The T5 Q&a Thread - split

[cpllongjk]

Originally Posted by rtparty

If you liked that comb before stick with it.

Is that a good bulb order tho? I believe bulbs 2 and 5 were on one plug and I always liked 2 blue + on those for the "sunrise/sunset" look.

[rtparty]

Originally Posted by cpllongjk

Is that a good bulb order tho? I believe bulbs 2 and 5 were on one plug and I always liked 2 blue + on those for the "sunrise/sunset" look.

Yeah that's fine.

[cacmo]

Hi, I have the Giesmann matrix pendant 8 x 54w T5 all tubes need replacing what would be your recommendation, and what height should unit be from water?

The units lamps are on a 3 independent timers as below, with 1 being dusk to dawn. Tank is 60” x 21” x 21” with a mixture of corals, fish mandarin, dwarf angel, clowns and leopard wrasse.

Current tubes
Front
1 Giesmann Actinic Plus
1 Giesmann Actinic Plus
3 Giesmann Aquablue Plus
3 Giesmann Aquablue Plus
3 Giesmann Aquablue Plus
2 Giesmann Aquablue Plus
2 Giesmann Aquablue Plus

Thanks in Advance.

[Michigan Mike]

Originally Posted by cpllongjk

Is that a good bulb order tho? I believe bulbs 2 and 5 were on one plug and I always liked 2 blue + on those for the "sunrise/sunset" look.

A better combo is reverse the dawn/dusk combo to 4 bulbs, 3 blue & 1 purple, much better this way IMO.
Unless you like a whiter look I would swap that aquablue special for a coral plus instead. The coral plus isn't as harsh and doesn't wash out your blue as much as like the AB special.

[Michigan Mike]

Originally Posted by cacmo

Hi, I have the Giesmann matrix pendant 8 x 54w T5 all tubes need replacing what would be your recommendation, and what height should unit be from water?

The units lamps are on a 3 independent timers as below, with 1 being dusk to dawn. Tank is 60” x 21” x 21” with a mixture of corals, fish mandarin, dwarf angel, clowns and leopard wrasse.

Current tubes
Front
1 Giesmann Actinic Plus
1 Giesmann Actinic Plus
3 Giesmann Aquablue Plus
3 Giesmann Aquablue Plus
3 Giesmann Aquablue Plus
2 Giesmann Aquablue Plus
2 Giesmann Aquablue Plus


Thanks in Advance.

Okay that was a pretty white looking tank , do you mind switching to ATI bulbs or are you a GIESSEMAN user?

I would use channels 1 & 2 for dawn/dusk myself. Something like this for a more blue & easier to look at tank IMO, I would try this- for a 7 bulb combo but you said 8 bulbs so I'm going to assume the bulbs in the center should be 4 bulbs.
F ATI/GMAN
1 blue plus/ actinic plus
1purple plus/aqua pink or a true actinic
3 blue plus/ actinic plus
3 coral plus/ aquablue plus
3 blue plus/ actinic plus
3 coral plus/ aquablue plus
2 blue plus/ actinic plus
2 blue plus/ actinic plus
B

Bulbs should be a minimum of 7"-12" from surface @ first, slowly lower fixture & increase hours. Watch out or bleaching corals. Better safe and slow!

[cacmo]

Originally Posted by Michigan Mike

Okay that was a pretty white looking tank , do you mind switching to ATI bulbs or are you a GIESSEMAN user?

I would use channels 1 & 2 for dawn/dusk myself. Something like this for a more blue & easier to look at tank IMO, I would try this- for a 7 bulb combo but you said 8 bulbs so I'm going to assume the bulbs in the center should be 4 bulbs.
F ATI/GMAN
1 blue plus/ actinic plus
1purple plus/aqua pink or a true actinic
3 blue plus/ actinic plus
3 coral plus/ aquablue plus
3 blue plus/ actinic plus
3 coral plus/ aquablue plus
2 blue plus/ actinic plus
2 blue plus/ actinic plus
B

Bulbs should be a minimum of 7"-12" from surface @ first, slowly lower fixture & increase hours. Watch out or bleaching corals. Better safe and slow!

Thanks Mike, Missed out one of the middle bulbs. Yes I think I will go with the ATI bulbs. When you say 1 & 2 for dusk dawn do you mean on together? At the moment I have 1 on first, then after 1hr 2 on, then another hr all bulbs on for 6hrs, then in reverse for off. Does this seem about right? Apologies for my ignorance as I am new to marines.

[rezaktp]

After being up & running for about 15 years I am rebuilding my 100G FOWLR. I am removing the VHO lighting and will go to T5's. I have 2 Icecap ballasts that I will use. I plan on having more of the weed type of corals like Zenia, GSP, Shrooms, etc that I do not care if it gets eaten or not.

So what flavor of ATI bulbs should I go with, and how many should I have?

All opinions are welcome!

[d-maz]

Ok guys, I need your opinion. I found a used Tek Elite fixture that the guy says is a few years old. From the pictures sent to me the light has 3 vents on top that looks like fan grills. All the Elite fixtures I see online only have one grill right in the middle. Is this fixture an older version? If so, how old do you guys think it is?

[rtparty]

Originally Posted by rezaktp

After being up & running for about 15 years I am rebuilding my 100G FOWLR. I am removing the VHO lighting and will go to T5's. I have 2 Icecap ballasts that I will use. I plan on having more of the weed type of corals like Zenia, GSP, Shrooms, etc that I do not care if it gets eaten or not.

So what flavor of ATI bulbs should I go with, and how many should I have?

All opinions are welcome!

Unless you are using 80w bulbs, I would ditch the IceCap ballasts and use regular T5 ballasts that won't overdrive the bulbs.

What are your exact dimensions?

[rtparty]

Originally Posted by d-maz

Ok guys, I need your opinion. I found a used Tek Elite fixture that the guy says is a few years old. From the pictures sent to me the light has 3 vents on top that looks like fan grills. All the Elite fixtures I see online only have one grill right in the middle. Is this fixture an older version? If so, how old do you guys think it is?

If it is graphite, not black and has fans then it should be en elite. I believe the Elites were released around 2010 but maybe 09.

[d-maz]

Thanks Ryan. Now I need bulb advice. Right now I have phoenix 14k MHs and actinic PCs. I like the way my tank looks so I would try and keep it around the same. I'd like to see a little more pop in my colors. Since this is my first T5 setup, can you suggest what bulbs and what rotation from front to back. Thanks

[rezaktp]

I plan on using the 54w bulbs....what is the issue with the ice caps, that was all the rave a year ago?

[footballcs12]

Looking for a 6 bulb combination for my Tek Elite that will have good coral color pop and thats got some blue but not too much blue.

[rtparty]

Originally Posted by d-maz

Thanks Ryan. Now I need bulb advice. Right now I have phoenix 14k MHs and actinic PCs. I like the way my tank looks so I would try and keep it around the same. I'd like to see a little more pop in my colors. Since this is my first T5 setup, can you suggest what bulbs and what rotation from front to back. Thanks

4 ATI blue plus, 2 coral plus and 1 purple plus

Blue
Purple
Blue
Coral
Blue
Blue

Try that and go from there. I added an extra bulb so you can find what you like.

Originally Posted by rezaktp

I plan on using the 54w bulbs....what is the issue with the ice caps, that was all the rave a year ago?

I've never recommended ice cap unless you had 80w bulbs. They wear the bulbs out way too fast.

Originally Posted by footballcs12

Looking for a 6 bulb combination for my Tek Elite that will have good coral color pop and thats got some blue but not too much blue.

Go with what I wrote above. Maybe get one coral plus and one aquablue though. Then you can really adjust to your liking.

Sent from my Galaxy S3

[footballcs12]

Originally Posted by rtparty

4 ATI blue plus, 2 coral plus and 1 purple plus

Go with what I wrote above. Maybe get one coral plus and one aquablue though. Then you can really adjust to your liking.

Sent from my Galaxy S3

That still seems like a little too much blue for my taste. Would swapping one out with a white of some sort still look good and be beneficial?

[rtparty]

Originally Posted by footballcs12

That still seems like a little too much blue for my taste. Would swapping one out with a white of some sort still look good and be beneficial?

The purple is very overpowering and the coral plus bulbs add plenty of white. An aquablue added will make it around 12k

[88rxna]

i would like to see if i can get a little better "pop" in color of my corals.
here is my current setup:

1. blue plus (day)
2. blue plus (acintic)
3. aqua blue special (day)
4.blue plus (acintic)
5.purple plus (day)
6. blue plusm (day)
all ATI bulbs

its alot of blue and wondered if a little more purple would do the trick?

[Skynyrd Fish]

Should I get ride of my Current 8 bulb single reflector fixture for a ATI 6 bulb? My tank is a 125 g 60"x18"x24". Im Growing sps nicely and will be adding more. I found a great deal on a used fixture 3 miles from my house. Thanks as always Dan.

[dankreef]

Hello was thinking about going from MH to t5. Was looking at the 60' 8x80w fixture. Looking for a combo for growth / pop. Love the slightly purple look does it put out as much growth? Please advise 180g SPS tank.

[rtparty]

Originally Posted by 88rxna

i would like to see if i can get a little better "pop" in color of my corals.
here is my current setup:

1. blue plus (day)
2. blue plus (acintic)
3. aqua blue special (day)
4.blue plus (acintic)
5.purple plus (day)
6. blue plusm (day)
all ATI bulbs

its alot of blue and wondered if a little more purple would do the trick?

Try a purple plus in place of the aquablue or add an actinic for less pink.

Originally Posted by Skynyrd Fish

Should I get ride of my Current 8 bulb single reflector fixture for a ATI 6 bulb? My tank is a 125 g 60"x18"x24". Im Growing sps nicely and will be adding more. I found a great deal on a used fixture 3 miles from my house. Thanks as always Dan.

Yes, without a doubt. Don't fry your critters on the switch.

Originally Posted by dankreef

Hello was thinking about going from MH to t5. Was looking at the 60' 8x80w fixture. Looking for a combo for growth / pop. Love the slightly purple look does it put out as much growth? Please advise 180g SPS tank.

If you want slight purple I would try 5 blue plus and 3 purple plus. Grab a coral plus to play with as well.

[Skynyrd Fish]

Ok I got the ATI 6 bulb fixture. He ran it with the shield off in a canopy. The reflectors are pitted and have salt spray. I wiped them down with a damp cloth. What can I polish them with? They're not wasted but every bit of polished helps.

[TropTrea]

Originally Posted by Skynyrd Fish

Ok I got the ATI 6 bulb fixture. He ran it with the shield off in a canopy. The reflectors are pitted and have salt spray. I wiped them down with a damp cloth. What can I polish them with? They're not wasted but every bit of polished helps.

Alumnium reflectors can be polished to an extrem mirror finish. However they are made of an extremly soft metal and therefore it requires a lot of special super fine abrasives to get then polished to that extent. Basicly a lambs wool buffer will work with some super fine grit polishing rouge. Even atandard automotive polishing compounds are much to abrasive for alumnium.

[rtparty]

Originally Posted by Skynyrd Fish

Ok I got the ATI 6 bulb fixture. He ran it with the shield off in a canopy. The reflectors are pitted and have salt spray. I wiped them down with a damp cloth. What can I polish them with? They're not wasted but every bit of polished helps.

In all honesty, it isn't worth the effort. I've seen it done before and the PAR increase was minimal.

If you are truly worried, just buy new reflectors from Reefgeek.

[Michigan Mike]

Originally Posted by rtparty

In all honesty, it isn't worth the effort. I've seen it done before and the PAR increase was minimal.

If you are truly worried, just buy new reflectors from Reefgeek.

If they are pitted but clean it still won't make much of a difference compared to new reflectors, as long as they are clean and your splash shield is clean I wouldn't bother.
Grim changed old pitted reflectors for new ones and got squat for an increase in PAR.
I've heard mother's automotive polish but I'd just use water and maybe a touch of vinegar, use a lint free glasses-lens cloth.

[Skynyrd Fish]

I tried some mothers power metal aluminum polish. It may have been too harsh. I only did two reflectors. It made them better. Thanx for your advice/info.