T6 lighting opinion needed!

[bramjansen]

www.aquatraders.com has some good deals on lighting. My fixture for PC was just fine, no problems (until it fell into the tank, nightmare....). Anyway, they got some T6 lighting system. What is your opinion about T6's, or do you see any problems at all looking at their lights and sepcifics? Thanks for any input!!! I did not find any forum discussing their T6 lights.

[pjf]

I recommend fixtures with individual reflectors for each lamp. Otherwise, a great deal of light will simply be wasted. Here are some T6 fixtures with such reflectors: http://www.naturallighting.com/web/shop.php?crn=773. Be sure to specify T6HO ballasts.

[Saltcreep1]

You wont get many answers here concerning T6 stuff.

It is not an industry standard....yet.


Very few people are running T6 stuff.


I can tell you that the AquaTraders T6 bulbs are very bright when driven by an Advance T5 ballast.

I got four of thier bulbs to play around with and they are on my tank now.

I am not sure that these bulbs are tru T6 bulbs though.

They may be T5 bulbs with odd T6 pin bases.

They are not 48 inches long like a T6....they are really 46 inches of so long.

They are not 55watt like T6s are supposed to me. Theu are 54 watts like a T5HO.

I say go for it. The Aquatraders strip is cheap and is not going to be as bright as bulbs with individual reflectors.....but it will be brighter than PCs for sure.

[bramjansen]

That is great advice! Why is it though that not many do run T6 lights? Better to have t5's?

[pjf]

T6 lamps are being marketed as plug-compatible replacements for T8, T10 and T12 lamps. Their smaller diameter means that they will work more effectively with a reflector.

In aquaria, T5 lamps are more popular because they are a couple of inches shorter than T6 lamps and can more easily fit in a hood. The shorter AquaTraders T6 may change that. It was reported that the AquaTraders T6-HO lamps are really T5-HO lamps with standard bi-pin endcaps.

A disadvantage of upgrading to T6-HO is that a ballast upgrade may be needed. While a normal output T6 lamp can replace a normal output T8/T10/T12 lamp, use of a T6-HO usually requires upgrading the normal output fixture with high output ballasts. I replaced my T12 lamps with T6-HO lamps but I'm enjoying only normal output until I can upgrade my ballasts. The normal output T6 is still brighter because the reflector can direct more light to my tank.

As for the "54W" T5-HO and the "55W" T6-HO, both will operate with 64W Workhorse #3 electronic ballasts. There is no difference in the electronics. The sockets are different because the T6 has a standard bi-pin whereas the T5 has a mini bi-pin.

I understand that a T6-VHO is a plug and play replacement for a T12-VHO so no ballast upgrade is needed here.

[Shade00]

But how does one get moisture resistant endcaps for T6s?

[BeanAnimal]

Long story short.

Commercial and industrial lighting is what drives the market and the technology.

The smaller the bulb diameter, the more efficiently it can be focused and reflected. T5 bulbs set the standard, but in doing so also required industry to adopt new ballasts, fixtures and reflectors. BIG BIG BUCKS WORLDWIDE. The (more) socialist based economies (much of Europe) have pretty much mandated the use of the T5 regardless of the cost to business, but the predominatly capitalist countries have balked at the upgrade costs, as they were just "sold" on the T8 upgrades and have invested fortunes in said upgrades. In other words there is NO payoff in going from T8 to T5.

For NEW construction here in the US it is a mix and match, the T5 has still not been fully adopted because of the other alternatives and the "proprietary" nature of the bulb lenghts.

Remember total cost of ownership is all that matters to enterprise.

The T5 is NOT pin or length compatable.... so some brillinat market R&D guys said... "Hey Lets stuff a T5 onto a T8 pin base and sell it to the T8 crowd as an in place upgrade". They had to widen the bulb slightly to accept the pinbase and ignitor. VIOLA a T6! So then some aquarium guy says "Hey we can market that to those aquarium folks as the next greatest lighting advancement"....

As far as real world output, bulb life, etc.. some folks are doing some tests compared to T5s. I have not seen the data, they may be better or could be worse. I dunno.

As far as selection:
You do no see it in our hobby (or anywhere really) because it has simply not yet been adopted by the commercial interests. If and when it becomes mainstream, then you will see more offerings for our hobby.

[bramjansen]

This is a freakin awesome explanation! Thanks you guys for all the data!

[cerreta]

Bean, I actually think the T6 came first. It has been in use for over a decade. It is commonly used in Asia. However, the T5 made it to the aquarium trade whereas the T6 did not.

I wrote a review a year ago and have seen a new spark of interest in the T6, so here is my review for those that are interested.

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...24#post9897724

BTW, you can buy the T6 aquarium lamps for $15-$18 each from this vendor:
http://www.naturallighting.com/web/shop.php?crn=704

Aquatraders is crazy for selling T6 lamps at that price. I think they are trying to exploit the unknown T6 and make a killing. Go T5 unless you are converting from T12 VHO to the T5/T6 route and are on a budget. Then in that case save some dough and buy the T6s from this guy.

http://www.naturallighting.com/web/shop.php?crn=666

[BeanAnimal]

It is not so much which "came first" (we could track down the invention dates from GE and Phillips) it is what has been marketed. The T8 was around in the 80's but did not get pushed into the market until the later part of 2001. The modern T12 (F40) style lamp was developed (I think) in the late 70's.... There are also T4 lamps and may other permutations. Addoption by industry is what drives a lamps popularity The T5 lamps are not being adopted in North America (as I mentioned, the T8 was instead).

But yes, without looking up (calling? GE, Phillips etc) it is likely that the T6 has been "around" for quite some time.

[pjf]

Originally posted by cerreta
Aquatraders is crazy for selling T6 lamps at that price. I think they are trying to exploit the unknown T6 and make a killing. Go T5 unless you are converting from T12 VHO to the T5/T6 route and are on a budget. Then in that case save some dough and buy the T6s from this guy.

I would be careful about mixing and matching "T6" lamps from different vendors. The T6 lamps from Natural Lighting have a standard 48 inch length including the pins. The "T6" lamps from AquaTraders are only 46 inches in length including the pins (http://www.aquatraders.com/index.asp...ROD&ProdID=340).

I purchased T6 lamps from Natural Lighting last year to replace my T12 lamps. They do fit and work. The AquaTraders lamps are 2 inches shorter to fit into fixtures that were originally sized for the shorter T5 lamps. My understanding is that the AquaTraders T6 lamps are actually T5 tubes with T6 endcaps.

[cerreta]

Nice pickup pjf. I do recall having to redo my bulb spacing when switching over from T6 to T5.

[Icefire]

You can buy "extension endcap" to get t8/t12 from t5 btw.

[pjf]

Do standard length 48" T12-VHO, T10, T8 and T6 lamps fit inside aquarium hood enclosures?

I'm of the impression that the shorter 46" T5 (and AquaTraders 46-inch "T6") lamps were invented to fit inside aquarium hood enclosures whereas the standard length lamps were meant to hang from the ceiling.

BTW, where can one get the extension endcaps for T5 lamps?

[cerreta]

It depends on the dimensions of your canopy. I had a tight squeeze fitting 48" lamps in my 49" canopy, but it worked. I did prefer the 46.5" URI T12s and the T5s for that matter too. But, 48s will fit in most, just ceck the dimensions. You need about 48.5" for them to fit.

[b16drag]

How good are these aquatrader T6 lights? Anyone used them? Please dont reply stating how aquatrader sucks or their products are inferior. I want first hand knowledge specifically of the Aquatraders Odyssea T6 lights.

[freshwater]

I just put on mine 36" 2 strips.

[b16drag]

Sweet let me know what you think of it....

[Claeth]

I just bought some 48" t-6 bulbs as replacements for my standard 48" t-12's, problem is, they won't fire. not even a flicker. The ballast still powers the t-12's just fine, what could be the problem? Do you think the ballast just isnt strong enough to power the t-6's? because I have a spare VHO ballast I can use, I just wanted to get an opinion first.

[EvilE]

I have a 4 T5's and a T6 12k HO under my canopy---looks and works great!!!

[b16drag]

Anyone have PAR readings from these aquatrader lights?

[cerreta]

I just bought some 48" t-6 bulbs as replacements for my standard 48" t-12's, problem is, they won't fire. not even a flicker. The ballast still powers the t-12's just fine, what could be the problem? Do you think the ballast just isnt strong enough to power the t-6's? because I have a spare VHO ballast I can use, I just wanted to get an opinion first.

You have to use a T5 ballast for the T6 lamps. I know the IceCap ballasts will work, that is what I used. What ballast do you have?

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

Originally posted by b16drag
Anyone have PAR readings from these aquatrader lights?

I'm guesstimating you don't want to know.