Stacking T5s

[FutureInterest]

I get plenty of par in my tank... but I still want to add a few bulbs to blue the tank out a ton without losing the 380 par on the sandbed... heck maybe even increasing it. I also think it would be neat to have 4 different phases of light... actinic only, blue plus and actinic, full day with all bulbs, and night light leds. Because of the way my canopy opens I'm limited on space so I can only fit 5 bulbs. Currently 4 are overdriven and 1 is on a separate ballast.

I'm thinking of adding 2 or 3 more bulbs but the only way I can accomplish this is by placing the new bulbs under the row of 5. The new bulbs would have no reflectors and just kind of hang there utilizing the array of reflectors above them to some degree. I'm thinking of placing the new bulbs such that it would stagger with the bulbs above and thus be located at the junction of the reflectors if you get my drift.

Anyone have any input on doing this? Criticism is welcome, please talk me out of it if you think its a bad idea .

 

[skriz]

I would think that it would be counterproductive. Since there is no reflector, all of the heat of the bulb would rise directly onto the other bulbs, thus reducing their efficiency. Could be wrong though...

What about installing some bulbs wit a reflector on the side of the canopy. You can tilt them at a 45 degree angle so the light would reflect downwards?

 

[FutureInterest]

The bulbs would be at the junction of where the upper reflectors met. The reflectors above form a complete wall of reflectors. Obviously they are designed to reflect the bulb they contain, but I imagine they would still reflect some light from these secondary bulbs back into the tank as well.

Heat shouldn't be an issue as I've got 8 fans on the lights as is and will be installing ~6 more.

There's no space for installing them on the sides :sad:.

My entire canopy flips up like a pez candy dispenser. The large acrylic brackets take up quite a bit of space.

 

[humptrax]

blocking one bulb to run another would be counter productive.

skriz has the right idea. you should probably install the additions to the canopy doors and angle them down towards the tank. otherwise, upgrade to MH?

 

[wbholwell]

I don't think bulbs without reflectors will help much either.

What kind of reflectors do you currently have? Are they as close together as possible? Is it possible to squeeze one more row in there?

 

[FutureInterest]

I'm just playing with the idea at this point. Granted having anything under the array of 5 bulbs is going to block some of the light... but it should be minimized since the secondary bulbs will be at the junction where the reflectors meet. The parabolic reflectors certainly shoot light at that angle, but the trajectory of that reflected light would not be directed at the water anyways so its ok to lose that...

Thanks for your input. May I have some more please?

 

[FutureInterest]

Bryan the reflectors are PACKED in there as is. There is literally half a millimeter between them. Won't the upper array of reflectors bounce some of the light from these secondary lamps into the tank?

 

[humptrax]

how about getting rid of the reflectors? DIY one giant reflector (maybe lumenarc style?) and fit all the bulbs under 1 giant reflector?

it might save you space for 2 more T5s, although the width of the endcaps side by side might be the real issue.

 

[wbholwell]

FutureInterest;143376 wrote: Bryan the reflectors are PACKED in there as is. There is literally half a millimeter between them. Won't the upper array of reflectors bounce some of the light from these secondary lamps into the tank?

The upper array of reflectors will reflect a small amount of light from the lower bulbs, but that'll be cancelled by the amount of light they block, IMO.

If your reflectors are the old TEK style, upgrade them to Icecaps. That should give you a little more PAR, and enable you to switch out one of your "white" bulbs for something a little more blue.

If your reflectors are the TEK II, then you're SOL. You could try mounting a second bulb/reflector lower on the canopy door as previously mentioned. Or prove us all wrong by adding the bulbs w/o reflectors, and measuring the PAR before and after!

 

[skriz]

I don't have t5's, so excuse me if this question seems dumb...

are the reflectors designed in such a way as to overlap them slightly? If there is a lip or somesort that does not contribute to the actual reflecting capabilities, you could overlap your reflectors and may be able to squeeze in an extra bulb.

To answer your question about the reflectors reflecting some light into the tank: yes, it will reflect some light. I do think that it will reduce efficiency though.

 

[skriz]

ooh, what if you made a curved ceiling inside of your canopy. Then, you mount the reflectors insde this curve</em>. THe increased real estate should allow you to add one more bulb. does this make sense?

 

[gwhiz]

FutureInterest;143376 wrote: Bryan the reflectors are PACKED in there as is. There is literally half a millimeter between them. Won't the upper array of reflectors bounce some of the light from these secondary lamps into the tank?

They'll bounce the light, but since they're designed to reflect the light from a bulb directly under them, who know's where it'll go. It's probably not real efficient, but might be worth a test.

 

[wbholwell]

Skriz;143392 wrote: are the reflectors designed in such a way as to overlap them slightly? If there is a lip or somesort that does not contribute to the actual reflecting capabilities, you could overlap your reflectors and may be able to squeeze in an extra bulb.

Only Icecap reflectors are designed this way. They should overlap.

Skriz;143395 wrote: ooh, what if you made a curved ceiling inside of your canopy. Then, you mount the reflectors insde this curve</em>. THe increased real estate should allow you to add one more bulb. does this make sense?

This is really thinking outside the box- I like! But too great of a curvature and you'll either be blocking light from other bulbs, or you'll be pointing some of your reflectors at the other side of the tank, and not down into the tank. It would probably only give you an inch of extra space, max, anyhow.

 

[skriz]

wbholwell;143400 wrote: Only Icecap reflectors are designed this way. They should overlap.



This is really thinking outside the box- I like! But too great of a curvature and you'll either be blocking light from other bulbs, or you'll be pointing some of your reflectors at the other side of the tank, and not down into the tank. It would probably only give you an inch of extra space, max, anyhow.

Just trying to think of something! I love this part of the hobby; doing something that can't</em> be done...that's what it's all about!

 

[gwhiz]

wbholwell;143400 wrote: Only Icecap reflectors are designed this way. They should overlap.

Tek II's overlap as well....Icecaps are 2.5" wide, Tek II's are 3". If you're on Tek's and switched to IceCaps it sounds like you'd gain enough space to add another bulb. What's inside width of the canopy?

 

[wbholwell]

Skriz;143401 wrote: Just trying to think of something! I love this part of the hobby; doing something that can't</em> be done...that's what it's all about!

I actually angle my reflectors so that they all point towards the center bottom of the tank. But having a curved mounting surface will do this naturally <u>while also</u> giving you slightly more space front-to-back. I will try this if I ever assemble another T5 canopy.

 

[wbholwell]

Oh, I thought Tek II's were just larger. My apologies.

 

[victor626nj]

man i really dont see this working man ive seen you tank and all that acrylic is covering the were you would have more space for bulbs how about putting tw more rows and angleing them into the tank it might not hit the tank that great but might wash out all that white a bit to give you that blue look ....i know what you want to do but really dt see it working cause youll be blocking more of the reflector and thats where it counts .....good luck though and keep us updated

 

[cameron]

Sounds interesting, but I wouldn't be suprised if get more light at the top of the tank and likely gain next to no par near the bottom. You could even be hurting PAR at depth while raising it up high. Probably won't know until you try it though.

 

[FutureInterest]

I'm happy with my lights at this time. I do get great growth and color and nearly 400 par on the sandbed. Yet... I'm curious to see if I can improve that. So I'll give it a go and see what transpires... This is not a high priority project for me. So it'll be a month or so before it gets done as I slowly collect the parts.

One of the trickier things will be mounting the endcaps for the secondary level. I'm not quite sure how to go about doing that. I want the secondary level of endcaps to fit as closely as possible in the gaps between the upper row of endcaps... Any ideas?