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T5HO Information


Weetabix7

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I am a bit surprised by the fiji purple combo with the blue+'s and special because the colors actually pop out and bring more vibrant colors than the blue+ special combo with only a slight change in PAR rating... I'm speechless :happydance: Thanks for the quick response wheetie, I'm going to order a fiji bulb friday!

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if i ever upgrade the biocube stock lighting im going T5-HO woot

 

Looks like a naked clown. Somebody was playing with the red balance :lol:

 

post-8390-1230920207_thumb.jpg

lmao

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I'm debating MH vs. T5HO as a replacement for my aging 220w PC fixture on my 75 gallon. At the moment I'm leaning toward T5HO because it's so darn much cheaper than MH; like half the cost. Less heat, probably no fans (in the open canopy on my tank anyway), wide array of bulb color, etc. all combined to lean me that way. After a lot of reading, the only thing left pulling me back toward MH is the shimmer effect. It's certainly a great look.

 

The products from HelloLights.com (including this 48" T5HO light for $125) seem to have unanimous approval here at NR and I respect that. That said, there are some other cost effective options out there including this $139 model from FishNeedIt.com. You get what you pay for and I'm guessing a significant amount of the savings is in the ballast. I can replace the bulbs, but I've (recently) learned how big an impact the ballast has on lamp output, at least in the MH world. Does the ballast impact the lumens produced by T5HO bulbs as much as it does MH bulbs? Does anyone have experience with the FishNeedIt light? Thanks.

Edited by vresor
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Looks like a naked clown. Somebody was playing with the red balance :lol:

 

post-8390-1230920207_thumb.jpg

Travis, the only thing I did was use white balance on my PNS camera. No photoshop though. The naked clown did come out bright for some reason.

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The products from HelloLights.com (including this 48" T5HO light for $125) seem to have unanimous approval here at NR and I respect that. That said, there are some other cost effective options out there including this $139 model from FishNeedIt.com. You get what you pay for and I'm guessing a significant amount of the savings is in the ballast. I can replace the bulbs, but I've (recently) learned how big an impact the ballast has on lamp output, at least in the MH world. Does the ballast impact the lumens produced by T5HO bulbs as much as it does MH bulbs? Does anyone have experience with the FishNeedIt light? Thanks.

I have a new-style 24" 4-bulb fishneedit fixture. It is nice, and does have reflectors that are similar to the hellolights model.

 

But the fishneedit fixture is actually lacking in the ballast department. They are non name-brand, chinese ballasts from what I can tell. They are also a bit on the loud side- a small hum, I would say. The ballasts used in the hellolights T5's are actually great, and used elsewhere in the hobby.

 

Price tags aside, the hellolights fixtures are actually a better buy. And they are cheaper.

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Great thread! Lots of useful info for us T5'ers. I would just like to add that I think some of the problems people have with the workhorse ballasts is they can run pretty hot in those cheap hoods. I use them to overdrive my bulbs but have them mounted remotely where they barely get warm. Under a hood that does not have active cooling the bulbs can really contribute to them possibly overheating. Active cooling is so important with regard to running fluorescent tubes. It is for this reason that I favor retro fitting T5s because some high end fixtures like the TEK unit do not properly cool the bulbs and ballasts IMO. Many of them also need splash guards because the endcaps are not water proof. I prefer to run my bulbs open for cooling and constant penetration. Splash guards degrade quickly especially on a high flow tank. I believe its easier to wipe down the bulbs once and awhile. I think that retro fitting is the best way to go with T5s because even many of the high end units have their short comings with regard to cooling.

Edited by GobyInPeace
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Good point Goby. Have you tried buying an assembled light like the Hellolights one above, then disassembling it to retro into a canopy? It doesn't seem that involved and the assembled lights cost significantly less than the retro kits. Go figure.

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Good point Goby. Have you tried buying an assembled light like the Hellolights one above, then disassembling it to retro into a canopy? It doesn't seem that involved and the assembled lights cost significantly less than the retro kits. Go figure.

 

That's exactly what I did. I stretched the hood from front to back added Icecap water proof endcaps and rewired the ballasts so they could be mounted remotely. If I want I could add individual reflectors but I am afraid I would cook some of my LPS.

 

Here are some pictures of the unit:

 

T5lights04.jpg

 

Note: camera exposure was greatly reduced to show bulb config. (from top to bottom; GE 6500K, UVL Superactinic, ATI Aquablue special, ATI Blue Plus):

 

T5lights02.jpg

 

Cold cathode moonlight:

 

T5lights01.jpg

 

do you know how long the bulbs last if you overdrive them?

 

I am getting 18 months from the GEs and 12 from everything else. The ones shown pictured are around 10 months and they still don't have any sign of darkened ends.

Edited by GobyInPeace
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awesome! i am thinking of getting the 24" 2 bulb w/ 660 icecap ballast from reefgeeks. then add 2 more bulbs later when i can afford. that should give me 40w a blub w/ that ballast

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Now I see where I got the idea one ballast could drive two bulbs. They're fluorescent bulbs, not MH bulbs. Dooh! So Ima, using an IceCap 660 to drive just those bulbs means they are overdriven, right? And is it safe to assume that using an IceCap 430 would mean they were less overdriven? I think I'm getting the hang of this.

 

Another thing is registering with me. The fixtures don't come with water tight end caps. Is it safe to assume that those end caps are required for retrofits?

Edited by vresor
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GobyInPeace, I have the HelloLights 24" 4 bulb fixture with the two workhorse ballasts. I have a little computer fan that I was planning to have blow across the ends of the T5 bulbs.

Do you think that would cool them adequately?

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GobyInPeace, I have the HelloLights 24" 4 bulb fixture with the two workhorse ballasts. I have a little computer fan that I was planning to have blow across the ends of the T5 bulbs.

Do you think that would cool them adequately?

 

I'd try to put one on each side for a push pull config. One fan might be good enough for a 24" length though.

 

 

Now I see where I got the idea one ballast could drive two bulbs. They're fluorescent bulbs, not MH bulbs. Dooh! So Ima, using an IceCap 660 to drive just those bulbs means they are overdriven, right? And is it safe to assume that using an IceCap 430 would mean they were less overdriven? I think I'm getting the hang of this.

 

Another thing is registering with me. The fixtures don't come with water tight end caps. Is it safe to assume that those end caps are required for retrofits?

 

They have to be wired correctly. Contact your Icecap rep for more info. Water proof endcaps are a real good idea if you are running them with-out a splash guard.

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Looks like a naked clown. Somebody was playing with the red balance :lol:

 

post-8390-1230920207_thumb.jpg

Actually the reds look pretty accurate. I think the solid color of the naked clown and the sketchyness of most PS ability for AWB and then trying to adjust most likely threw off the color in the goby. It doesnt look to me like anything was edited to make it look better..the WB looks on and the colors look correct

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Actually the reds look pretty accurate. I think the solid color of the naked clown and the sketchyness of most PS ability for AWB and then trying to adjust most likely threw off the color in the goby. It doesnt look to me like anything was edited to make it look better..the WB looks on and the colors look correct

 

However, the sandbed is nearly glowing with the yellow coris wrasse looking orange. I don't see how that can happen when 6 of 8 bulbs are ATI blue pluses. I have three ATI blue pluses and one UVL aquasun, and my tank is very blue.

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