some SPS, but I think you will be impressed.

Here are the rest of the pics I took. I will try to get a full tank shot (still learning how to take digital photo's of my tank) tomorrow.

2 shots of the retro in my canopy.

2 Shots of the water proof end caps, SLR reflectors, and the clips which attach the reflectors to the bubls.

A shot of the lights turned on inside the canopy. It's easy to see the difference in color spectrum between the Aquablue plus (white), and the Aticnic blue bulbs.

A shot of my Flame Angel trying to figure out just what all the comotion was about.

I have yet to figure out how to take a digital photo that will show the exact color the T5's are putting out. I went with two Aquablue Plus's, and two Aticnic blue's. The end result is a very bright and crisp white with a blue tint. The colors of my fish and corals "pop" like never before.

I only had the lights on for an hour as it was already 8 when I finished the install. I'll take some shots of my Torch, Shrooms, and other LPS tomorrowafter I have accimated them a bit with the screen method.

dvanacker · #6 04/22/2006, 10:11 PM

I have the exact same setup on my 55. Just to let you know you will probably have to keep you SPS up high on your 90 as 4 bulbs isnt alot for SPS on a tank that size. Try a Millepora or montipora to start.

Unless your using a IC660....then you should have enough power for most SPS at least in the middle and up if not lower.

blackie lawless · #7 04/22/2006, 10:17 PM

Yes, the T5's are running off an IC660.

Thanks for the SPS suggestions, I am gonna try and pick one up next week from the LFS.

I am gonna place the first few SPS up top to begin with, and then slowly start expirementing with the lower areas of the tank.

robsmith32 · #8 04/22/2006, 10:29 PM

not a photographer, but a lot of cameras have a whitebalance adjustment you can make by using a true white surface.

The Grim Reefer · #9 04/22/2006, 11:57 PM

The 4 lamp IC T5 system will stomp a mud hole in most 250 watt halide systems. Keep a close eye on those nice zoas to make sure you don't hit them with too much at first. I would think about using a couple layers of fiberglass window screen to shade things a bit to acclimate them to the new light. Just remove a layer after a few days and pull the second one after a week.

Chaotic Reefer4u · #10 04/23/2006, 12:08 AM

hey grimmy your back, good to see ya pal...

The Grim Reefer · #11 04/23/2006, 12:16 AM

WAZZUP?

s3aL · #12 04/23/2006, 12:45 AM

Much better! Them eagle eyes look 10x better under the T5's. FTS!

chemesgh · #13 04/23/2006, 06:15 AM

Man the difference between those two pics is amazing! I'm currently trying to research all of the different lighting options there are out there. I keep seeing MH, but also read about heat generation, which is making me kind of steer back more toward the VHO options. Post more pics if you have em, I might have found what Iw as looking for!

blackie lawless · #14 04/23/2006, 07:17 AM

Thanks for the info Grim. I did get some fiber glass screen from home depot that I'm gonna install today. (Read your suggestion about it in a previous thread).

Chemesgh, I'll post more pics up as soon as my Corals start to open up.

Next step is to get some fans blowing cool air into the canopy.

dvanacker · #15 04/23/2006, 09:15 AM

Fans are a definate must if you are overdriving. Good luck

Pillz · #16 04/23/2006, 09:53 AM

wow thats amazing. how is the growth rate? Still too soon? keep us updated on that.

subzero420 · #17 04/23/2006, 04:57 PM

huge difference with half the wattage

blackie lawless · #18 04/23/2006, 05:15 PM

Quick update: After having my lights on for over 8 hours, my tank temp is lower then when I had the two CF fixtures in the canopy. With the house AC set to 78, and one clip fan blowing air across the surface of my sump,my tank temps high of the day is 77.7 degrees. It would usually be between 78-78.8.

My corals look absolutely incredible. The only corals in my tank that seem to be reacting abnormally to the new light are my Xenia. They are only open about half as much as normal. Xenia are as resilient as Aiptasia so I am not too concerned. I'll start slowly taking away a layer of screen at a time through out the week.

I had to get into the tank to fix a power head, so I snapped some quick pics without the screen.

Hammer Coral:

Full Tank:

Left Side:

Right Side: (Disregard the small patch of hair algea in the back, I'm fighting that battle as well.)

Hopefully some of the information I have provided will help others who are considering T5's.

blackie lawless · #19 04/23/2006, 05:19 PM

Photobucket resized the shots to be very small. I'll see if I can enlarge em.

Flatlander · #20 04/23/2006, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by dvanacker
Fans are a definate must if you are overdriving. Good luck

I thought running four 4ft. T-5 bulbs on an Icecap 660 was not overdriving them?

The Grim Reefer · #21 04/23/2006, 05:31 PM

The 660 overdrives all t5's 80=100, 54=80~85, 39=60, 24=50. Ice Cap's numbers, not mine and yes, you got to run fans or the lamps will not make it a year.

kau_cinta_ku · #22 04/23/2006, 06:05 PM

how high are the lamps above the water? very nice pics BTW

HowardW · #23 04/23/2006, 07:03 PM

Maybe it's just me, but I think the pic with the PC lights looks nice too.

juststartingout · #24 04/23/2006, 07:50 PM

blackie, very nice addition. W.A.S.P. fan I take it?

vishboy · #25 04/23/2006, 08:05 PM

HowardW, you are right, it does look nice under the pc. But it is not as nice as the T5.

Looking good man!