T5 lighting

[miktrav]

Would switching to T5's reduce the amount of heat that is being radiated into my tank? I am currently running 175 W halides and they are significantly raising the temp when they are on. I was thinking of switching to T5's to help drop the temp and as an energy saver. I was thinking of getting a chiller but I just can't justify spending $700 on a chiller right now.

Michael

 

[piznac]

What size tank? I run T5's on a 46 gallon and love it. No heat problems of any kind.

 

[ouling]

One or two 175 W would not raise the temp tooo seriously, maybe 4 degrees over normal temp when there are no lights. Unless the AC in your house is always on when it gets hot, you will eventually need a chiller.

Chillers are $400 unless you have a very large tank. But 175 shouldn't add so much heat to a large water volume. Also, there are more than one reasons for the temp to be hot, such as conjunction with water pumps and skimmers, which all puts out a good amount of heat.

 

[nano_reefer92]

<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;">Ok what size tank you have(72",48",36" ect.)</span>
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"></span>
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;">If you have a 48" then i would say get....(From aquabuys a sponcer)</span>

http://www.aquabuys.com/miva/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=ss_54w-t5-tek-retro&Category_Code=d1a&Product_Count=2"><span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;">48" 2 x 54w T5 TEK Retrofit Kit </span></a>
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;"></span>
<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;">I would say just give sam a call and explain to him what you want and he will surely help you, he is very nice and he works with you and answers all your questions the best he can!(I have heard that he will upgread your reflectors to the newer ones for some extra cash per reflector if some one can validate this it would be great)</span>

 

[miktrav]

I have a 4 foot 75 gallon tank. AC is at 78 all the time. When the lights are off the tank temp hovers just below 80. When the lights are on the temp can approach 89. I've been running a fan pointed at my sump to hold it just below 85 but I think I need to get a full sized fan blowing pointed behind the tank toward the canopy. My canopy is store bought so I can't really mount fans on it and the tank was positioned too close to the wall to begin with when I set it up.

I was actually thinking of getting an 8 bulb T5 fixture. I'm hoping to get one used or if not I saw a fixture that I'll buy new as soon as I verify it has the individual reflectors for each bulb.

Ouling:

I plan to upgrade my tank eventually so I was looking at a 1/3 or 1/4 HP unit. Those start at just over $600. I run a mag 5 submersed as my return pump and I have a sieo and a maxijet powerhead. My tank was fine when I had a basement that was always cooler than the rest of the house. My new place seems about as cool as my basement used to be without AC but the tank gets a lot hotter and the only new equipment is the Seio. I've tried plugging both powerheads out with no noticeable change in temp.


Michael

 

[nano_reefer92]

Yes as ouling said it probably is a mix between pumps heaters and lighting. What pumps you got? and if they are a bit old i would sudjest geting(upgreading) to lower wattage pumps but with same or higher speed.

 

[ouling]

You have to loose the canopy and run a open top with a fan on the unit. I got my 1/4 HP New at $550 locally.

My old system was similar to yours. However, I had all Hydor Koralia pumps moving 5000gph at only 52W on my 90g. All other pumps are external, including the mag 9.5 for the skimmer. My tank with no canopy, and a modest fan on the sump, gets me exactly room temp when lights are off, and the temp only goes up 4-5 degrees after the lights are on the entire day. BTW I have 800W of metal halides.

Look at the wattage of the pumps you have and see if you can go with prop pumps for effiency. You may have 350W on the metal halide, but you probably have another 200-300W just to move water.

 

[miktrav]

I can't run open top. I have a retrofit kit mounted in the canopy. Ouling, where did you get your chiller? I don't think my powerheads add that much heat. I've had them both off with no noticeable change in temp. I'm pretty sure it's my lights. My Mag 5 is only 45 watts.

Michael

 

[xyzpdq0121]

Michael, you might want to try a cheap fix first... How about a $8 clip on fan from Walmart?!? I have one cooling my 55 gal tank and it does a great job. my house lately has been at 82 degrees witht he augest heat and I run 2 x 175w Halides on my tank and that little $8 fan over my fuge keeps my tank about 79-80 degrees. Before the fan (In may) my tank temp would climb to over 85 degrees! It would be a MUCH cheaper solution then a $700 chiller.

But to answer your questions, yes, T5 lighting WILL be cooler then halides! But depending onyour pumps in the water, they could still make your temp climb up in your tank!

 

[miktrav]

I have a fan running now on my sump. It's doing ok but the temp still gets above 80 from time to time.

Michael

 

[FutureInterest]

There's gotta be a way to get some airflow going on in your canopy... 2 175 watt MH aren't going to generate that much more heat than an 8 bulb t5 fixture.

In fact I think the t5 fixture will generate MORE heat than the halides, but because the heat is dispersed in a wide area t5's are in practice "cooler". However, if the heat is being trapped in your canopy you're still going to have the same problem... maybe even worse.

As such, there has to be some way to get some air flow in that canopy... Take some snap shots of it from different angles and let us look at it. Personally I have 8 silent PC case fans in my canopy to cool the t5s and to move some cooler air into the canopy.

Maybe if you had some 400 watt halides I could see you going for a chiller, but honestly I think you should be fine with just evaporative cooling. Feel free to give me a ring... I should be getting my phone repaired by tomorrow .

 

[cdub]

if you do go with T5's i would think a 6 bulb unit on a 75 would grow just about anything.

 

[miktrav]

I was planning on removing the canopy if I got the T5 unit and running open top with the light on stands sitting on the rim of the tank. I'll see if I can find a fan small enough to attach at the back of the canopy or a fan I can mount into it.

Michael

 

[reeftankjunkie]

Double check and make sure one of your heaters are not stuck on. I fought the same problem only to find out my 300 watt heater was stuck and cooking the tank.

 

[dough]

A temp spike of 80-85 is not a bad thing for a tank as long as is not for a long period of time, as in days. I recently was having temp spike of 83 with no issues. I have had temps of 85 and no issues.

Another consideration and this is what I am doing because of the day time temps, is run light at night when it is cooler in the house.

If you research, you will find that such temps of 80-83 is not a real concern.

I added a 15 dollar computer fan to my hood and I am not getting higher than 79-80.

Also T5 bulbs generate a lot of heat and you need to keep them cool or their performance will drop.

 

[wbholwell]

Michael, is it possible to drill a hole in the side of the canopy to mount a small fan? This is what I will be doing next week.

 

[miktrav]

Temp was 82 with the lights on today when I got home. I propped the hood open a bit and turned on a pedestal fan I just bough. In under 15 minutes the temp dropped to just above 80. I'm going to wait a bit and see if it drops any further and if It does I may have a new canopy built with fans.

Michael

 

[blind1993]

also you can frezze some water and float it in ur sump. i am doing that and my temp isnt geting more than 83.

 

[miktrav]

I tried the bottles of water but they don't last long enough. I'd constantly be swapping bottles of water. The pedestal fan seems to work. The temp is hovering around 78. The same as the room. I'm going to try to locate some fans to mount in the canopy then I can get rid of the pedestal fan.

Michael