Pics of your TEK light tank - Page 2

sales weasel · 05/17/2006, 06:30 PM

I actually bought and still have two 175w MH fixtures. I never used them and they're still packed and currently stuck in a storage room in the basement. I was starting to rethink my purchase right after I bought them. I started reading all the T5 threads and then I felt the heat coming off a pair of MH in a LFS and that did it. I will say that the T5s get hotter than I thought but not as hot as the MH.

Waxxiemann · 05/17/2006, 08:06 PM

I will also agree that my T5s got hotter than I expected but I had no idea really what to expect. They get warm but never really HOT.

Waxxiemann · 05/17/2006, 08:10 PM

This is a little off topic but I have to say that this the most viewed thread that I have ever posted on RC. Even though most of those views are people wanting to see pics ... of which there is 1, at least it has over 500 views! I'm proud

hahnmeister · 05/18/2006, 10:58 AM

I am having more temp issues in my T5 tank than my halide ever did. The halide tanks are all open-top, maybe with a parimeter fence of wood or acrylic that is 6-8" tall, but just to keep critters from jumping out. There is still plenty of room for ventilation however.

My idea with the T5s (and really the reason I decided to use them on one tank), was that I really wanted to be able to put a glass lid on the tank. This would eliminate the need for me to have yet ANOTHER auto-top-off. It would also keep the noises from the skimmer and overflows down from inside the tank. It would also minimize the amount of humidity being released into the room...which is enough as is. So I had three pieces of Starphire glass cut for the lid. They work great. As long as I keep them clean, the radiometer readings of light going through the Starphire are telling me that I am losing a minimal percentage due to the glass, since it is Low-Iron. Doing this with a halide would be impossible, as the halide would most likely crack the glass, and with the full T5 fixture, the light that the glass does reflect gets caught by the reflector and sent back into the tank...its not ideal, but Ive got plenty of light and growth already.

The problem is that after a full photoperiod, my temps are up around 83...not too bad, but considering with a little fan across the water on all of my halide tanks the temp is never above 80.

05/17/2006, 08:06 PM	#27
Waxxiemann Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Winnipeg Posts: 2,364	I will also agree that my T5s got hotter than I expected but I had no idea really what to expect. They get warm but never really HOT. __________________ "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe." Albert Einstein

05/17/2006, 08:10 PM	#28
Waxxiemann Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Winnipeg Posts: 2,364	This is a little off topic but I have to say that this the most viewed thread that I have ever posted on RC. Even though most of those views are people wanting to see pics ... of which there is 1, at least it has over 500 views! I'm proud __________________ "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe." Albert Einstein

05/17/2006, 06:30 PM	#26
sales weasel Registered Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Atlanta burbs Posts: 646	I actually bought and still have two 175w MH fixtures. I never used them and they're still packed and currently stuck in a storage room in the basement. I was starting to rethink my purchase right after I bought them. I started reading all the T5 threads and then I felt the heat coming off a pair of MH in a LFS and that did it. I will say that the T5s get hotter than I thought but not as hot as the MH.

05/18/2006, 10:58 AM	#29
hahnmeister Moved On Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Brew City, WI Posts: 10,156	I am having more temp issues in my T5 tank than my halide ever did. The halide tanks are all open-top, maybe with a parimeter fence of wood or acrylic that is 6-8" tall, but just to keep critters from jumping out. There is still plenty of room for ventilation however. My idea with the T5s (and really the reason I decided to use them on one tank), was that I really wanted to be able to put a glass lid on the tank. This would eliminate the need for me to have yet ANOTHER auto-top-off. It would also keep the noises from the skimmer and overflows down from inside the tank. It would also minimize the amount of humidity being released into the room...which is enough as is. So I had three pieces of Starphire glass cut for the lid. They work great. As long as I keep them clean, the radiometer readings of light going through the Starphire are telling me that I am losing a minimal percentage due to the glass, since it is Low-Iron. Doing this with a halide would be impossible, as the halide would most likely crack the glass, and with the full T5 fixture, the light that the glass does reflect gets caught by the reflector and sent back into the tank...its not ideal, but Ive got plenty of light and growth already. The problem is that after a full photoperiod, my temps are up around 83...not too bad, but considering with a little fan across the water on all of my halide tanks the temp is never above 80.