Increasing quad bulb t5 output?

swankyreef · 07/29/2012, 02:22 AM

I am very inexperienced when it comes to lighting and I figure it's time to get educated.

I have two 48" 108 Watt Aquaticlife T5 fixtures with their stock bulbs (1x actintic, 1x daylight per fixture for a total of 4 bulbs) in series, and I believe I am in need of much more light output.

I have both of these fixtures on top of my 60 gallon tall, which is 24" deep. All I really know about lighting is watts per gallon, where right now I am at 3.6w/g. I believe this to be less than desirable for reefkeeping, especially at my tank depth. My live rock structure does, however, come close to reaching the surface of the water. Perhaps this would be the ideal home for more photo-synthetic organisms.

Because I have already invested a more than a couple hundred dollars for lighting, is there a way to increase light output using these fixtures? More wattage per gallon? Different [brighter] bulbs? External ballast?

Scrapping the fixtures and replacing them with halides, etc, is last resort and I can not afford this option currently, or for a very long time for that matter.

For relevance's sake I also have two 18" t8s on my sump.

Michigan Mike · 07/29/2012, 03:36 AM

Well you need to figure out what kind of corals you want to keep. You can probably keep just about any coral you want if it's properly placed in the tank. Maybe another aquaticlife linkable t5ho for better light spread front to back( you can link 3 of them ). That will give you more par also. T5ho will give you enough light near the surface for SPS, lps in the middle, and mushrooms and stuff near the bottom.

Watts per gallon doesn't work. It was more for compact fluorescent bulbs anyway and nowadays the lights we use don't apply.

Anyway I'd start with what you have for awhile and see how it works. Figure out what corals you want to keep before jumping to halides or led"

jackde · 07/29/2012, 04:59 AM

From what I've read here on RC replacing the Aquaticlife bulbs with ATI will make a big improvement. Also as stated above and another 2 bulb link.

swankyreef · 07/29/2012, 01:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michigan Mike

Well you need to figure out what kind of corals you want to keep. You can probably keep just about any coral you want if it's properly placed in the tank. Maybe another aquaticlife linkable t5ho for better light spread front to back( you can link 3 of them ). That will give you more par also. T5ho will give you enough light near the surface for SPS, lps in the middle, and mushrooms and stuff near the bottom.

Watts per gallon doesn't work. It was more for compact fluorescent bulbs anyway and nowadays the lights we use don't apply.

Anyway I'd start with what you have for awhile and see how it works. Figure out what corals you want to keep before jumping to halides or led"

I thought about linking another unit up but if I did I would have to take the legs off of all the units and rest them directly on top of the tank because they're so wide and my tank isn't. There would also be a tiny bit of overhang on the front and back. Would doing this cause problems? It would essentially be a tight fit hood, so I suppose I could keep an eel or something.

Also, what is the general consensus when it comes to ATI bulbs versus Giesemann for T5? I want this tank to be so bright it's retarded.

What about replacing one or both of the actintic with day spectrum bulbs? Would that benefit both the appearance and corals? Or would it be better for the corals to have some of that spectrum and to accept the fact that my whole house isn't glowing from my tank?

07/29/2012, 02:22 AM	#1
swankyreef Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Posts: 35	Increasing quad bulb t5 output? I am very inexperienced when it comes to lighting and I figure it's time to get educated. I have two 48" 108 Watt Aquaticlife T5 fixtures with their stock bulbs (1x actintic, 1x daylight per fixture for a total of 4 bulbs) in series, and I believe I am in need of much more light output. I have both of these fixtures on top of my 60 gallon tall, which is 24" deep. All I really know about lighting is watts per gallon, where right now I am at 3.6w/g. I believe this to be less than desirable for reefkeeping, especially at my tank depth. My live rock structure does, however, come close to reaching the surface of the water. Perhaps this would be the ideal home for more photo-synthetic organisms. Because I have already invested a more than a couple hundred dollars for lighting, is there a way to increase light output using these fixtures? More wattage per gallon? Different [brighter] bulbs? External ballast? Scrapping the fixtures and replacing them with halides, etc, is last resort and I can not afford this option currently, or for a very long time for that matter. For relevance's sake I also have two 18" t8s on my sump.

07/29/2012, 04:59 AM	#3
jackde Old dog and new tricks Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Northern IN Posts: 328	From what I've read here on RC replacing the Aquaticlife bulbs with ATI will make a big improvement. Also as stated above and another 2 bulb link. __________________ Dumber than a box of base rock Current Tank Info: 56 gal. mixed reef

07/29/2012, 03:36 AM	#2
Michigan Mike Freedom costs a buckofive Join Date: May 2012 Location: Michigan Posts: 3,002	Well you need to figure out what kind of corals you want to keep. You can probably keep just about any coral you want if it's properly placed in the tank. Maybe another aquaticlife linkable t5ho for better light spread front to back( you can link 3 of them ). That will give you more par also. T5ho will give you enough light near the surface for SPS, lps in the middle, and mushrooms and stuff near the bottom. Watts per gallon doesn't work. It was more for compact fluorescent bulbs anyway and nowadays the lights we use don't apply. Anyway I'd start with what you have for awhile and see how it works. Figure out what corals you want to keep before jumping to halides or led"