Ebay T5's ?'s!

[gulfsurfer101]

Anybody here use the cheap goplus and oddesea t5's over thier tanks. The reason I ask is because I was thinking of running a 6 bulb fixture over my 75g and ditching the black boxes. Before firing it up if I did purchase this fixture I would immediately swap the bulbs for giesman or ati's. I would love to run an ATI fixture or other top of the line fixture however with four kids to support I don't have that kind of income. I would like to hear from people running these fixtures, pics of your tanks if you will, and bulb combinations that you are running. If you have viable info regarding what seperates these cheap fixtures from the big boys I want to hear it as well. I combed through several pages here and didn't find what I was looking for, so help me out and post up your info or reviews!

[xmas_one]

gus6464 posted an informative post on ballasts today:

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/368241-t5-bulb-count-help/

[gulfsurfer101]

I'll check it out! Ballasts are cheap though. I'm pretty sure I can get some from work being in the I&E dept and overdrive the fixture. I ran my old 150w pendant at 250w for years with no issue. The bulbs never blew once. I'm going to read up on that link now.

[Horerczy]

The lights are decent enough but would really benefit a change of ballast. If I recall correctly the reflectors aren't individual either. Just one massive piece.

[gulfsurfer101]

I actually came across that thread earlier. Looks like a 30 dollar upgrade for a pair of programmed start ballasts. I'm sure I can find some laying around at work or put in a po and get a pair for like ten bucks. It's a shame nobody uses pc's anymore. I have a bucket full of unused ballasts that I've always wanted to do something with. Now that the ballast problem is cleared up, does anybody have any more info.

I still want pics of peoples tanks using them, how long your bulbs last, ect...

[Nanofreak79]

I almost pulled the trigger on the black t5 fixture with the little LEDs on the unit, that's on eBay, basically everywhere when you google 6 bulb t5.This system has a full one piece reflector and crap ballasts. I was going to replace the ballasts and use single reflectors as well as new ballasts, along with ATI bulbs. Even after all this it's still cheaper than buying a six bulb higher end fixture.

[Horerczy]

Another cheap upgrade. Slip some fans in there with a low voltage (~6vdc) PSU.

[gulfsurfer101]

I have a couple of those larger cpu fans on a pair of makers heatsinks I'm no longer using. I could router out a few slits along the top of the fixture housing and place those on top. That should help keep things cooled down. Should also prolong the bulb life. I think the goplus 6 bulb fixture I'll looking at had the reflector bent around each individual bulb so that's also a plus.

[gulfsurfer101]

Ok maybe I as wrong about the reflector, but however I have combed over threads on other sites where there is still a debate as to which is more beneficial with light blending. Single reflectors or individual reflectors around each bulb. Either way I've seen people succesful using both. I just miss how fast my zoas and other coral grew under t5's. Leds were great for coloring up coral but the growth to me was still kinda meh!

[joeyhatch11]

Bought this light for $115 on Ebay for my new custom 40x24x12 I built myself. Swapped out all the bulbs to ATI's and I'm loving it. I also have a 48" 4 blub unit over my 33L with ATI's running the stock ballast and growing SPS just fine. The 4 bulb unit is 4yrs old and neither have fans. I did have to replace the ballast after 2yrs but went with the stock ones again as I've never had an issue with them, there are cheap to replace and I wasnt sure on how to rewire the fixture for better ballast.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/LCD-Timer-36-234W-6x39W-Fluorescent-Actinic-T5-HO-Aquarium-Light-Fixture-Marine-/351197728613?hash=item51c5040f65:g:Lv4AAMXQyY1TRnBE

[markalot]

Ok maybe I as wrong about the reflector, but however I have combed over threads on other sites where there is still a debate as to which is more beneficial with light blending. Single reflectors or individual reflectors around each bulb. Either way I've seen people succesful using both. I just miss how fast my zoas and other coral grew under t5's. Leds were great for coloring up coral but the growth to me was still kinda meh!

 

Depends on how much par you need. My 60 inch ATI with individual reflectors and the correct cooling can put 200 PAR easily on the sandbed, under dirty glass lids, in a tank that is 32" deep. Oh, and i run the fixture 12 inches above those dirty glass lids. That's a crap ton of light. There is really no debate except by those who don't understand what the hell they are doing.

 

The ATI is worth every penny, but you can do similar by cooling the cold side of the bulbs, using individual reflectors, and upgrading the ballasts. Again, it's all a question of how much light you need and how often you want to replace the bulbs. When I was running 6 over my 40 gallon I had cheap Aquatic life 2 bulb fixtures married together to make a 6 bulb unit. Decent reflectors, no cooling, sketchy ballasts, and still too much light. I would run some of the AquaticLife bulbs just to dim it down a bit.

[gulfsurfer101]

Bought this light for $115 on Ebay for my new custom 40x24x12 I built myself. Swapped out all the bulbs to ATI's and I'm loving it. I also have a 48" 4 blub unit over my 33L with ATI's running the stock ballast and growing SPS just fine. The 4 bulb unit is 4yrs old and neither have fans. I did have to replace the ballast after 2yrs but went with the stock ones again as I've never had an issue with them, there are cheap to replace and I wasnt sure on how to rewire the fixture for better ballast.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/LCD-Timer-36-234W-6x39W-Fluorescent-Actinic-T5-HO-Aquarium-Light-Fixture-Marine-/351197728613?hash=item51c5040f65:g:Lv4AAMXQyY1TRnBE

That is the same one I'm looking at for my 75g. That is the goplus brand. I found the 48" for 130.

[gulfsurfer101]

Depends on how much par you need. My 60 inch ATI with individual reflectors and the correct cooling can put 200 PAR easily on the sandbed, under dirty glass lids, in a tank that is 32" deep. Oh, and i run the fixture 12 inches above those dirty glass lids. That's a crap ton of light. There is really no debate except by those who don't understand what the hell they are doing.

 

The ATI is worth every penny, but you can do similar by cooling the cold side of the bulbs, using individual reflectors, and upgrading the ballasts. Again, it's all a question of how much light you need and how often you want to replace the bulbs. When I was running 6 over my 40 gallon I had cheap Aquatic life 2 bulb fixtures married together to make a 6 bulb unit. Decent reflectors, no cooling, sketchy ballasts, and still too much light. I would run some of the AquaticLife bulbs just to dim it down a bit.

I'm still not all to convinced that high par has much relevance at all with coral growth. I've grown montipora frags and birdsnest in my old 150g that was 22" deep using vho's which is basically just a step above pc's with shop light fixtures. Sps like staghorn and acros grew well too just very brown. Once I switched over to mh things got really bright. I'm not worried about growth as I'm sure things will certainly not starve under this light but more or less the quality of light you get. I would imagine with the upgraded bulbs then ballasts that theywould make a decent fixture. The key is it can all be done over time and not cost a small fortune up front.

[gulfsurfer101]

My 75g is sill sitting empty in storage right now and probably won't be going up till after the new year. I just want to get everything in order. This gives me time to gut the fixture and make any changes needed. I'll be running blue luxeons on a thin heat sink as well most likely just for actinic viewing after lights go out for an hour or two in the evening.

[joeyhatch11]

These dont give the best par as I found out and was only getting 120-170 on the sand bed. But easy fix, I lowered the light 2in. With the cheap ballast your not "over driving" the bulbs so a plus is they do last longer before needing to swap out. I do mine ever 10-11 months. A friend of mine with a ATI fixture is doing ever 9.

[gulfsurfer101]

Thanks, that makes a lot of sense! The way I look at bulb replacement is swap two out every 3-4mo then you will have 100% swapped bulbs every 9mo. Hope that makes sense. This will also help keep the cost down on bilb replacement. Instead of dropping 175 for six bulbs shipped once a year it'll come out to 50 bucks or so ever three to four month's. That sounds better imo.

[outerorbiter]

I'll check it out! Ballasts are cheap though. I'm pretty sure I can get some from work being in the I&E dept and overdrive the fixture. I ran my old 150w pendant at 250w for years with no issue. The bulbs never blew once. I'm going to read up on that link now.

I see no noticeable problems with the aquaticlife fixture and do plan to swap to ati bulbs. The ballast do say warm start instead of rapid start. When the ballast dies I can always upgrade the ballast. Love to have a ati fixture but I enjoy my wife and my kids.

[Horerczy]

I'm still not all to convinced that high par has much relevance at all with coral growth.

This statement is very sensible. Too much par triggers zooxanthellae and any other symbiotic algae to enter a state of photoinhibition quickly.

 

Your choice of bulb replacement method will be solid too and provide more stable par over the year rather than sudden spikes every 6-9 months. Not particularly harmful to Coral but it should keep growth more consistent.

[gus6464]

You want a cheap but quality T5? Here are the ingredients required.

 

Reflectors

http://www.coralvue.com/super-lumen-output-t5-reflectors

 

Endcaps

Can be found all over the place and be as fancy as you want. $1 ea to $5 each.

 

Ballasts

Phillips ICN-2S39 for 24W and 39W and ICN-2S54 for 54W.

 

For the framing of the unit use the square hollow aluminum tubing from home depot and just screw the tombstones on there. Skin the frame with whatever you want and throw a couple of fans on it to cool the bulbs.

[gulfsurfer101]

At 10 bucks a reclector I'd need two 24" reflectors a bulb. That's $120. Just on reflectors alone. That's 20 dollars less than the fixture I'm looking at. If I absolutely needed individual relectors then I might consider buying them later on as my lighting demands grow but as things are now I highly doubt I'll need them. Like I said I've come across threads in the past that have actually claimed that a sinle reflector worked better than individuals by blending the light better and still directed a greater amount of light deeper in the water.

[Horerczy]

Never had florescent lamps have issues with color blending to be honest. Individual reflectors or otherwise.

 

Though what Gus meant was that for $120 for the reflectors, $12-$30 for endcaps, and, $60-$90 for ballasts you basically have an ATI sunpower. Not including the frame costs of course.

 

Honestly unless the reflectors are designed poorly the individual reflectors perform better.

 

But again:

Enough Light > Too little light > too much light

[gulfsurfer101]

When it's broken down like this I can see where your coming from! I might pursue this idea a little further.

[gus6464]

The reflectors I linked are Alanod Miro-4 95%. They are sunpower reflectors. The only T5 unit that is better is Powermodule with Alanod Miro-Silver 99%.

 

Also for a 4ft tank you don't need to run 4ft bulbs. You get enough light spray with 3ft. No one ever puts corals next to glass anyway. But doubling up wouldn't be a problem either. With a little elbow grease you can put together an ATI Sunpower at half the price.

 

Since you can order ballasts an option to decrease amount of ballasts is get an ICN-4S54-90C and a ICN-2S54-T. Run 4 bulbs off 1 ballast and 2 off another.

[gulfsurfer101]

Thanks I appreciate the info. I'll have to start putting together a shopping cart and see how much things will run me. This might be a better solution than buying a fixture only to gut it then replace all the parts over time.

[Horerczy]

Xmas_one just found powermodule sockets on the cheap.

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/368324-powermodule-sockets-cheap/#entry5207814

 

Combine that with the inexpensive reflectors and you've got most of the basics ready. Just need a good set of ballasts, wire, cheap acrylic splash shield, and some form of frame.