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T5ho + LED hybrid fixture advice


Kylebeano

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I would appreciate any input or advice towards my new lighting upgrade. I am setting up a 40 breeder, and my current 150w metal halide will not sufffice. I have a phoenix 14k bulb now, and like the color/growth it offers.

 

T5ho offers the best colored tanks that ive seen (with the appropriate bulb combo). LEDs pack the punch to get good growth and the shimmer missed by t5. MH is too costly all around (heat, electricity, bulbs).

 

So, I bought a 36" 6 bulb tek light with ambitions to replace the middle two bulbs with DIY LED strips. The 4 bulb combo I plan on running is ATI; blue plus, purple plus, LED, aquablue special, blue plus.

 

My questions are:

Is my bulb combo the best one suited to compliment LED strips and get the best colors and growth out of my corals?

Since I will be having these 4 t5 bulbs to cover the spectrum and already get good colors, do I need a "full-spectrum" array of LEDs?

Which LEDs should I go with (cree, bridgelux, phillips, etc)?

What color LEDs (royal blue, blue, violet, warm white, cool white, neutral white)?

Would the aquastyle 36 dimmable led kit be good? What drivers would you choose for this?

 

Thank you in advance!

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Fixture is starting off as a Sunlight Supply Tek 6x39w t5 light. Dimensions are approx 35"x15"x3" around.
The light will be a 2x39w t5 and have two 6"x10" heatsinks mounted centered as a halide would sit in a combo fixture.
Ballasts will be mounted between the two heatsinks probably but I haven't decided on that.

First step was to gut the reflectors and such out to get down to the casing.
The 6 reflectors were in two parts, a 4 bulb and a 2 bulb. So I took the 2 bulb and cut it into two single reflectors.

 

The ballasts will have a seperate fan as well as both heatsinks, so three 120mm fans will be mounted to the fixture from the top. I am going to use a router to cut openings in the top of the fixture for mounting the fans directly above the components they will cool. Possinly throw a few 50-80mm fans on the ends but it will be difficult with the mounting legs there.


I am doing rough layouts of the leds on the heatsinks now, and I am thinking of going with a triangle pattern for the whites, blues, and royals. I will have other colors such as "uv" cyan, and red Mixed in but placed symmetrically through the heatsink rather than in the patterns containing the blues and whites.

This is supposed to avoid "spotlighting" in the tank, where you can see definite different colors penetrating through the water, or even reflecting on corals.

 

 

 

 

 

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If you're using that many T5s, then your primary lighting will be T5 and the LED will be secondary, which, frankly, is a waste. You can definitely give too much light, and having a powerful LED array plus four T5 bulbs is approaching that.

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If you're using that many T5s, then your primary lighting will be T5 and the LED will be secondary, which, frankly, is a waste. You can definitely give too much light, and having a powerful LED array plus four T5 bulbs is approaching that.

 

Ben, what would your recommendation be if you were to build a T5/LED hybrid? How many T5's vs. how many LEDs? What color LEDs, etc.?

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If you're in the camp that still thinks LEDs can't color up coral, then use LEDs for actinic light and use only sparse 'white' T5 bulbs. Use royal blue and blue LEDs.

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Fixture is starting off as a Sunlight Supply Tek 6x39w t5 light. Dimensions are approx 35"x15"x3" around.

The light will be a 2x39w t5 and have two 6"x10" heatsinks mounted centered as a halide would sit in a combo fixture.

Ballasts will be mounted between the two heatsinks probably but I haven't decided on that.

 

First step was to gut the reflectors and such out to get down to the casing.

The 6 reflectors were in two parts, a 4 bulb and a 2 bulb. So I took the 2 bulb and cut it into two single reflectors.

 

The ballasts will have a seperate fan as well as both heatsinks, so three 120mm fans will be mounted to the fixture from the top. I am going to use a router to cut openings in the top of the fixture for mounting the fans directly above the components they will cool. Possinly throw a few 50-80mm fans on the ends but it will be difficult with the mounting legs there.

 

 

I am doing rough layouts of the leds on the heatsinks now, and I am thinking of going with a triangle pattern for the whites, blues, and royals. I will have other colors such as "uv" cyan, and red Mixed in but placed symmetrically through the heatsink rather than in the patterns containing the blues and whites.

 

This is supposed to avoid "spotlighting" in the tank, where you can see definite different colors penetrating through the water, or even reflecting on corals.

Thanks so much for the details on the fixture Xavier! That will really help when I go to gut it.

 

You'll want to change the blue special to a coral+. Blue special is a thing of the past, too yellow.

Thanks for the advice, I think I will switch that one out.

 

If you're using that many T5s, then your primary lighting will be T5 and the LED will be secondary, which, frankly, is a waste. You can definitely give too much light, and having a powerful LED array plus four T5 bulbs is approaching that.

I have seen many tanks using fixtures that have a 250w metal halide in the middle with 4 bulbs T5ho on the sides, and I dont think they were complaining of too much light. And I really doubt a couple strips of LEDs will match the light output of a 250w MH unless the LEDs were very concentrated in this application. Thank you for your input

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nothing wrong with Aquablue special, lots of people still use it and even mix it with coral+.

 

4 bulb + LEDs will be fine especially if you clams or anemones on the sand.

 

T5 gives much, much better polyp growth around the whole coral. LEDs in a single array SUCK for that.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Alright, im about to get this project started. Just sent an email to rapid led to see what their thoughts are, but what about the nano reef led techs?

I will have 3.5"x33" to work with for heatsink space. I also plan on ventilating the fixture with fans to draw out heat as the Tek fixture does not have any fans. Since I will be covering the color spectrum with my T5 bulbs and have seen that 4 bulb combo produce really nice colored corals, im thinking my focus of LED should be almost all royal blue, maybe some violet and other blues. I dont want it to be dimmable, just constant drive. And im thinking about 24 leds should be right for this space and purpose.

 

What LEDs with which drivers should I go with? Thanks!

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  • 10 months later...

My 6 bulb Tek fixture was sold to me with a defective ballast that needed to be replaced, so I did have to do some rewiring, and moving end caps. But ended up having two bulbs on either switch at the ends of unit.

I had originally retro fitted 24 3w Cree royal blue leds into the middle of the fixture, it had nice color but I think it was too much. I also did a terrible job securing the heatsinks apparently as they ended up in the tank one day and killed almost all my livestock.

I have since replaced the Cree retrofits with the current orbit pro leds, at 36w, they are a bit more modest, better spectrum, controllable, and now have the ramp timer pro for sunrise/sunset and other functions. I was able to salvage 11 of the Cree royal blue and a heat sink which are now mid day actinic supplementation, outside the unit.

I feel like this is an amazing light. The tek fixture was $100, current led was $150, and Cree bar $80. The ATI bulbs can be replaced every 14-18 months since I am only running them 6 hours a day, and they are staying cooler much better with the middle bulbs removed. I really like the color it puts out, more "natural" than the heavy blue LED lit tanks I see. It reminds me of a 400w 20k radium. The colors of the corals are great, well they were great until the shock, and now what survived and what I've purchased are coming back better.

 

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