T5 Lighting —- Why Supplement?

[elfloyd]

I’ve had MH with VHO supplement. I’m currently using LED with T5 supplement. I’ve just ordered a T5 fixture. The prevailing trend seems to be supplementing the main lighting source. Looking for recommendation of LEDs to supplement the T5.

But... why do I need LED supplements?
- shimmer?
- additional PAR?
- ???

Based on the “why”... what type?
- blue in the actinic zone for “pop”? (Can’t T5s provide this?)
- full spectrum? (Only for the shimmer?)

Options considered.
- Reef Brite XHO strips
- SB Reef Bar
- Kessil 360
- Orphek OR90 LED Bars (Leading contender)
- AI Prime

Tank: 180g 72” x 24” x 24”. Goal is SPS growth.
Pacific Sun 8x80w fixture:
- 5 - ATI Coral Plus
- 2 - ATI Blue Plus
- 1 - ATI Puple Plus

What say you?

 

[danh]

The reasons I've understood to supplement LEDs is color blending, shimmer reduction and coverage. I think coverage may be the biggest one. Maybe it's a wattage savings over full T5.

 

[snowmansnow]

Hey man. So heres my biased take. 1st theres no "need" to supplement a nice t5 setup. I've been fairly successful running only t5, and honestly its a simple fix. I run

5x ATI Blue Plus

2x ATI Coral Plus

1xATI Purple Plus

The mix you have listed may be a bit white for my liking but you'll get plenty of PAR.

As far as the why supplement I know some who do it for shimmer. You don't need more PAR. You COULD use LED as night time viewing. My take is an LED sup to your 8 lamp setup is just something to tinker with. If its fun then go on with it But, for me... at least... its a not needed complication.

 

[Adam]

The way I've understood it is that you supplement you're main LED lighting with T5's, not the other way around. Since your main light is an 8 bulb T5 fixture you can hit everything you need with the mix of bulbs you use. The reason for using LED's mainly comes down to expense and the smaller size of the fixture, also the new "tech" aspect of them. You're looking at roughly $200 every 10 to 12 months replacing bulbs and a large fixture over the tank. But if you're good with that then I would stick with it. VHO T5's will do everything you want for an SPS tank. If you're just looking for a little more color pop then I'd add a single actinic bulb on the viewing side of the Pacific Sun. If that doesn't get you what you want get a SB Reef Bar to put on that side and move the actinic bulb more to the middle or slightly to the back. That would really make the corals glow!

 

[elfloyd]

Good info... thanks!

I believe T5 gives everything the corals need. And I’ve heard complaints that T5s look “flat” and have no shimmer.

On the other hand, LEDs are more pinpoint focused and have shadows.

I can deal with the cost of T5s for now. That might change when I retire in a few years. At that time someone will get a sweet deal on a very nice T5 fixture.

Thanks for the T5 tube recommendation... I’ll keep it in mine when I order new tubes.

I pulled the trigger on a narrow spectrum Orphek LED bar (9 410nm, 15 430nm). I’ll play with these for awhile.