T5???

boxcar182 · 06/03/2007, 09:06 PM

Currently I have a pc 260 watt fixture over my 55 gallon (about 5 watts per gallon). i want to upgrade and i really like the tek t5's. I want to get the 4 54 watt bulb fixture and that would give me about 4 watts per gallon. I was woundering since the t5's whould give me less watts per gallon than my pc is it really worth it? Do the individual reflectors make that much of a difference?

dragon_slayer · 06/03/2007, 09:16 PM

Watts/Gallon is as useless as those girl parts on a bore hog and the person who came up with that should be castrated (along with those who use it as a reference

), 4x54w T5 is a far superior light setup then 260w of PC on your 55g.

kc

boxcar182 · 06/04/2007, 04:46 AM

bumb

boxcar182 · 06/04/2007, 04:48 AM

bump

GSMguy · 06/04/2007, 07:57 AM

get the aquatinics tx5 twice the output of the tek and looks nicer

gpep419 · 06/04/2007, 08:00 AM

id go with the ice cap retro and yeah 4x54 will give you any coral you want.

gpep419 · 06/04/2007, 08:02 AM

o yeah not to menction i have a new ice cap retro for sale

Wetline · 06/04/2007, 08:03 AM

I'm personally going with the T5 IceCap Retro from www.reefgeek.com for my 55 gallon. Just like dragon_slayer pointed out. T5's will put out far more light then power compacts.

gpep419 · 06/04/2007, 08:10 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Wetline
I'm personally going with the T5 IceCap Retro from www.reefgeek.com for my 55 gallon. Just like dragon_slayer pointed out. T5's will put out far more light then power compacts.

watch that kit its not the good ic ballast i learned the hard way and sent them back. get the kit that says ic 660 or 430 ballasts. those ballast will not over drive the bulb and if they go out they cant get rebuilt.

dragon_slayer · 06/04/2007, 09:33 AM

yeah from reefgeek get the retro that is rated 'SLR T5 Very High Output', they come with an IC ballast, the 'High Output' version doesn't.

kc

stevedola · 06/04/2007, 10:08 AM

get individual reflectors.

JTEAGUE · 06/04/2007, 10:15 AM

On my 75 I went from a 260w PC to the Tek T5 54w x 4 and what a difference! The Tek light does have individual reflectors and I'm very pleased with mine.

dragon_slayer · 06/04/2007, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by stevedola
get individual reflectors.

as noted in the previous above posts SLR = Single Light Reflector

kc

boxcar182 · 06/04/2007, 01:24 PM

Dont the tek t5 have individual reflectors?

boxcar182 · 06/04/2007, 02:25 PM

also what exactly is a retro? Do you need a canopy for that cause i dont have a canopy?

JTEAGUE · 06/04/2007, 03:18 PM

Retro means you have to have a canopy and everything is seperate and has to be mounted, and yes Tek has individual reflectors. I cant speak on the others as I have no experience with them.

Wetline · 06/05/2007, 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by gpep419
watch that kit its not the good ic ballast i learned the hard way and sent them back. get the kit that says ic 660 or 430 ballasts. those ballast will not over drive the bulb and if they go out they cant get rebuilt.

Son of a *****!

Oh well, it should be at my door today. I don't have much SPS so I'll just use what I get even though it wasn't what I was expecting. I guess I'll upgrade ballasts when I get a clam or more SPS.

What ballasts does the NON very high output kit come with?

DarG · 06/05/2007, 10:44 AM

You know, you may be perfectly fine. It's not mandatory to overdrive the bulbs, you may not even need the extra output. If you don't need the extra par then why increase heat and shorten lamp life by overdriving the lamps. I have a brand new IC 660 ballast on my shelf. I bought it a while back when I needed to replace the one I had on my VHO's. I switched gears from VHO and went T5 and Halide, and just built my DIY canopy. 2 X 250 watt Halides and 4 X T5's. And I decided against using the IC ballast because I didnt need the extra Par. I used a pair of ballasts (Advance) that drives the bulbs at their normal output of 54 watts. Just because you can overdrive them doesn't mean you have to or need to or have to.

RichConley · 06/05/2007, 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by dragon_slayer
yeah from reefgeek get the retro that is rated 'SLR T5 Very High Output', they come with an IC ballast, the 'High Output' version doesn't.

kc

Why? So you can have shorter bulb life and higher electricity bills?

The Teks dont run all that well stock, with stock ballasts because they run too hot. They need fans when normally driven. Theres almost no way to get them to run at a reasonable temperature with an IC ballast.

OP, theres pretty much nothing you can't keep in a 55 with 4x54w T5s.

dragon_slayer · 06/05/2007, 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by RichConley
Why? So you can have shorter bulb life and higher electricity bills?

The Teks dont run all that well stock, with stock ballasts because they run too hot. They need fans when normally driven. Theres almost no way to get them to run at a reasonable temperature with an IC ballast.

OP, theres pretty much nothing you can't keep in a 55 with 4x54w T5s.

I'm sorry that you couldn't take the time to check the setup referred to before you went spouting off

, they are IC reflectors not Tek and they don't run overly hot without fans, but with fans it compensates dramatically for the loss of bulb life caused by overdriving them to the point it's minimal loss of bulb life when using quality bulbs.

kc

RichConley · 06/05/2007, 01:06 PM

Dragon Slayer, any T5 bulb run without cooling fans runs well above specified temperature. Thats the problem with ANY retrofit.

Even heavily cooled Overdriven bulbs run well above specified temperature, and you're not going to get to "heavily cooled " in a retrofit. You need a fixture specifically designed to cool to do that.

dragon_slayer · 06/05/2007, 01:26 PM

funny my IC 660 overdriven 4x 54w retro has four 3" fans blowing in across the bulbs from the side between 6 and 12 inches from the end caps, my daylight bulbs run at 100Âº-105Âº F and the actinic about 5Âº hotter.

kc

RichConley · 06/05/2007, 01:31 PM

So your daylights are running 5-10 degrees over spec, and your actinics are running 10-15 degrees over spec? And thats with 4 fans?

That was pretty much my point.

boxcar182 · 06/05/2007, 01:39 PM

I dont think the tek t5 comes with fans what can i do to keep them cool?

dragon_slayer · 06/05/2007, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by RichConley
So your daylights are running 5-10 degrees over spec, and your actinics are running 10-15 degrees over spec? And thats with 4 fans?

That was pretty much my point.

10Âº-15Âº F over spec when driven at nearly twice their normal output is more then acceptable IMO. bulb life is marginally diminished to the point it's not even a consideration, but that's the wonderful thing about this hobby, you can do things your way and I'll do things mine and we'll agree to disagree, again I'll bow out to your superior intellect and stop responding to lighting questions as well as calcium reactor questions.........

kc

06/03/2007, 09:06 PM	#1
boxcar182 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 170	T5??? Currently I have a pc 260 watt fixture over my 55 gallon (about 5 watts per gallon). i want to upgrade and i really like the tek t5's. I want to get the 4 54 watt bulb fixture and that would give me about 4 watts per gallon. I was woundering since the t5's whould give me less watts per gallon than my pc is it really worth it? Do the individual reflectors make that much of a difference?

06/04/2007, 07:57 AM	#5
GSMguy Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Northern New Mexico Posts: 17,420	get the aquatinics tx5 twice the output of the tek and looks nicer __________________ Nick. Conehead. Shallow Reef club. Current Tank Info: 48"x27"x14" Envision Acrylic rimless, 6x39w ATi Sunpower, Custom ATB Deluxe Skimmer, 4x tunze nano stream,ATB flowstar 1500, ACJR, Tunze osmolator.

06/04/2007, 10:08 AM	#11
stevedola Master of my domain Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Rhode Island Posts: 3,466	get individual reflectors. __________________ Cool Club Current Tank Info: coming soon...

06/05/2007, 01:06 PM	#21
RichConley Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Bostonian in Chicago going to DC Posts: 9,908	Dragon Slayer, any T5 bulb run without cooling fans runs well above specified temperature. Thats the problem with ANY retrofit. Even heavily cooled Overdriven bulbs run well above specified temperature, and you're not going to get to "heavily cooled " in a retrofit. You need a fixture specifically designed to cool to do that. __________________ NO TANKS!!!

06/05/2007, 01:31 PM	#23
RichConley Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Bostonian in Chicago going to DC Posts: 9,908	So your daylights are running 5-10 degrees over spec, and your actinics are running 10-15 degrees over spec? And thats with 4 fans? That was pretty much my point. __________________ NO TANKS!!!

06/03/2007, 09:16 PM	#2
dragon_slayer Moved On Join Date: May 2003 Location: South East Alabama Posts: 7,853	Watts/Gallon is as useless as those girl parts on a bore hog and the person who came up with that should be castrated (along with those who use it as a reference ), 4x54w T5 is a far superior light setup then 260w of PC on your 55g. kc

06/04/2007, 04:46 AM	#3
boxcar182 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 170	bumb

06/04/2007, 04:48 AM	#4
boxcar182 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 170	bump

06/04/2007, 08:00 AM	#6
gpep419 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 56	id go with the ice cap retro and yeah 4x54 will give you any coral you want.

06/04/2007, 08:02 AM	#7
gpep419 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 56	o yeah not to menction i have a new ice cap retro for sale

06/04/2007, 08:03 AM	#8
Wetline Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Tallahassee FL Posts: 127	I'm personally going with the T5 IceCap Retro from www.reefgeek.com for my 55 gallon. Just like dragon_slayer pointed out. T5's will put out far more light then power compacts.

06/04/2007, 09:33 AM	#10
dragon_slayer Moved On Join Date: May 2003 Location: South East Alabama Posts: 7,853	yeah from reefgeek get the retro that is rated 'SLR T5 Very High Output', they come with an IC ballast, the 'High Output' version doesn't. kc

06/04/2007, 10:15 AM	#12
JTEAGUE Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: N.C. Posts: 318	On my 75 I went from a 260w PC to the Tek T5 54w x 4 and what a difference! The Tek light does have individual reflectors and I'm very pleased with mine.

06/04/2007, 01:24 PM	#14
boxcar182 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 170	Dont the tek t5 have individual reflectors?

06/04/2007, 02:25 PM	#15
boxcar182 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 170	also what exactly is a retro? Do you need a canopy for that cause i dont have a canopy?

06/04/2007, 03:18 PM	#16
JTEAGUE Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: N.C. Posts: 318	Retro means you have to have a canopy and everything is seperate and has to be mounted, and yes Tek has individual reflectors. I cant speak on the others as I have no experience with them.

06/05/2007, 10:44 AM	#18
DarG Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 5,515	You know, you may be perfectly fine. It's not mandatory to overdrive the bulbs, you may not even need the extra output. If you don't need the extra par then why increase heat and shorten lamp life by overdriving the lamps. I have a brand new IC 660 ballast on my shelf. I bought it a while back when I needed to replace the one I had on my VHO's. I switched gears from VHO and went T5 and Halide, and just built my DIY canopy. 2 X 250 watt Halides and 4 X T5's. And I decided against using the IC ballast because I didnt need the extra Par. I used a pair of ballasts (Advance) that drives the bulbs at their normal output of 54 watts. Just because you can overdrive them doesn't mean you have to or need to or have to.

06/05/2007, 01:26 PM	#22
dragon_slayer Moved On Join Date: May 2003 Location: South East Alabama Posts: 7,853	funny my IC 660 overdriven 4x 54w retro has four 3" fans blowing in across the bulbs from the side between 6 and 12 inches from the end caps, my daylight bulbs run at 100Âº-105Âº F and the actinic about 5Âº hotter. kc

06/05/2007, 01:39 PM	#24
boxcar182 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 170	I dont think the tek t5 comes with fans what can i do to keep them cool?