T-5 or PC ?

[briangg57]

Does a 108 watt T-5 light out perform a 130 watt PC light?

[OnlyCrimson]

If the t5 bulbs are high outpur and have individual reflectors, yes.

[briangg57]

Originally posted by OnlyCrimson
If the t5 bulbs are high outpur and have individual reflectors, yes.

The light I was thinking of getting is "Nova Extreme". I don't think it has individual reflectors. Which brand does and do you know where to get them and how much? I nee a 108 watt. 48 inch light

[CDReefLover]

Sunlight Supply 2x54W T5HO Tek Light will easily out perform 130W of PCs. There's quite a few vendors that offer free shipping on these.

[BrianH]

How do pc's compare when they are housed individually in reflectors?

[p4ck37p1mp]

I just replaced three 96w PC with individual reflectors with three 54w T5 with individual reflectors. No contest, T5 smokes PC. My frogspawn bleached and had to be moved to the bottom of the tank, half the power and far more intensity. I have the PC setup if you want to buy it cheap. I wouldn't waste your money, the T5 bulbs are cheaper and last longer also.

[GuySmilie]

If you can stomach the price, look into a TX5 fixture by Aquactinics.

[p4ck37p1mp]

If you have a canopy and can do the wiring (very easy) I'd just get the parts and DIY it. I used the old Workhorse 5 ballasts from my PC setup and bought the Icecap SLR reflectors, bulbs and endcaps, etc from diyreef.com very cheap.

[Daniel.luu]

Hi p4ck37p1mp,

The t5ho retro kits are more expensive than the fixture? Is that right?

[p4ck37p1mp]

No way, $20 or so per reflector, $15 or so per bulb, $8 or so per pair of endcaps, $50 for a Workhorse 5 ballast. I replaced my PC bulbs, reflectors and wiring for just about $100. All you need is a ballast (either large enough for all the bulb wattage you want to run or multiple smaller ballasts), reflectors, bulbs, end caps, standoffs for the end caps. Look at diyreef.com under T5 parts. The fixtures are way more expensive, which is why I've never had a fixture.

[p4ck37p1mp]

My bad, $28.95 for the Workhorse 5. Two reflectors $42, endcaps and mounting brackets $15, pick your bulbs. If you're only going with two bulbs a Giesemann Aquablue plus and a GE6.5k will smoke any PC at double the wattage. The GE 3k and 6.5k have the most PAR of any fluorescent bulb I know of, the rest is getting the color where you want it. The ab+ bulb is slightly bluer than a typical PC 10k. If you want with a WH 7 ballast you could add a third bulb, perhaps and actinic. Thats what I run, though each bulb on its own WH5 just because I had them, GE6.5k, ab+ and pure actinic. I'm adding more bulbs as my corals get used to the intensity, I can run a total of six on my ballasts (3 x wh5).

[Daniel.luu]

I currently have a PC with 4 bulbs 2x92 watts, total 184 watts. Can i use my PC's ballast to power the T5 (4X39watts) bulbs?

If not, what ballast do I need to buy for T5 4X39watts. Is that enough for my 40 gallon tank?

[p4ck37p1mp]

What kind of ballast is it, does it have a label? More than likely it will work, as PC and T5 are both fluorescent and use the same type of ballast.

[Daniel.luu]

I bought the whole setup used so I don't know the label of it. I can check tonight.

[p4ck37p1mp]

It would most likely work, is it a retro or a fixture?

[Daniel.luu]

It's a retro. It fits under the canopy. I want to upgrade to T5.

Here's my plan:
- remove the PC retro
- add new reflectors
- hopefully i can reuse the ballast. question: the power cords for the PC is straight pin (i think). Do I need to change it?

[p4ck37p1mp]

Then you're good to go, just get the reflectors, endcaps, mounts, bulbs and rewire a little. Cut the ends of your PC plugs off, strip them down and put positive on one end and negative on the other and they should light right up, doesn't matter which end is which. Watch your corals for bleaching, you may have to move them down or get some screen to shade them and slowly take layers of screen off to acclimate them, my 54w T5s blow my old PC away in terms of intensity, at half the wattage even. Since you're the same wattage it should be even more intense.

[Daniel.luu]

Alright!! Thanks p4ck...I'll try that out and post pictures.

btw, your id looks like a password. :-)

[Daniel.luu]

last question:

what bulbs do you recommend to buy? It has 4 kinds.

[p4ck37p1mp]

Thats mostly up to personal preferences, how blue you like it. I'd put the GE 6.5k and a Giesemann aquablue plus to start, if it isn't blue enough get a UVL super actinic. There are so many options and the bulbs are so cheap you can try a lot of combinations until you find the one you like. Theres a thread in the lighting forum that goes over a lot of that and has pictures so you can get an idea of what different bulbs are like. The highest PAR bulbs if you keep SPS are the GE 6.5k and 3k, obviously they tend toward yellow/pinkish so you might want to offset those with something more blue, but not quite actinic. I have the GE6.5k, Giesemann AB+ and a UVL super actinic. The next one I add will be more blue, the next a GE 3k, then another actinic...I think. I'm adding bulbs one at a time to not shock my corals too much, I was suprised that only 3 bulbs bleached things.

[Daniel.luu]

"bleached things" ? does that mean it changes the color of corals?

[p4ck37p1mp]

Yes, until they get used to the higher PAR. They expel zooxanthellae and look bleached. A lot of people get cheap screen like you have on your windows and make a few layers, removing one a week or so to get them acclimated. Its a good thing in the end, they'll grow faster and have more intense colors once they get used to it. If you have mushrooms or certain other things they might not like the added PAR.

[briangg57]

OK, So I'm an electronic Idiot.I have a roofing buisness. I can tear the roof off of a strip mall or your house and replace it as good as anybody but when it comes to this I'm lost. So I have a coralife 2 bulb total 130 watts. So are you guys saying that I can use my housing and change it over to T5s?

[briangg57]

For got to ask that, If I can use my housing, Will I need a fan?

[briangg57]

I'm buying a fixture from aquacave. What bulbs do you guys reccomend, Either 1-10,000k and 1 actinic or 2- 12,000ks. Bear in mind that I'm using it in conjunction with my 260 watt PCs that have 2- 10,000ks and 2 actinics.