T5

[jhutto]

A couple of us have been discussing the merits of T5s. I got a used tank that is 24 inches deep (90 Gal). I have one retrofit T-5 with 2 54 watt lights (48 inches for length of tank). I can space in two more sets for a total of six lights with a combo of Actinics and full specturm light for a total of 324 watts. I am trying to stay away from MH due to heat, costs and no need for a chiller. Will this work for the full range of corals? Want to not have to upgade anytime soon. Want some of the beautiful corals that require the MH but are trying to keep the costs down etc. Realize T-5 are relatively new so want to get some opinions.

Joe

 

[slayer]

t5's are great i have a 30 inch deep tank, and they penetrate through to the bottom...i use the t5's for actinic supplements to my metal halides and they run great... jessie is setting up his 240 tank with only t5's..he has about 10 tubes...maybe more...lets just say when he turns his on ..its blinding..they will penetrate 24 inches easily, but you will have to place light loving corals towards the top of the tank..as for cost, they will save you money in the long run as far as electricity and you dont have to replace the t5's as often as metal halide bulbs..plus they wont produce as much heat saving on cooling costs...

 

[sprayin70]

I love my T-5's. I have a 75 gallon aquarium with a SLS retrofit kit. I upgraded the reflectors to the Icecap parabolic reflectors. I have 171 par at the sand bed. My tank consist of mainly SPS a few LPS and a Crocea Clam. I have the clam on the sand and he is happy. All my SPS are colorful and growing nicely. I am running my T-5's normally driven. If I wanted more PAR in the future I could upgrade to IceCap Ballasts and overdrive them to around 80 watts each. the only difference between T-5's and MH is the shimmering and heat. They do not shimmer and my aquarium never gets above 81 degrees. I have found that T-5's work best with individual parabolic reflectors. I have attached two pics. The tank pic is before I added the Crocea calm.

Good Luck

 

[cameron]

Joe, I was talking to mufret and he was telling me the PAR on his T5s (I believe he was using 8 instead of 6) was actually higher on the sandbed than on his 250w MH lights using 48" T5s. That is pretty impressive. I have been told that T5s are comparible, but didn't know anyone who had actually done the numbers until speaking with him Saturday. Also, T5s maintain there light quality longer than MHs.

Best I can say for the MHs at this point is you get some real pretty shimmer in your tank.

 

[sprayin70]

Mike is using 6 T-5's I think he has 151 par at the sand bed.

 

[mufret]

On the 90, because of the added depth, I would definitely go with the IceCap reflectors. It's been shown that they add 15% to 20% over the SLS reflectors. You can easily keep anything in that tank with notmally driven T5s. As Alan mentioned above, if you wanted to increase the intensity of your lighting at a latter date, you can always upgrade the balleats and overdrive the bulbs with one of the IceCap ballasts. I've had T5s over my tank for going on 3 years and have had quite a bit of success with my SPS. I, too, have 4 clams (2 Maximas and 2 Crosea) on the sand bed and they've grown quite a bit in the 2 years they've been in the tank. The only con that I've found is with some LPS. You do have to shade them as the intensity of the T5 tends to cause them some difficulties if left in direct light higher in the tank.

 

[jhutto]

Is there that much difference on a PAR 151 versus 171? I cannot get 8 lights in a retrofit with the individual parabolics only with a Nova or Fission complete hood system where they are spaced and somewhat stacked. More money and bulbs. I have two T5 54 watts from Cameron and can buy 4 more for a total of six lights but thats all the space I have under the current canopy due the narrowed space. Also, how many blues versus whites? Thoughts? You guys are helpful and I appreciate it.

Joe

 

[sprayin70]

Ok well Mike and I are both running 6 T-5's. My bulb combo is:

Front
-Blue Plus
-Super Actinic
-Blue Plus
-GE 3000K
-Aqua Blue
-Blue Plus
Back.

I think it gives it a 11K look. You will be ok as long as you use a IceCap Parabolic Reflectors per bulb.

 

[justonemoretank]

I love my T5s as well. I have 4 over driven by an Ice Cap 660 ballast and the other 2 T5s are normally driven with a Triad (I think?) ballast. It is plenty of light over my 120g tank 4ft long x 2ft high x 2ft wide

 

[jhutto]

Sprayin 70, on your list of bulbs, why all the blues? I was thinking more whites.

Joe

 

[mufret]

6 across a 90 will be plenty. Just make sure you use the better IceCap reflectors. Mine is currently (from front to back):
Actinic
Aquablue
10k
Blue Plus
10k
Actinic

 

[mufret]

The other nice thing with T5s is that you can "play" with the color and location of the bulbs to get a color that's personal. Just the way you like it!

 

[cameron]

Actually he is only using one true actinic. His bulbs are heavy in the blue light spectrum which is where PAR is mostly measured. He is actually targetting the PAR more-so than an MH. This is what the Solaris units do to kick up there PAR as well. The nice part about all that is the color probably looks fantastic.

 

[mvm]

I've got the tek 5 light system hood on my 90 w/ individual relfectors. I've got mostly SPS(frags grown like crazy and kept their color), LPS, and a few softies. The mushrooms shrivel and release to attached in the shade, where they flourish. It's just too mush light for them. LOL. I love the t5s.

 

[sprayin70]

I had some help with my bulb combo. When I ordered my T-5 retro fit kit I spoke with the sales person and I told him that I liked a little blue but not to much but that I was also going to keep mainly SPS corals and clams. So he put together the bulb combo for me. Like I stated above it's an 11K look though it seems really blue it's not, also with the GE 3000K all the reds in the acro bodies look fantastic. I highly recommend a 3K bulb also the PAR is crazy with that bulb. Some time in the future I will have some people over and you all can look at my setup and offer opinions.

 

[FutureInterest]

For those on a budget: With a lil bit of elbow grease and some mother's mag polish, my tek reflectors appear just as reflective as my ice caps. Due to space restrictions I had to mix reflectors when I originally wanted all ice cap, which are definately wider than the teks. The finish on the teks is poor, but once remedied the difference in reflectivity is nominal and output appears the same... Unfortunately I don't have a light meter to verify any of this speculation ...

 

[sammy33]

I have had great luck using only 2 of the 24" lamps on my frag tank. The tank is only 12" deep (mostly LPS and softies) so the one aquablue and one pure actinic seem to do the trick. The growth is little slower than I would like but the color is incredible. Here is a recent pic:

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and the DIY canopy with the TEK retro

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