How much T5 is needed?

[sandyc]

Hi everyone
I have a 29 gallon reef that has been up and running for about 3 years. I currently have PC lighting and keep only soft coral. I would like to upgrade to T5 but I am a bit confused as far as how much "light" to buy. Hope you guys can help. My tank is 30x12x18. I would like to be able to keep a sps and clam. The lights I have been looking at have either 4x24 or 8x 24 bulbs. Any recomendations as to what I need to keep sps and a clam? Is 4x24 enough? Is 8x24 to much? Also, how many of which bulbs? Please help.

[MalHavoc]

It's pretty much impossible to have too much light for SPS and clams, and especially with T5. I'd go for the 8 bulb fixture, but have you considered the heat issues? I'd probably run a mixture of 10K and actinic bulbs, maybe 6 and 2.

[sandyc]

Thanks. I was a bit worried about too much light with 8 bulbs. Wow, that seems like a lot of light!. I am sorry, but I don't know what you mean about heat concerns. I thought T5 produced less heat???

[sprinj76]

I would go with either a 6x24W fixture or an 8x24W fixture . . . although I'm curious to see if an 8x24W will fit over a tank only 12" wide.

I have a 6x24W fixture over my 20 long (also 30" long) and I can keep SPS without any issues. This is the bulb combo I plan on going with:
Front
ATI Blue+
ATI Aquablue
ATI Blue+
ATI Pro Color
ATI Aquablue
ATI Blue+
Rear

I'm currently using the cheap stock bulbs that came with the fixture and I still have gotten great SPS growth.

[WinnipegDragon]

8 bulbs? Really?

Each bulb covers approximately 2.5" in width if they have individual reflectors. Since a 29g is only 12" deep, I doubt you could even put 6 bulbs on it.

8 bulbs is plenty of coverage and light to grow clams and SPS in a 2' wide tank like a 120g, so 4 bulbs should be more than enough on a 1' wide 29g. I have 2 on my 29g FW planted and it was too much light.

[jimbo78]

4 bulbs with indiv. reflectors would be plenty.

[MalHavoc]

Originally posted by jimbo78
4 bulbs with indiv. reflectors would be plenty.

4x24 for clams? Maybe Derasa clams, but nothing else.

[MalHavoc]

Originally posted by sandyc
Thanks. I was a bit worried about too much light with 8 bulbs. Wow, that seems like a lot of light!. I am sorry, but I don't know what you mean about heat concerns. I thought T5 produced less heat???

They do produce less heat, but they still produce heat.

if you really want to be able to keep anything you want, you might even consider an HQI metal halide pendant, with no hood at all. You'd get pretty good coverage with just one bulb, maybe a 150w HQI or something.

[jimbo78]

Originally posted by MalHavoc
4x24 for clams? Maybe Derasa clams, but nothing else.

how do you suggest 8 bulbs? with indiv refectors you are talking 16" over a 12" tank. even with a NEP with molded indiv reflectors you are talking about 12'' for 6 bulbs. the whole reason that T5 are so good is the indiv reflectors, if your not using them then there isnt that much difference than running PC's

[sandyc]

Thanks for all of the imput! The dimensionsof the 8 bulb hood are 30" x 8¼" x 2 5/8" . The website it can be sound at is www.petmeister.com. It is the Solar T-5 Aquarium Hood 30" 8x24 Watts.

Is anyone familiar with it or the company selling it?

[MalHavoc]

Originally posted by jimbo78
how do you suggest 8 bulbs? with indiv refectors you are talking 16" over a 12" tank. even with a NEP with molded indiv reflectors you are talking about 12'' for 6 bulbs. the whole reason that T5 are so good is the indiv reflectors, if your not using them then there isnt that much difference than running PC's

I didn't suggest 8 - the original post mentioned that there was an 8 bulb fixture for this size tank available.

[WinnipegDragon]

I've never heard of that brand, but I have no idea how they can put an individual reflector around each bulb in that limited width. A T5 bulb is 5/8ths of an inch in diameter, so eight bulbs is 5 inches wide. How are they fitting a reflector around each bulb with only 3 1/4 inches to spare?

Basically, each reflector is supposed to about 3/8ths of an inch wider than the bulb? That doesn't sound like a good reflector at all! That's even assuming that the fixture case itself takes up 0 width!

Let me look at this another way. I don't know if anyone here knows Rex Grigg, but he's a bit of a guru in the planted tank world. He *HATES* the watts per gallon rule which is still rampant in planted tank forums.

His suggested rule is more about how much light over how much area, using Lux as opposed to watts, since it's a much better rating of light produced. Take the Lux the lights produce and divide that by the square inches of the water surface. This rating is LSI or Lux per Square Inch. This doesn't take into account depth of water, but it's a decent start.

My 120g will be running a TEK 8x54w fixture rated for 40,000 lux. Most anyone will agree that you can keep *anything* under this fixture. It gives an LSI of 34 or so (40,000/(24*48)).

The TEK 4x24w fixture is rated for 8,000 lumens. Over a 12" by 30" tank, that gives you an LSI of 22 or so, but the tank is also 18" deep versus 24". I think it's a very comparable amount of light. If you move up to a six bulb fixture (12,000 lumens) you are at an LSI of 33, pretty much directly comparable to the fixture I'm using, but with less depth of water to worry about.

I think you are *fine* with 4 bulbs as long as you get a fixture with good individual reflectors. For instance, the TEK 4x24 is 12" wide, and they are known for having good reflectors (maybe not as good as IceCap but still good).

I really worry about that Solar one, sandyc. It's reflectors can't be very good at all with the narrowness of the fixture.

[ghuffer]

Alright I need to jump in I have the same tank and I am considering the 4 bulb set up. I've been looking for a setup with 4 bulbs and individual reflectors any one know a good place to find them. thanks for the help

[WinnipegDragon]

I'm in Canada, so I don't know the US places well. I know reefgeek.com has the TEK and that just happens to be the brand I'm familiar with.

29g and 20g longs are tricky since they are 30" tanks, and T5HOs are 24". You end up with a bit of a shadow for 3" on either side of the tank, but that's not a huge issue if you are careful with your coral placements.

That's the other reason that 4 bulbs doesn't seem like enough wattage or LSI, because the bulb is not covering the full length of the tank.

If you actually calculate the LSI for that TEK 4 bulb fixture, but you only count the 24" of length it covers, the LSI is 27, much closer to the big fixtures. The 6 bulb actually puts out more LSI over the 24" inches than the 8 bulb fixture I'm using will!

[Gtstricky]

ask your question here: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...&pagenumber=39

[sprinj76]

Originally posted by sandyc
Thanks for all of the imput! The dimensionsof the 8 bulb hood are 30" x 8¼" x 2 5/8" . The website it can be sound at is www.petmeister.com. It is the Solar T-5 Aquarium Hood 30" 8x24 Watts.

Is anyone familiar with it or the company selling it?

I have the Solar T5 6x24W fixture over my tank. I love it. I got mine off a well-known online auction site for much less than the company above is selling it for.

It does have very simple U style reflectors around each bulb. Although not as effective as the parabolic reflectors, it’s still much better than PC light or the large single reflector T5 fixtures. Don't let people fool you; you do not need an expensive ice 660 with parabolic reflector T5 setup to have success with T5's. I love mine, I couldn't be happier I stayed away from metal halides.

Most people’s statements are solely opinions and they have little first hand experience or other reasoning to not like a certain product. You will hear a lot of people tell you that if going T5 you absolutely have to have parabolic reflectors, I don’t think this is true. I think going with a T5 setup gives you the option of a lot of different bulbs to get just the right look in your tank. Also you don’t get the annoying spotlight/shadow filled metal halide look.

Again most of what I said was opinion, just be careful what people suggest for lighting. I think you would be more than happy with the 8x24W over your 29-gallon tank.

[WinnipegDragon]

Why get an inferior 8x24w fixture when a more efficiently designed 6 or 4 bulb fixture will do the job? Less bulbs means less heat, less power used, and less replacement cost.

p.s. I have used the TEK T5s I am speaking about here as retrofits on my planted 29g, so I am speaking from experience here.

[sprinj76]

Originally posted by WinnipegDragon
Why get an inferior 8x24w fixture when a more efficiently designed 6 or 4 bulb fixture will do the job? Less bulbs means less heat, less power used, and less replacement cost.

p.s. I have used the TEK T5s I am speaking about here as retrofits on my planted 29g, so I am speaking from experience here.

I do agree with the less bulbs = less heat, less energy and less replacement bulb cost.

But it is very difficult to find a fixture that fits over a 30" long tank. Not all of us have the ability to hang a Tek or ATI fixture that is shorter in length over the tank. Let alone the cost of one of those fixtures. Going with a retro kit with a ice cap 660 and parabolic reflectors would work, but requires a lot of DIY knowledge and ability.

The real problem here is the length, 30", is just a pain for find light fixtures for.

I guess it is up to sandyc if they feel up to tackling some of the more challenging options for lighting. But I can say from my own experience that even with the super cheap bulbs that come in the Solar T5 fixture, it puts out a lot of light. I used to have a dual PC (130W) fixture over my tank before going to the 6x24W fixture and it easily looks like I doubled the amount of light over my tank. That and I have had excellent SPS growth with Solar fixture. Also the bulbs are staggered in the fixture, so there are no shadows at the end of the light.

[WinnipegDragon]

Totally agree, 30" is tricky.

I do think retros are a good option here though. Four bulbs, or six, each offset so you have full coverage in the centre and three bulbs over the 6" edges.

[sprinj76]

Originally posted by WinnipegDragon
Totally agree, 30" is tricky.

I do think retros are a good option here though. Four bulbs, or six, each offset so you have full coverage in the centre and three bulbs over the 6" edges.

I agree with you there. Retro kit with 4 or 6 bulbs would be the optimal setup. Glad we discussed the options for sandyc, hopefully this will help them out.

[WinnipegDragon]

Retros aren't that hard to wire. You cut back some insulation, slide it in to the endcaps as instructed, move on to the next one. You do have to have a canopy or jury-rig some sort of support to mount the endcaps on though.

You can see my 2 x 24w retro wiring in this pic:

[sprinj76]

Very nice WinnipegDragon. For me it's not the wiring that is the problem, its the wood working. Being a College kid away from home I have no tools to build anything

Thanks for the photo! I like the canapy you built to hold the bulbs.

sandyc if you have the ability and time to do something like the picture above, deffinately go for it. A kit like this would be more than enough light:
http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5_...Retrofit_Kit_w!_Bulbs_by_IceCap

[aaron7405]

4x24"
With a Icecap 660 to over run them or 2x IC 430 so you can control 2 bulbs each (for dusk). beside I will go with the IC individual reflectors to focus more ligth.

T5 are really good to bring up the colors.
I probably go to a configuration of

actinic+
aqua blue special (11K)
Pourple Fiji (from Korallian Zuchtz) to bring the reds and pinks
actinic+

Tis will give you a nice blue clear spectrum around 15K

[Maxi]

I reccomend the 4X24 tek light.

Reefgeek.com sells them at the price that beats any other online store.

I just got it today from UPS, but when I turned it on, it made me blind for a second.

[ghuffer]

sent you a pm.