The T5 Q&a Thread

[Todd March]

Looks Great, Snaza. Very nice corals and colors...

[InsaneClownFish]

That is really nice snaza...the color looks very rich and not washed out at all. Bravo.

[Primetime33]

Thanks Grim.
I wanted to wait a bit before responding. I am actually starrting to like the bulb now. It is not as bright blue as the ATI blue+ but still gives a nice blue spectrum to my tank. Let us know what you get for the PAR on it.

Thank you,
Brock

Originally posted by The Grim Reefer
LOL Timing is everything, just got one in. It is more blue than the Aquablue which is what the old coralight was.

I see this lamp as likely being a substitute for blue lamps where you only have say 4 and need extra PAR (I still need to check PAR against a Blue Plus) or if you are going for a 20K look and want to brighten things up just a bit over just using Blue Pluses. These could be a nice in between if you just want to make a slight color change as well. I assume they developed it as a lamp to pair 50/50 with their fiji purple.

[The Grim Reefer]

Originally posted by InsaneClownFish
Dear Mr. Grim, my latest concoction is a 96x25wide x 15 high with a 13inch waterline rimless tank. I'm considering doing two 6x54w Powermodules(yes I'm set on the ATI, I don't want to use the Aquactinics). SPS dominated.

I'm guessing the 8x54w Powermodules would be overkill, but do you think it is worth the little bit extra to be able to play with two more bulbs in each fixture?

Many pleases and thank you in advance for all the time and effort you put into this forum and your continuing contributions to our little neck of the woods

8x54's would be the way to go. The reflectors are only 2" wide so the area creating the light is only 16".

[The Grim Reefer]

Originally posted by snaza
Thanks Grim,

just went shopping. Can:t get the midday bulbs in Australia so i got an aquablue instead. looks good to me.

Nice Tank!

[The Grim Reefer]

Originally posted by Primetime33
Thanks Grim.
I wanted to wait a bit before responding. I am actually starrting to like the bulb now. It is not as bright blue as the ATI blue+ but still gives a nice blue spectrum to my tank. Let us know what you get for the PAR on it.

Thank you,
Brock

LOL, I'll jump on that PAR comparison. Kinda lost my enthusiasm when I heard how much the lamp was going to cost

[reefsahoy]

how often are you guys changing bulbs? and what are you doing with the old bulbs? i have a few and have no idea what to do with them.

[Primetime33]

I save my bulbs in case of emergency. I also let other reefers in my area borrow them to see if they like that bulb(evaluation copies). Yes the bulb would not show its full potential but they get a general idea of its color.

[Primetime33]

Originally posted by The Grim Reefer
LOL, I'll jump on that PAR comparison. Kinda lost my enthusiasm when I heard how much the lamp was going to cost

Yea the cost is pretty high, but one of my local LFS has them so I decided to give it a try. No shipping costs helped me to buy it.

[andy51632]

What would you recommend for fixtures on a 240gal 96x24x24 sps dominated reef tank? Would 2 solar flares be enough or would I have to go with ATI powermodules if so how many bulbs per fixture?

[The Grim Reefer]

2 8x54 watt powermodules would be my first choice. The Flares would work but the powermodules would cover the 24" footprint better.

[st9z]

how many T5 would be enough for a 90 gallon? 4-54 watts or 6-54 watts?

thanks!

[Mark426]

Thats a no brainer
I bet you the price diff that Grims gonna say 6

[st9z]

would 4-54 watt be pushing the limit for 90 gallon or way under powering it?

[roxy25]

Hello Grim I decide to put t5’s over my 45 gallon tank I would like to keep sps and maybe some zoas in there. The dims of the tank are 35x15x20

I never really consider T5’s only because the tanks being posted that I have view I did not really care for the colors. I either think the corals look fake because the pink and reds look weird, or its just too blue.

I skimmed through this thread and I see some combos I like. I also looked at ever TOTM and found this tank

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-10/totm/index.php

I was reading and it states he used giesemann bulbs, it’s a tad bit too blue for my taste but I like the over all colors of the corals

What do you think about these bulbs on PAR etc..

I was thinking about a Tek 36� fixture with six bulbs ( due to the lower price lol )

I was thinking about a combo but since I never worked with t5 I have no idea what it would look like.

Could you recommend a combo thats not too blue or pink ?

[ddetar00]

Grim... I am looking at Current-USA Nova Extreme 8 bulb w/ Lunar light. The fixture comes with 4 10,000k daylight and 4 460 nm actinic. I am placing this on a standard oceanic 75 gal. I intend on keeping some clams, some acro's just an all around mix. does the standard bulb config suit your recomendations? Also, i have used halides and fluorescent combos and was concidering the Outer Orbit 150 HQI/T5 w/ Lunar Light fixture... The boss (spouse) would rather I lean to the T5 fixture for heat and energy resons... your input?

New to the forum as of yesterday... great community and lots of information... Thanks for your thoughts...

[JerseyWendy]

Hi Grim,

You've helped me out tremendously in the past - THANK YOU SO MUCH for that. A little over a year ago I set up my first reef tank, a 75 AGA, and I've been using the TekLight, 6 X 54Watts on my SPS dominated tank. Well, the corals are nearly growing out of the water at this point, so I've decided to upgrade to a 180 in the fall/winter.

Now I've begun researching and reading - again.

As for lighting, I want to stick with the T5s. Which of the following options do you think is the best (SPS dominated)?

2 X 36" 8x39W ATI Powermodule T5 High-Output

60" 8x80W Icecap T5 Very High-Output Retrofit Kit

Aquactinics T5 Constellation 72" Series, 14 X 39W T5 lamps

Here's a FTS, taken 5-20-08


Thanks in advance, Grim.

---
Wendy

[74oldsguy]

Whats the recommended t5 setup for a 6' 125g that has sps and lps. I would like it to be vibrant for all colors and able to have clams sometime.

[74oldsguy]

Being a retro and what bulbs to use?

[jennmac415]

Great tank, JerseyWendy! What bulb combo are you using?

[The Grim Reefer]

Originally posted by st9z
would 4-54 watt be pushing the limit for 90 gallon or way under powering it?

If I say 4 will you split the price difference with me?

I would do 6 but 4 would work as long as your not putting a clam on the sandbed

[The Grim Reefer]

Front
Blue ATI Blue Plus Gmann Actinic Plus
UVL Super Actinic or 75/25*
Giesemann Midday or GE 6500K Daylight
Blue
Midday/daylight
Blue

If you chose the 75/25 you may want to move it back a bit. It has a tad of a pinkish/purplish hue but having the extra red helps with pink and purple colors in the tank. Should washout nicely with the yellow from the suns.

Originally posted by roxy25
Hello Grim I decide to put t5’s over my 45 gallon tank I would like to keep sps and maybe some zoas in there. The dims of the tank are 35x15x20

I never really consider T5’s only because the tanks being posted that I have view I did not really care for the colors. I either think the corals look fake because the pink and reds look weird, or its just too blue.

I skimmed through this thread and I see some combos I like. I also looked at ever TOTM and found this tank

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-10/totm/index.php

I was reading and it states he used giesemann bulbs, it’s a tad bit too blue for my taste but I like the over all colors of the corals

What do you think about these bulbs on PAR etc..

I was thinking about a Tek 36� fixture with six bulbs ( due to the lower price lol )

I was thinking about a combo but since I never worked with t5 I have no idea what it would look like.

Could you recommend a combo thats not too blue or pink ?

[snaza]

Grim,

thinking about setting up another tank. very shallow. 24x18x12. going to be a mixed reef. would 4 bulb tek be ok?

thanks

[snaza]

Oh one more question. do you guys get DE lighting in America?

thanks

[The Grim Reefer]

Originally posted by ddetar00
Grim... I am looking at Current-USA Nova Extreme 8 bulb w/ Lunar light. The fixture comes with 4 10,000k daylight and 4 460 nm actinic. I am placing this on a standard oceanic 75 gal. I intend on keeping some clams, some acro's just an all around mix. does the standard bulb config suit your recomendations? Also, i have used halides and fluorescent combos and was concidering the Outer Orbit 150 HQI/T5 w/ Lunar Light fixture... The boss (spouse) would rather I lean to the T5 fixture for heat and energy resons... your input?

New to the forum as of yesterday... great community and lots of information... Thanks for your thoughts...

Spend a little extra money and get an Aquactinic TX5. No lunar light but the 5 lamps will put as much light into the tank as the Nova. The lamps that come with the Nova aren't great/