I got a clam! woohoo!

cyclops23 · #1 01/21/2007, 03:00 PM

Animart in Madison is moving across I-90, so they're having a huge sale trying to get rid of all their stuff. Everything was 50% off today. I got a teardrop Maxima clam for $25, and i also loaded up on some LR. The only bad part was the guy i asked to get the clam for me didn't want to sell it to me. he said my 4x54w Tek T-5 over my 55g wasn't enough light! i actually had to talk the guy into selling it to me. they had 6 clams left, i should've gotten 2.

frederickk · #2 01/22/2007, 02:07 PM

I think it's not enough too. You should look into MH at a 175w or one 250w for it.

AndyB4784 · #3 01/22/2007, 02:12 PM

not enough light for a maxima. take the clam back and get a squamosa or deresa clam if you want to keep one under T5's. these two need less light then maxima or crocea clams.

barbra · #4 01/22/2007, 02:13 PM

CHeck out this link...I had the same question a few days ago:

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...67#post9013167

nikonosis · #5 01/22/2007, 02:42 PM

we have a maxima in our 24g under 1-150w halide and its doing great.

Icefire · #6 01/22/2007, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by frederickk
I think it's not enough too. You should look into MH at a 175w or one 250w for it.

Funny, 4x54w T5HO with reflector put more light than a 250w halide

AndyB4784 · #7 01/22/2007, 02:56 PM

Quote:

Funny, 4x54w T5HO with reflector put more light than a 250w halide

show me where you read this. don't refer me to a different thread please. show me a study that shows that t5s have more PAR than a halide.

onefin · #8 01/22/2007, 02:57 PM

Good luck with it.

sulp · #9 01/22/2007, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Funny, 4x54w T5HO with reflector put more light than a 250w halide

Yeah...more total wattage. but the par intensity is sooo different.

RobNJ · #10 01/22/2007, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Icefire
Funny, 4x54w T5HO with reflector put more light than a 250w halide

Might be bright, but the par is no where neat a 10K OR 14K MH bulb...

-Rob

cristhiam · #11 01/22/2007, 03:13 PM

Keep it high, it can be done

jbittner · #12 01/22/2007, 03:18 PM

I have the same setup, and I have 3 clams (2 crocea and a maxima). My clams are all 1 1/2 yrs old w/ good extension and good growth. I have had both lights on my 55 (MH and t5) and I would never go back to the MH. My t5 lights are every bit as bright as the mh. With t5 I get countless bulb configurations, less heat, better light coverage, longer bulb life and less energy used.
I use all Giesmann bulbs
1 Midday
2 actinic+
1 actinic

jbittner · #13 01/22/2007, 03:22 PM

BTW my clams are on the bottom.

nikonosis · #14 01/22/2007, 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by jbittner
I have the same setup, and I have 3 clams (2 crocea and a maxima). My clams are all 1 1/2 yrs old w/ good extension and good growth. I have had both lights on my 55 (MH and t5) and I would never go back to the MH. My t5 lights are every bit as bright as the mh. With t5 I get countless bulb configurations, less heat, better light coverage, longer bulb life and less energy used.
I use all Giesmann bulbs
1 Midday
2 actinic+
1 actinic

and you have to replace more, expensive bulbs...

cristhiam · #15 01/22/2007, 03:39 PM

t5s should last at least 2 years, Am I right?
I don't use T5s but I have a crocea and a max for over 2 years with a combination of 40Ws (6500K bulbs from HD) and 110W URI actinics

, I use 2 IceCaps 660s

AndyB4784 · #16 01/22/2007, 04:01 PM

Living doesn't necessarily mean thriving.

TWallace · #17 01/22/2007, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by sulp
Yeah...more total wattage. but the par intensity is sooo different.

216 > 250?

cristhiam · #18 01/22/2007, 04:12 PM

There are other variables than just lights, lots of clams die with MH too. check the clams forum. As long they are not loosing their color, and not over extending their mantle should be fine. JMO

TWallace · #19 01/22/2007, 04:19 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by nikonosis
and you have to replace more, expensive bulbs...

A lot of T5 setups use the cheap GE bulbs for half of the lighting, which are only $13 each. The actinic ones generally run from $20-25 each. So for a 4 bulb setup, it costs a little over $70 to replace all 4 bulbs. Compare that to a typical MH setup with 2 MH which generally run from $60-90 per bulb and need to be replaced more often. Not to mention that a lot of people use actinic supplementation with MH, so that's even higher bulb replacement cost.

sulp · #20 01/22/2007, 05:06 PM

Twallace - I didn't bother to add the total. My point was that T5's and MH's are on different playing fields. I was assuming that he was saying the the total watts were higher than 250.

Thanks for the correction though...I swear that back in the 5th grade I got a B+ in addition and multiplication

GSMguy · #21 01/22/2007, 05:11 PM

should be fine

nikonosis · #22 01/22/2007, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by TWallace
A lot of T5 setups use the cheap GE bulbs for half of the lighting, which are only $13 each. The actinic ones generally run from $20-25 each. So for a 4 bulb setup, it costs a little over $70 to replace all 4 bulbs. Compare that to a typical MH setup with 2 MH which generally run from $60-90 per bulb and need to be replaced more often. Not to mention that a lot of people use actinic supplementation with MH, so that's even higher bulb replacement cost.

I hate to tell you but 4 t5's don't equal 1 250w halide. I don't know where you got 2 from... Also, doesn't it cost a lot more to ship 4 t5's than 1 halide bulb?

jbittner · #23 01/22/2007, 09:56 PM

4 t5 would absolutely demolish a 250 watt mh on a 55 gal tank. w/ a 4 ft long tank you would actually need two MH for many reasons (center brace would be one, 2' coverage area would be another). and to the member who implied my tank was not thriving, amazing coral color and growth as well as clam growth and intense coloration would say otherwise. I have been in this hobby for nine yrs and I have had almost every lighting system out there (NO LEDs yet), and t5 beats them all--hands down. Shipping on my last bulbs was $6.99, so that makes them 88.65 to replace all 4 of my bulbs and ship them (about the price of one MH and it lasts 12 months).

TWallace · #24 01/22/2007, 11:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by nikonosis
I hate to tell you but 4 t5's don't equal 1 250w halide. I don't know where you got 2 from... Also, doesn't it cost a lot more to ship 4 t5's than 1 halide bulb?

I never mentioned the wattage of the MH in that comparison. I actually had 175w in mind, but it doesn't matter since the MH bulb prices for those two wattages are similar. I had a 55g tank in mind though, which is what the original poster has. 55g tanks normally require 2 MH bulbs due to the width and center brace. It would also typically use 4 x 54w T5 lighting, which is what I based this comparison on.

Whether 4 x 54 T5 is as much light as 2 MH or not isn't relevant as I'm basing the price comparison on what sort of lighting configuration would typically be used on a 55g tank. And in that case, replacing bulbs for a T5 setup seems to be quite a bit cheaper than replacing bulbs for a MH setup, which refutes your original point.

AndyB4784 · #25 01/22/2007, 11:11 PM

no kidding that you would need 2 MH over the 55. you still haven't given any reasoning except a "because i said so"