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Innovative Marine Aquariums

I got T-5s PICS!


121a

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so excuse the question, but what are the pros to having T5-s versus Metal halide? more avaible light spectrums?

T-5s are better than MH IMO. They have more PROS than CONS.

Pros of T-5

-Multiple bulb choices, mix and match for the perfect color

-No spotlight effect; light gets equally distributed throughout the tank

-Longer bulb life

-Ability to overdrive the bulbs for more light output=more heat

-VIRTUALLY NO HEAT

-Same output or more than MH.

-Less energy useage

Cons

-Start up costs are higher than MH, IMO.

-Have to buy 4 bulbs instead of one

-NO SHIMMER!!! this is the worst part about T-5. :o

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ok i better be careful with these lights. I bought a birdsnest frag yesterday for $20. Put it in my temp 10g and then today (after i turned the lights back on) at about 10:00 i noticed it bleached. This is only ONE 24w T-5 6000K bulb. Maybe it was just the tank... Clams are doing great along with the nem(did not attack it).

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why not just get a combination of t5 and mh?

i was thinking about going all t5 but i think im just a bit old school and like my mh too much

im gunna go with the current outer orbit 2x150w mh 4x39w t5 and switch out the ballasts to icecap ballasts eventually

that way ill run the t5's for about 10 hours and run the mh for probably 4

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  • 2 weeks later...

Yay I finally get to post a pic in this thread. I have been following it for a while 121. I did a 4x24w T5 and 2x2 LED lunar light system that rocks. I will post pics of it on the system once I get some water in there... :huh:

 

bulbslabeled.jpg

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-NO SHIMMER!!! this is the worst part about T-5. :o

 

with enough water surface aggregation (did i spell that right?) or water surface movement. anything will shimmer.

i got my 26w PC light to shimmer.

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  • 3 weeks later...
ok i better be careful with these lights. I bought a birdsnest frag yesterday for $20. Put it in my temp 10g and then today (after i turned the lights back on) at about 10:00 i noticed it bleached. This is only ONE 24w T-5 6000K bulb. Maybe it was just the tank... Clams are doing great along with the nem(did not attack it).

 

Some things about a T5 setup like you have, is that especially at the surface, T5s with individual reflectors are at least twice as intense than MH is, and it's very easy to cleach out corals if they are placed at or near the top off the bat. I had a Cali Tort frag I bleached almost instantly and was dead within 48 hours after putting it in my tank up at the top. My modified Finnex lighting on my 30g tank is quite intense. I added a pair of TEK reflectors to the daylights a while back and they really make the light in there much more intense and brighter. I keep 4 clams and a few SPS including a "5-6 wide monticap in the tank with no ill effects. Some of the SPS (birdsnest) I keep on the sand as well as 2 of my clams, a maxima and a derasa. I have a pair of croceas placed up near the top of the tank. My tank is a year old so I'm due for new bulbs. I kinda like the bulbs that you got 121a, but I'm curious as to how they are working out for you... I'd like to get a good daylight combo pair and a good actinic combo pair of bulbs...

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with enough water surface aggregation (did i spell that right?) or water surface movement. anything will shimmer.

i got my 26w PC light to shimmer.

 

 

too a certain degree, but nothing like MH, MH is a point source light whereas T5's are just one long tube.

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  • 2 weeks later...

havent seen this thread in a while.

Now, i went to a store called Reef Depot, some guys basement. Best store i have been too. All his corals were happy, guess what he uses.

Metal Halides. Has a T-5 fixture, not individual reflectors, but 6 bulbs. That compared to the halides was quite disappointing. He uses 250w 20K XM's on lumen arc and lumen brite reflectors.

 

With that being said, T-5s are great, and i do like them. However when i compared it to these metal halides, i was really disappointed too.

 

Again, T-5s can be compared to Metal Halides, but i love metal halides. Yea i said it, smite me. I never had a heat problem with them and well, the shimmer is awesome. I have thought about a 70w halide but just don't have the money for that. I would combine it with the T-5s to get the shimmer and the T-5 cool ness. O well only time can tell what i'm going to do.

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36" 6 bulb Tek fixture:

ATI Blue+

ATI Aquablue Special

ATI Actinic

Giessman Actinic

ATI Aquablue Special

ATI Blue+

 

Here's some of the colors I've achieved:

DSCN5658.jpg

DSCN5198.jpg

DSCN5217.jpg

DSCN4964.jpg

 

You can get vibrant colors by using either method. It has more to do with other factors than it does with lighting at this point.

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NanoReeferNY

what would everyone recommend for my 20GH .. .Bulb Wise...

 

I was thinking 2 Blue +'s and 2 Aqua Blue's?

WHat about the 420nm's ?? I want a more white/blue look over the yellow/natural look!

 

Thanks!

PS- Have a 4-24W T5HO fixture ... with 4 10ks (2 white and 2 blue)

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Heres my setup so far I love it had the tank up 4 days.

 

IceCap / 24" 4x24W SLR T5 High-Output Retrofit Kit

 

 

l1.jpg

 

l2.jpg

 

l3.jpg

 

z2.jpg

 

z5.jpg

 

DSCN0791.jpg

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really cool tank!

anyway, here is a pic with my new halide

IMG_1165.jpg

I'm experimenting with a 20K XM bulb which i'm supplementing with my other retro, 6000K and 11K bulbs, i'm calling these my 'grow bulbs' as they are white and will help coral growth and the 20K will pop colors. I do think the best combo is mh and t-5 combined.

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Heres my setup so far I love it had the tank up 4 days.

 

IceCap / 24" 4x24W SLR T5 High-Output Retrofit Kit

 

 

l1.jpg

 

l2.jpg

 

l3.jpg

 

z2.jpg

 

z5.jpg

 

DSCN0791.jpg

 

lolz this set up is slick

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