t-5 lighting questions

newreef06 · 09/20/2006, 08:32 PM

I have a current satellite PC. Its 260 watts I think. I wanted to up grade to a T- light. I need a 48" one. Which one should I get. Also a few questions about it. Are the T-5s better the a MH. I know a MH gives of light like the natural sun. But thier more money. More money for electric ect. Im only growing soft corals in my tank. I also want to get a Carpet Aneome. Is the T5 lighting better than a regular PC. I was thinking of going with the Current Nova T-5
Let me know what you guys have and what you think

sir_dudeguy · 09/20/2006, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Are the T-5s better the a MH

in ways yes...in ways no. Just depends on what you want from it. But for one, they give off less heat. For another, it takes less wattage to get the same par rating. t5's are only good if you have a good reflector from what i hear, so if you dont get a good reflector...well you're not gonna have good light. But if you do have a good reflector, they're somewhat equal to MH as far as intensity and whatnot..

But t5 is def. better than regular pcs. IMO you cant keep a carpet anemone w/260 pc...well actually it depends on tank size. You say 48 inches so i'm guessing its a regular 55? If so, then no, 260 wont be enough imo, unless it was at the very top of the tank, however its hard to get them to go where you want them.

As for what light to get tho, i do not know.

Peter Eichler · 09/20/2006, 09:11 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by newreef06
I have a current satellite PC. Its 260 watts I think. I wanted to up grade to a T- light. I need a 48" one. Which one should I get. Also a few questions about it. Are the T-5s better the a MH. I know a MH gives of light like the natural sun. But thier more money. More money for electric ect. Im only growing soft corals in my tank. I also want to get a Carpet Aneome. Is the T5 lighting better than a regular PC. I was thinking of going with the Current Nova T-5
Let me know what you guys have and what you think

You want individual reflectors with your T5s, something the Nova doesn't have. If you want to go T5 get either Aquatinics hood or the Tek 5 from sunlight supply. Even better yet would be to get the T5 retrofits with Icecap reflectors and build yourself a canopy.

jpitts101 · 09/20/2006, 09:28 PM

newreefo6, keep your pc and run t-5's thats what im doing. i love the lighting in my tank. pc's are good for certain things and t-5's are for others. my tank looks better than it ever has with both pc's and t-5's. thats just my opinion though.

sir_dudeguy · 09/20/2006, 09:34 PM

how would he run pc's and t5s? You'd have to get a whole seperate setup for the t5's. Unless thats what you're saying. Because with pc's you cant keep everything. If you add a couple t5's, that may help, but i dont really know how much it would.

jpitts...how many t5's are you saying to add? That would help a little more. Because just adding like one bulb wont do much imo.

kass03 · 09/21/2006, 12:28 AM

IMO that individual reflector for T5's is overated.

I know I know everyone says you have to have them.
I have a 6 bulb HO T5 54 watt fixture on my 55 gal.
I just have 1 reflector not individual.
Ive had the fixture for over a year and have had a crocea clam in it for over a year doing great and has great color. I also have a few sps in there.

Now there can be many factors. The tek light usually is hung above the aquarium several inches away.
My fixture sits right on the tank and has fans to cool it where the tek doesnt. I do use the splash shield though so that can impede some light also.

Sure individual reflectors might put out some more light. I'm just not sold on the percentage that they advertise.
I'm not trying to talk bad about the tek light either as Ive seen them in action and it's a very nice light.

I just know I'm very happy with mine.
I do have the clam about midway in the tank not on the bottom.

Just be sure to get enough bulbs as anemones do need alot of light and carpets usually are on the bottom. I would go with either 6 or 8 bulbs. 8 would be better.

As far as pc's they are good for some corals but when I switched to T5's from PC's I had much better growth and am really happy with them.
It was actually like night and day lol.
Another thing if you do switch you have to slowly acclimate the corals to the new light.

I would prolly say MH are the best if you can afford them and don't mind the heat and electricity cost.
To me T5's are a great alternative though and I'm glad I got mine.

kass

bertoni · 09/21/2006, 01:02 AM

I haven't seen any data that convinces me that T5 are more energy-efficient than metal halide. The last numbers that I saw indicated that MH could be more efficient. The same goes for the heat issue. T5 can be better for a given tank shape, or for smaller tanks that are hard to cover efficiently with MH.

fsn77 · 09/21/2006, 07:01 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by jpitts101
newreefo6, keep your pc and run t-5's thats what im doing. i love the lighting in my tank. pc's are good for certain things and t-5's are for others. my tank looks better than it ever has with both pc's and t-5's. thats just my opinion though.

This is actually what I've decided to do. I'm really glad I read this post, as I've wondered if anyone else has done this and what they've thought of it. We have a 4x65w PC fixture on our 90g tank right now and I've found that we cannot keep anything growing happily on the bottom of it (except some mushrooms). I was going to retrofit 6x54w T5 HO into our canopy, but cannot afford to do it all at once. So, I'm retrofitting 4x54w T5 HO (with individual IC reflectors) into the canopy and gutting the 4x65w PC fixture so I can retrofit it into the canopy, too. (I also stocked up on PC bulbs during a sale, so I have 2 extra sets of bulbs sitting around.) I'm curious to see how much better the tank will look / corals grow.

divecj5 · 09/21/2006, 08:48 AM

Hey Kass, what sort of fixture do you have? I don't currently have a canopy made for my 55 and just was wondering what you were using. I don't have a means of hanging a fixture since I live in an apartment. Thanks for any suggetions.

Sounds great fsn77...I think the tank will look great with that combination.

Adam

jpitts101 · 09/21/2006, 03:31 PM

i have a t-5 fixture 4x54 and a pc fixture 4x65, when i got in the hobby i didnt get much knowledge from my LFS so i bought stuff i didnt need and now im just making due with them......yes its 2 different fixtures but it does great and you cant see them, my canopy covers them up......if i could get pic's to download on here i would post a pic.

09/20/2006, 08:32 PM	#1
newreef06 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Western Ma Posts: 822	t-5 lighting questions I have a current satellite PC. Its 260 watts I think. I wanted to up grade to a T- light. I need a 48" one. Which one should I get. Also a few questions about it. Are the T-5s better the a MH. I know a MH gives of light like the natural sun. But thier more money. More money for electric ect. Im only growing soft corals in my tank. I also want to get a Carpet Aneome. Is the T5 lighting better than a regular PC. I was thinking of going with the Current Nova T-5 Let me know what you guys have and what you think

09/20/2006, 09:28 PM	#4
jpitts101 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Ardmore Posts: 1,176	newreefo6, keep your pc and run t-5's thats what im doing. i love the lighting in my tank. pc's are good for certain things and t-5's are for others. my tank looks better than it ever has with both pc's and t-5's. thats just my opinion though. __________________ J.D. Pitts when in doubt pull it out!!!! Current Tank Info: 180 sps dominant

09/20/2006, 09:34 PM	#5
sir_dudeguy Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 10,841	how would he run pc's and t5s? You'd have to get a whole seperate setup for the t5's. Unless thats what you're saying. Because with pc's you cant keep everything. If you add a couple t5's, that may help, but i dont really know how much it would. jpitts...how many t5's are you saying to add? That would help a little more. Because just adding like one bulb wont do much imo. __________________ TAKE...LUCK!!!

09/21/2006, 12:28 AM	#6
kass03 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Kaukauna, Wi Posts: 2,937	IMO that individual reflector for T5's is overated. I know I know everyone says you have to have them. I have a 6 bulb HO T5 54 watt fixture on my 55 gal. I just have 1 reflector not individual. Ive had the fixture for over a year and have had a crocea clam in it for over a year doing great and has great color. I also have a few sps in there. Now there can be many factors. The tek light usually is hung above the aquarium several inches away. My fixture sits right on the tank and has fans to cool it where the tek doesnt. I do use the splash shield though so that can impede some light also. Sure individual reflectors might put out some more light. I'm just not sold on the percentage that they advertise. I'm not trying to talk bad about the tek light either as Ive seen them in action and it's a very nice light. I just know I'm very happy with mine. I do have the clam about midway in the tank not on the bottom. Just be sure to get enough bulbs as anemones do need alot of light and carpets usually are on the bottom. I would go with either 6 or 8 bulbs. 8 would be better. As far as pc's they are good for some corals but when I switched to T5's from PC's I had much better growth and am really happy with them. It was actually like night and day lol. Another thing if you do switch you have to slowly acclimate the corals to the new light. I would prolly say MH are the best if you can afford them and don't mind the heat and electricity cost. To me T5's are a great alternative though and I'm glad I got mine. kass Last edited by kass03; 09/21/2006 at 12:38 AM.

09/21/2006, 01:02 AM	#7
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	I haven't seen any data that convinces me that T5 are more energy-efficient than metal halide. The last numbers that I saw indicated that MH could be more efficient. The same goes for the heat issue. T5 can be better for a given tank shape, or for smaller tanks that are hard to cover efficiently with MH. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

09/21/2006, 08:48 AM	#9
divecj5 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Charleston, SC Posts: 709	Hey Kass, what sort of fixture do you have? I don't currently have a canopy made for my 55 and just was wondering what you were using. I don't have a means of hanging a fixture since I live in an apartment. Thanks for any suggetions. Sounds great fsn77...I think the tank will look great with that combination. Adam __________________ "I spent 90% of my money on women and drink. The rest I wasted" - George Best Current Tank Info: 20H, Vortech MP20, Aquatinics TX5, SPS Only Tank

09/21/2006, 03:31 PM	#10
jpitts101 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Ardmore Posts: 1,176	i have a t-5 fixture 4x54 and a pc fixture 4x65, when i got in the hobby i didnt get much knowledge from my LFS so i bought stuff i didnt need and now im just making due with them......yes its 2 different fixtures but it does great and you cant see them, my canopy covers them up......if i could get pic's to download on here i would post a pic. __________________ J.D. Pitts when in doubt pull it out!!!! Current Tank Info: 180 sps dominant