The T5 Q&a Thread - split

[TropTrea]

Originally Posted by nanoreef16g

Just got a 24" Aquatinics TX5 for a 10" deep frag set up. Looking for a good bulb arrangement to not only display the corals well for pics but to also get good growth. Any suggestions?

How many bulbs 5?

Front to back
Blue Plus
Purple Plus
Blue Plus
GE 6,500K
Blue Plus

if it is 6 bulbs add an additional Blue Plus in the back.
It it is 4 Bulbs replace the GE with an Aqua Blue Plus and eliminate the back Blue Plus.
If it is 8 bulbs then add a Blue Plus and Purple Plus in the back of a 6 bulb set up.

[jerpa]

Originally Posted by TropTrea;

But even better might be 1 purple plus, 1 aqua blue, and 2 blue plus.

Just to clarify if I go with this combo will the 4" gap impact the blending? I could tilt both fixtures towards eachother a bit if that would make a difference. Thanks for your help.

[GhostRider58]

I'm sure the answer to my question is somewhere in this thread, but I can't find it.
Here is the setup. I have a 40 Breeder with 2x65W 10000K PC's and 4x39W Coralife Actinic 420nm T5 HO's. I am going to keep softies and some LPS. With 4 actinics, I thought the tank would be more blue, but it's not. The T5's are only ~1 month old. What combination of T5 HO's would you recommend to make the tank pop and be more blue?

Thank you in advance for your assistance,
Tom

[mess7777]

i have a standard 90g. 48x18x24

I am currently running some LEDs which I am not loving too much at all, there were bought used and DIY, anyway. If I can sell these I would be looking at moving to T5.

From reading a load of build threads, I always love the ones using T5 lighting because the colors are fricking amazine. However, I also like the blue LED insane flourescents.

So essentially I would like something with largely T5 and some supplemental blue, such as a blue reef brite strip.

I am thinking a 6x54 + 1 blu reefbrite would do the trick. Is that correct thinking?

Also it seems that either ATI or Tek Elite is the way to go due to the bulb life being much longer? It looks like the ATI has all the programmability built into it so I don't have to worry about a seperate controller, am I right on that?

Thanks for any info.

[The Grim Reefer]

Originally Posted by GhostRider58

I'm sure the answer to my question is somewhere in this thread, but I can't find it.
Here is the setup. I have a 40 Breeder with 2x65W 10000K PC's and 4x39W Coralife Actinic 420nm T5 HO's. I am going to keep softies and some LPS. With 4 actinics, I thought the tank would be more blue, but it's not. The T5's are only ~1 month old. What combination of T5 HO's would you recommend to make the tank pop and be more blue?

Thank you in advance for your assistance,
Tom

Dump like 3 of the actinics and replace them with Blue Plus. It will be much more blue and give you more pop.

[96p993]

I have an 8 bulb ATI with Reefbrite LED strips connected to each side. I am wanting to get my dusk/dawn quite a bit more blue when the LEDS and my 2 Blue plus bulbs are on. I also feel as though Im missing my reds and greens during this time. I think I have enough light to sacrifice a bit of par so Im wondering what one or 2 Super Actinic bulbs would do for me (or any other bulb for that matter)

Thanks

[GhostRider58]

Thank you Grim, (great avatar).

One last question. Who is the manufacturer of the Blue Plus bulbs?
Are they made by ATI?

[inkedmoney]

i just ordered the tek 48 inch4x54w fixture for my 55 gal mixed reef with

ATI Purple plus
ATI Aquablue special
2xATI Blue plus

just wanted to know in what order they should be arranged for the best efficiency and look that would support all kind of corals and their growth

[mltran]

I have a 56g column tank that is 30" w x18" d x 24" H. Right now I have a dual lamp T5 and want to upgrade to a Quad lamp fixture. I have only a few corals right now; a frogspawn, duncan and another one I don't remember the name of. What would be a good fixture for my tank? I would ideally not like to spend over $300. Thanks for the help.

[GSMguy]

Originally Posted by mltran

I have a 56g column tank that is 30" w x18" d x 24" H. Right now I have a dual lamp T5 and want to upgrade to a Quad lamp fixture. I have only a few corals right now; a frogspawn, duncan and another one I don't remember the name of. What would be a good fixture for my tank? I would ideally not like to spend over $300. Thanks for the help.

I know it's more than you wanted to spend but this would be the besy light for you.


http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5_...!_Bulbs_by_ATI

[mltran]

Originally Posted by GSMguy

I know it's more than you wanted to spend but this would be the besy light for you.


http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5_...!_Bulbs_by_ATI

Since my tank is 30" long and the fixture is only 24" would I just place it right on the top glass? It doesn't look like it has legs.

[TropTrea]

Originally Posted by mess7777

i have a standard 90g. 48x18x24

I am currently running some LEDs which I am not loving too much at all, there were bought used and DIY, anyway. If I can sell these I would be looking at moving to T5.

From reading a load of build threads, I always love the ones using T5 lighting because the colors are fricking amazine. However, I also like the blue LED insane flourescents.

So essentially I would like something with largely T5 and some supplemental blue, such as a blue reef brite strip.

I am thinking a 6x54 + 1 blu reefbrite would do the trick. Is that correct thinking?

Also it seems that either ATI or Tek Elite is the way to go due to the bulb life being much longer? It looks like the ATI has all the programmability built into it so I don't have to worry about a seperate controller, am I right on that?

Thanks for any info.

There is such a range and so much flexability in LED lighting it realy allows you to outdoo T-5's if you have the time and patients. Chances are that your unhappy with your LED's because of the ratio and types of LED's that the person put in it. I know even comercial LED fixtures range from fantastic to out right garbage.

If you have a DIY fixture now you could modify it inexpensively. PMK me and we can discuss this off line since this thread is not about LED's.

The combination is what I'm running on one of my tanks however it is also DIY. With a 90 gallon tank I would consider a 6 Bulb T-5 Fixture for 324 Watts and then suplement that with two strips of LED's each running about 30 Watts of both Blue and Royal Blue LED's. These would be the equivelent of 2 more T-5 bulbs in your total lighting scheme.

[ek9vboi]

Quick question, my tank is 18" inches high and I have an ATI 6x39w Powermodule fixture. It's more so of an SPS tank but I have zoos on the sand bed, maybe some LPS but not much.

How high should my lights be from the sand bed?
How much par should be I looking for on the sand bed as well? I have a local club member who has a par meter but he hasn't had time to come over and test.

[TropTrea]

Originally Posted by mltran

I have a 56g column tank that is 30" w x18" d x 24" H. Right now I have a dual lamp T5 and want to upgrade to a Quad lamp fixture. I have only a few corals right now; a frogspawn, duncan and another one I don't remember the name of. What would be a good fixture for my tank? I would ideally not like to spend over $300. Thanks for the help.

First off with the 30" width the 24" bulbs come out 3" short on both sides so there would be a little end loss. This would great for the placement of lower light demanding corals.

Second your tank is 24" tall and if you want to be flexable on your ocorals I would only consider 6 or 8 bulb fixtures. If you go with ATI the 6 bulbs is all you will need, other brands I would lean more to the 8 bulb fixture.

[mltran]

Originally Posted by TropTrea

First off with the 30" width the 24" bulbs come out 3" short on both sides so there would be a little end loss. This would great for the placement of lower light demanding corals.

Second your tank is 24" tall and if you want to be flexable on your ocorals I would only consider 6 or 8 bulb fixtures. If you go with ATI the 6 bulbs is all you will need, other brands I would lean more to the 8 bulb fixture.

I'm not sure I could fit 6 bulbs. I have a hob skimmer that would be in the way. If I were to get the 24" would I just put it on the top glass or how would I mount it?

Is the coralife lunar aqua light a decent fixture? I'm really not looking to spend the kind of money that Ati will cost. I really don't plan on having a lot of corals and especially not really expensive ones.

[inkedmoney]

i just ordered the tek 48 inch4x54w fixture for my 55 gal mixed reef with

ATI Purple plus
ATI Aquablue special
2xATI Blue plus

just wanted to know in what order they should be arranged for the best efficiency and look that would support all kind of corals and their growth

[GSMguy]

You Have to hang the ATI fixtures.
4x24 ATI is plenty of light for that tank

[TropTrea]

Originally Posted by mltran

I'm not sure I could fit 6 bulbs. I have a hob skimmer that would be in the way. If I were to get the 24" would I just put it on the top glass or how would I mount it? .

Your tank is 18" from front to back.
4 Bulb fixture is 9.4" wide
6 bulb fixture is 13.4" wide
8 bulb fixture is 17.5" wide

So the 8 bulb is probably ruled out. If you go with lower cost fixtures the 4 bulbs should be rulled out as well since they will realy limit your coral selection.

Originally Posted by mltran

Is the coralife lunar aqua light a decent fixture? I'm really not looking to spend the kind of money that Ati will cost. I really don't plan on having a lot of corals and especially not really expensive ones.

It depends on what you want to keep in your tank. With most 4 bulb fixtures your limiting the bottom 1/2 of the tank to low light corals. In your case this also goes for about 6" on the ends of the tank as well. The ATI is better that way and will give you more flexibility.

With a 6 bulb fixture the high light demanding corals can be kept in the upper 1/3 of the tank. With the ATI you have a bit more light so this moves to the about the top 1/2 or even 2/3 of the tank.

Coral cost does not reflect there lighting needs. Slow growing and colorful corals that are rare are usualy more costly regardless of there lighting needs. If you want to go strictly with soft corals and some LPS corals you could get away with the cheaper 4 bulb fixtures. However after keeping corals for some time you will probably want to start keeping some that need more light.

I have seen it too often where people will buy the bare minimum that meets there needs today then 6 months later find it is insuffecent and end up replacing what they originaly got and in the end spend almost twice what they could of if they got the better fixture right away.

[TropTrea]

Originally Posted by inkedmoney

i just ordered the tek 48 inch4x54w fixture for my 55 gal mixed reef with

ATI Purple plus
ATI Aquablue special
2xATI Blue plus

just wanted to know in what order they should be arranged for the best efficiency and look that would support all kind of corals and their growth

front shoulkd be a blue plus. As well as position 3. The other two many prefer the purple up front but others prefer the aqua blue up front. Best is to try it with the purple in position 2 and the Aqua in position 4. If you don't like that swap the two around.

[Fishdisease]

Hey,

So I have a question about supplemental lights. I'm building a fixture for the tank I'm also currently setting up. The tank is a 72X24X24 180 gallon and I have a 3 x 250W fixture. I have 3 aquaconnect (phoenix) 250 14K bulbs for the MH and I have the space for 2 80W T5 bulbs (lengthwise, at the front and back). I was originally going to put in 2 140W VHO, but I've been convinced to go the T5 route.

Anyway, I feel that I have enough PAR with the 3 MH lights, and I know that the Phoenix bulbs produce a fairly blue light on their own. What I'm looking for is something to use for dusk/dawn and to enhance the coral fluorescence otherwise. I'm planning on keeping a mixed reef with a wide range of colors.

I've looked into the Blue Plus but I've read that they might lead to a windex effect with the Phoenix bulbs. I've also read here that the Purple Plus might help enhance the reds and pinks, while the actinic might not do much of anything. Needless to say I'm confused.

Suggestions?

Thanks!

[mltran]

Originally Posted by TropTrea

Your tank is 18" from front to back.
4 Bulb fixture is 9.4" wide
6 bulb fixture is 13.4" wide
8 bulb fixture is 17.5" wide

So the 8 bulb is probably ruled out. If you go with lower cost fixtures the 4 bulbs should be rulled out as well since they will realy limit your coral selection.





It depends on what you want to keep in your tank. With most 4 bulb fixtures your limiting the bottom 1/2 of the tank to low light corals. In your case this also goes for about 6" on the ends of the tank as well. The ATI is better that way and will give you more flexibility.

With a 6 bulb fixture the high light demanding corals can be kept in the upper 1/3 of the tank. With the ATI you have a bit more light so this moves to the about the top 1/2 or even 2/3 of the tank.

Coral cost does not reflect there lighting needs. Slow growing and colorful corals that are rare are usualy more costly regardless of there lighting needs. If you want to go strictly with soft corals and some LPS corals you could get away with the cheaper 4 bulb fixtures. However after keeping corals for some time you will probably want to start keeping some that need more light.

I have seen it too often where people will buy the bare minimum that meets there needs today then 6 months later find it is insuffecent and end up replacing what they originaly got and in the end spend almost twice what they could of if they got the better fixture right away.

Ok I get what you're saying. The only thing I don't like about the Ati besides the cost is that they have to be hung. Are there any other good fixtures that don't have to be hung?

I planning having mostly Lps and soft corals

[The Reef Pit]

Hello, Grim
I am going to be starting a new 90g, 48'' 18'' 24'', I want to do mostly SPS , do you think I could do it with a 6 bulb T5 set up, I don't want to run MH because I don't want to run a chiller, From want I have been reading for the past two hours I think the bulbs should be
Blue+
Purple +
Blue+
Ge 6500
Blue+
Blue+
I want the best SPS growth and a nice look too I think I like a 14k look.
Please let me know Grim Thanks

[TropTrea]

Originally Posted by GhostRider58

I'm sure the answer to my question is somewhere in this thread, but I can't find it.
Here is the setup. I have a 40 Breeder with 2x65W 10000K PC's and 4x39W Coralife Actinic 420nm T5 HO's. I am going to keep softies and some LPS. With 4 actinics, I thought the tank would be more blue, but it's not. The T5's are only ~1 month old. What combination of T5 HO's would you recommend to make the tank pop and be more blue?

Thank you in advance for your assistance,
Tom

For the 40 gallon I would not use the PC's at all. The 4 39 Watt t-5's will be more than enough.

On my 40 Breeder Im running 2 ATI Blue Plus, 1 ATI Purple Plus, and 1 ATI Aqua Blue Special. This is a frag tank for me and I have toth LPS and SPS corals in it growing fine with nice color.

I also have an identical tank with the same coral combination running DIY LED's for a long term comparison on coral growth and color. After 3 months the LED's are ahead on color, and slightly behind on growth.

[TropTrea]

Originally Posted by Fishdisease

Hey,

So I have a question about supplemental lights. I'm building a fixture for the tank I'm also currently setting up. The tank is a 72X24X24 180 gallon and I have a 3 x 250W fixture. I have 3 aquaconnect (phoenix) 250 14K bulbs for the MH and I have the space for 2 80W T5 bulbs (lengthwise, at the front and back). I was originally going to put in 2 140W VHO, but I've been convinced to go the T5 route.

Anyway, I feel that I have enough PAR with the 3 MH lights, and I know that the Phoenix bulbs produce a fairly blue light on their own. What I'm looking for is something to use for dusk/dawn and to enhance the coral fluorescence otherwise. I'm planning on keeping a mixed reef with a wide range of colors.

I've looked into the Blue Plus but I've read that they might lead to a windex effect with the Phoenix bulbs. I've also read here that the Purple Plus might help enhance the reds and pinks, while the actinic might not do much of anything. Needless to say I'm confused.

Suggestions?

Thanks!

Your Phoenix bulb has a lot of blue in to start with, so I see your concern about getting too blue. The combination of a ATI Blue Plus with There Coral Plus would probably work better for tank as there is enough white in the coral plus to allow the reflective reds and greens to show up and will probably be only slightly bluer than your MH's alone are.

[TruReef]

I can't wrap my mind around DIY Leds, So I think I'm gonna go with a 60" Sunpower to light my reef ready 180g, it's 72"x24"x24". I plan to do a mixed reef with mostly softies and LPS but still have a few SPS mixed in.. Can I do the 6 bulb Sunpower or do I need to get the 8 bulb? How high off the water should this be mounted?