The T5 Q&a Thread

[The Grim Reefer]

If your tank is 48" long then you would be running the 48" T5's which are 54 watts each. 324 watts. As long as you stick with the good equipment like Tek or Ice Cap reflectors and ATI/D&D lamps it would be more light than you currently have and less heat.

[hopper]

Thanks. T5's are a definite upgrade I am going to look into a little more. Right after the Tunze Turbelle's.

[pili]

The 40 breeder is 36L x 18W x 16H. I'm not sure how far the bulbs are spaced in the pendent though so i'm not sure if 4 bulbs would cover the width.

[00nothing]

Originally posted by pili4444
Would a 6 bulb Tek light on my 40g breeder with half blueplus and half 11000k aquablue bulbs be enough for a good amount of SPS in a mixed reef? I am trying to decide between the 8 bulb and the 6 bulb but i would rather the 6 bulb for cost reasons. thanks.

i have a 4 bulb on a 4 breeder and it is tons of light for a mixed tank perhpas on a sps only tank u might want to consider 6 bulb but i dont think it would be completly necessary

[Aaron]

Grimm,
Are you using Commodity Access T5s?
You had talked about a SuperBlue but they are not on the web site.

What luck have you had with life span?


I just returned 2 (out of the 4 I bought) of them that died after 2 weeks of use. They were great about sending me two more right away but, of course, I had to absorb the return shipping so they got a lot more expensive to own at that point.

[JER-Z]

i am thinking about 4x39w on an Icecap 660 w/ icecap reflectors for my AGA 65g for starters.

How would i be doing in the light department with this setup? Thanks

[00nothing]

Originally posted by Aaron
Grimm,
Are you using Commodity Access T5s?
You had talked about a SuperBlue but they are not on the web site.

What luck have you had with life span?


I just returned 2 (out of the 4 I bought) of them that died after 2 weeks of use. They were great about sending me two more right away but, of course, I had to absorb the return shipping so they got a lot more expensive to own at that point.

hate to answer for anyone but i believe he is only using commodity axis to get the helios super blue all his other bulbs are ati with the exception of GE daylights,, I could be wrong though

[00nothing]

Originally posted by JER-Z
i am thinking about 4x39w on an Icecap 660 w/ icecap reflectors for my AGA 65g for starters.

How would i be doing in the light department with this setup? Thanks

i think this would be a pretty good setup i was thinking of dumping my 40 breeder for a 65 before i got to far into it (too late now) and i am sure there would be no probs with lighting i wouldnt want to keep sps lower in the tank but for a mixed tank it should be okay

[The Grim Reefer]

Originally posted by Aaron
Grimm,
Are you using Commodity Access T5s?
You had talked about a SuperBlue but they are not on the web site.

What luck have you had with life span?


I just returned 2 (out of the 4 I bought) of them that died after 2 weeks of use. They were great about sending me two more right away but, of course, I had to absorb the return shipping so they got a lot more expensive to own at that point.

I am using the superblues in the striplight fixtures. They are mounted in my halide fixture so they get pretty hot BUT I only use them for extended dusk/dawn so while they get hit with the heat of the halides they aren't running with the halides except for maybe a few minutes a day. I run the lamps an hour and a half in the mornings and a couple hours at night. two months and no trouble yet. I actually expect the heat to kill the in frame ballasts but I am just running the 48" lamps until the longer ones become available.

For a full system I wouldn't use Helios fixtures because the reflectors aren't up to par yet and the ballasts are weak. They are designed to last a year or so because you throw them away with the lamp. building a ballast that is inexpensive enough but reliable enough is a delicate balancing act. I would definatly be concerned with power spikes killing the ballasts so I would at least run them on a good surge protector.

If they come out with a better reflector thier 5 and 6 foot T5's would be great. They come with an external ballast you plug into the fixture so it can be reused. I ran those lamps for like a few week while I upgraded the halides. Pretty impressed with the colors but I don't know about the reliability.

[The Grim Reefer]

Originally posted by JER-Z
i am thinking about 4x39w on an Icecap 660 w/ icecap reflectors for my AGA 65g for starters.

How would i be doing in the light department with this setup? Thanks

That would likely be all the light you would ever need. I'd run a GE daylight, ATI Aquablue and 2 Bluepluses.

[Codeman00]

My Helios Superblue T5s are here...too bad they sent me the strip fixtures instead. I have a couple of bulbs on the way though....not sure they will fit because they're extra long for whatever reason.

Anyway, the bulbs look great just like Grim said. They flouresce similar to a URI SuperActinic. The superblues are brighter which I expected, the yellows dont pop flourescent green as much, but the oranges look radiaoactive. I wish I had more reds in my tank because Grims pictures show radioactive reds too. I think I'm going to run one of these and one VHO Superactinic and see what happens. I'll let you know how it works out.

Grim, thanks for the tip on the Superblues.

[frankiej]

Heya Grim, sorry didnt see this as it was on second page and I posted here( http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...hreadid=684529 ), could you check it out for me and give me your thoughts, I would apprecciate it much.

Tanks and good luck with your reefs.

[Aaron]

Originally posted by Codeman00
[B]My Helios Superblue T5s are here...too bad they sent me the strip fixtures instead. I have a couple of bulbs on the way though....not sure they will fit because they're extra long for whatever reason.

Do they sell the bulbs separately? They are not on the web site.

Do you have to call them to order the bulbs?

[Codeman00]

Originally posted by Aaron
Do they sell the bulbs separately? They are not on the web site.

Do you have to call them to order the bulbs?

Even worse, you have to email them and hope they answer your questions and get the order right. The customer support from their email is not good.

No, the bulbs nor the fixtures are on the site...you have decide what you want to buy, email them and they will fax you a filled out order form, then you write your info (credit card #) on it and send it back.

Or, I could just give you the phone number that wasnt listed on their site but was on my receipt. Commodity Axis - (888) 838-3882 You will still have to order via fax or email though.

[The Grim Reefer]

Originally posted by Codeman00
Even worse, you have to email them and hope they answer your questions and get the order right. The customer support from their email is not good.

No, the bulbs nor the fixtures are on the site...you have decide what you want to buy, email them and they will fax you a filled out order form, then you write your info (credit card #) on it and send it back.

Or, I could just give you the phone number that wasnt listed on their site but was on my receipt. Commodity Axis - (888) 838-3882 You will still have to order via fax or email though.

The lamps should be on the site soon which will help a lot.

[Cichlidkeeper]

I know this is kind of redundant given the last few posts but I want to make sure I'm doing this right.

I have a 50 breeder 36Lx18Wx18H. I was planning on doing LPS, SPS, and Yumas. Possably clams

My original plan was to do a 8 bulb Tek 5 hood. After reading this I'm thinking 6 bulb. I am assuming Yumas can take this lighting, if I'm wrong let me know.

Thank you for your help
Nathan

[olemos]

I have a Howard industries ballast and on the label ( for use with lamp types) it has 2 or 1 x F54T5HO
My question is on the two lamp stetting can I use a combination of 1 x 54W and 1x 39W instead of 2 x 54W lamps?
it's a difference of 15W, I posted this on another thread but got mixed replies.

[00nothing]

Originally posted by Cichlidkeeper
I know this is kind of redundant given the last few posts but I want to make sure I'm doing this right.

I have a 50 breeder 36Lx18Wx18H. I was planning on doing LPS, SPS, and Yumas. Possably clams

My original plan was to do a 8 bulb Tek 5 hood. After reading this I'm thinking 6 bulb. I am assuming Yumas can take this lighting, if I'm wrong let me know.

Thank you for your help
Nathan

i think u would find that at only 18 inches in depth 6 bulbs might be excessive and even with 4 bulbs u may have to find some shade for those yumas

[00nothing]

Originally posted by olemos
I have a Howard industries ballast and on the label ( for use with lamp types) it has 2 or 1 x F54T5HO
My question is on the two lamp stetting can I use a combination of 1 x 54W and 1x 39W instead of 2 x 54W lamps?
it's a difference of 15W, I posted this on another thread but got mixed replies.

first any reason for the staggered bulb sizes ???

but yes i do believe it would work however u may be overdriving the shorter bulb somewhat

[olemos]

Originally posted by 00nothing
first any reason for the staggered bulb sizes ???

Yes space, these will be mixed in with MH.

[chrisc615]

So is there a real advantage to running Icecap ballasts over workhorse ballasts? Reason I ask is because a 3X80w retro from Reefgeek is $369 with the Icecap 660. If I put together a system with a WH7 and WH5 it's only $267. Or a 4X80w with 2 WH7 is only $347.

[The Grim Reefer]

The Ice Cap overdrives the lamp so it is much brighter. The Ice Cap also monitors the internal resistance of the lamp and adjusts the power as the lamp ages and runs it at a high frequency which all adds up to no decrease in lamp life despite being overdriven. The Workhorses are not T5 spec ballasts. They run them fine but because of the hard start methode they MAY reduce the life of the lamp over a real T5 ballast. If you don't need the extra light you get from overdriving the lamps the WH is not a bad idea.

[Codeman00]

Finally, I have a Helios SuperBlue hooked up and running with my URI VHO Super Actinic. All I can say is..nice..very nice. My tank looks more normal now being blue instead of purple. Since it's brighter, hopefully it will punch thru the 175 XM10Ks a bit more than the 2nd VHO did. These bulbs are nice!

I still wish I could run the bulb on my own ballast and reflector though. Oh well.

[olemos]

So ATI seams to be the top brand for T5 bulbs, what would be the next one you guys recommend, that will be a little cheaper in price? these will be used a few hours before and after MH

[szesteve]

Hi Grim,

Awesome job you've done with all the advice given!

I picked up my T5 unit 2 months ago and it's been running on my tank ever since. Here's the unit:
http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merch...Code=Finnex-T5

I have my lights setup about 4-5" from the water surface and I'm keeping mostly zoos, rics and some SPS(milliporas and slimers).

My lighting configuration is:

Daylight
Blue
Daylight
Blue

Any suggestions as to how long the bulbs will last and if I should switch to better bulbs? I'm not sure how good these reflectors are.