Whitten Posted June 25, 2004 Share Posted June 25, 2004 I was just in my LFS today and was told that T-5's will blow away any VHO or PC light. The guy told me that the intensity of the light is so great that it is is making it ever more possible to keep hard corals under something other than halides. Further more he told me that they will have all kinds of size that will be available for retrofit, including some to fit my nano cube. So ask you, do you feel as though this latest little lighting wonder will be better than PC's? Should I drop my plan of retro fitting a 32 watt CSL into my hood in hopes of stuffing it with t-5s'? I was very intrigued by this idea, but am honestly a bit skeptical. Link to comment
Rikko Posted June 25, 2004 Share Posted June 25, 2004 Best sig pic ever. So far I love T5. I fully expect they will carve out a strong part of the lighting market but as yet they are only a dominant force in Europe (NA is always slow to embrace things that make sense). They most certainly aren't a replacement for halides, as the light intensity can't be achieved with T5, but they are a great lighting source. Comparable to PC, but not vastly superior in light output from what I've seen. I'd say they have a definite edge over VHO. Link to comment
Whitten Posted June 25, 2004 Author Share Posted June 25, 2004 From what I hear they are the end all be all to any flouresecent lighting. So far the sound like a great thing, but I just hope that they get over here soon, so that we can get more varing types to play with. I hate that American is so slow in recieving these types of things, as you would think it would be just the opposite. I just hope that there are small enough lights that perform as good or better than PC's so that the Nano reefers have another option for compact lighing. Link to comment
ifynanceu Posted June 30, 2004 Share Posted June 30, 2004 i use 2 11" t-5's plus 3 pcs on my nano and it BANGS!!!! i have acro thriving and many other stonies crankin'...you can definately do stonies without halides Link to comment
matt the fiddler Posted June 30, 2004 Share Posted June 30, 2004 t5s can do sps- here is good reasons for them no heat small- crammable more lumens than VHOs not quite halide.. but getting close, definatly cooler.. if i lived with out central air, didn't want to buy a chiller, and wanted SPS i would be getting them.. plus some VHO ballasts can drive them- nto 100% at the same life and spectrum- but they can drive them Link to comment
petes Posted June 30, 2004 Share Posted June 30, 2004 ifynanceu are those just regular t5s? I never seen T5HO bulbs that size Link to comment
Whitten Posted June 30, 2004 Author Share Posted June 30, 2004 Originally posted by ifynanceu i use 2 11" t-5's plus 3 pcs on my nano and it BANGS!!!! i have acro thriving and many other stonies crankin'...you can definately do stonies without halides You said two 11" T-5's? Where did you get them from, I am desperately looking for some to retofit my Nano Cube hood with. I think it would be so much cooler in the tank, and in my room if I used them. I really want to be able to have sps, and stuff like RBTA, but the light needs, coupled with the heat by products will make my tank a fire hazard. If you guys wouldn't mind telling me where to look and read up on these little babies I would be most appreciative. Link to comment
ifynanceu Posted July 1, 2004 Share Posted July 1, 2004 the place i bought them from is in huntington beach california and is the only place i have found the 11" ones...i can't even get info for them online naywhere which is weird, but i can give you their number or pick them up for you and ship if you want to pay...they are $19.48 after local tax each and shipping is near nothing...you can get 5500k white, 10000k white, pink, and 03 actinic...let me know, i will be going there this weeekend and can help you if you want. Link to comment
ifynanceu Posted July 1, 2004 Share Posted July 1, 2004 hey petes....i am not sure, i threw out the packaging so i really am not positive, but i know they throw off a crap load of light...the actinic is very intense as opposed to the 28w pc actinic i have also...i would think they are high output, but could not promise...i am thinking of putting 10 in a nano to see what happens!!!! Link to comment
shinken Posted July 1, 2004 Share Posted July 1, 2004 This is an english website but hey! i use T5's and yep they are great, hope they get more popular in the states soon. they are the daddy of florecence http://www.aquatics-online.co.uk/listsecti...retp=42&rets=80 Link to comment
Whitten Posted July 1, 2004 Author Share Posted July 1, 2004 Ifynanceu, 19.48!!!! That is it? wow does that include the ballast and everything, or is it just the bulb. If so that is a really great deal, and let me get some money together, and I might just have to do that with you. If you don't mind maybe next week or the week after we could get a little something together and get me some bright light for my cube. Thanks so much for the help, I really appreciate the generous offer, and like I said I will let you know sometime in the comming week how many and what kind. Thanks again. Link to comment
ifynanceu Posted July 1, 2004 Share Posted July 1, 2004 yeah, that's it...that is ballasts and all (they are internal ballasts) and the cool part is....you can chain several of them together (like christmas lights) with these little pigtail cables...they have ports on both ends that allow for connectability (i think i paid $3 for the interlink connector)... look at mine in the picture and you will see them connected with the jumper on the front side..i have a paypal account setup if you want to go that route... Link to comment
ifynanceu Posted July 6, 2004 Share Posted July 6, 2004 Hey all out there interested in the 11" t-5's...I just left my not so local lfs :) and worked out a deal to buy an entire case of the t-5's as shown in my hood...I can get them in the 10k white, 6500k white, 03 actinic, and the pink...they retail at $20 each there, and he will sell me the whole case of 24 at $16 per unit and this cord and all (i can mix and match)...so if anyone is wanting to try them out, let me know and we can put together a bulk buy and spread the lights to all fellow nano'ers who are interested... Link to comment
kappa Posted July 6, 2004 Share Posted July 6, 2004 I wished I did the t-5 mod instead of 32w csl type mod to my nano cube. sigh...... I envy you ifynanceu. Link to comment
onthefly Posted July 7, 2004 Share Posted July 7, 2004 I've seen these T5's and they're a nice little DYI retro. I don't think they're the same T5's that everyone is all a buzz over. T5 refers to the bulb diameter......the T5HO's are over driven with hopped up ballasts, and the reflector is EVERYTHING when using T5's. Sweet deal though! Link to comment
Von digity Posted July 7, 2004 Share Posted July 7, 2004 It seems like if you get two t5s the same length as a single PC bulb, they'll put out a similar wattage of light. So, it's kinda like a "PC without the curve," which is what I think speakeraddict was saying in another thread. 2 11" t5NOs are 10 watts each, total 20 watts vs a 28 watt pc = 12" t5=1" shorter and 8 watts weaker I think the heat output is much less with t5s though. So, hypothetically (if I'm right about this) if you jam pack a hood with t5s, it would be cooler than a hood full of PCs running the same amount of watts. This could be very useful, especially in areas of the country were hot summers suck and especially for those without ac. But I really have no idea how much cooler t5s run compared to PCs, all I know is that PCs are hot hot hot. Link to comment
KrackerG Posted July 7, 2004 Share Posted July 7, 2004 get the whole case...I'll take whatever you dont sell! but go ahead and put me down for 2: a 10KK and a 03 Act do you accept paypal...ready to pay! and any help you can provide me to install these in a nanocube:) Link to comment
onthefly Posted July 8, 2004 Share Posted July 8, 2004 That is a interesting point Von. I saw Speaker's post in that other thread too. T5's have a slightly bigger diameter than PC's so I don't think they are the same. Even though they're the same wattage (or close), when you put the "special" reflectors on the T5HO's they put out more PAR than VHO.....so they're clearly not the same as PC. I'm sure you've seen the debates about T5HO being compared to MH over at RC. Now these home depot jobbies are not pushed with Icecap ballasts....so in this case, I agree that the output is more or less the same as PC. Link to comment
Von digity Posted July 8, 2004 Share Posted July 8, 2004 I wish they made little t5ho bulbs, like in the 12 inch range. That would be pretty dope. But take a 5.5 for example. For a some-what ideal soft coral set up, you can fit 2x36 watt pc's on there (with a little overhang.) Thats 72 watts. Now take those 11" 10 watt t5NOs. You can fit at least 7 over it (each bulb is a tad over 1/2" wide). Thats 70 watts, and less heat. Of course, this is without those fancy reflectors. Price wise, the cheapest 2x36 watt pc retro is going to run like 50-60 bucks. A single 10 watt t5 is like 20, or cheaper if you go through ifynanceu. So, it's like $140. But, t5's last 2 years and PC's should be swapped every 6 months. So in two years, the cost of the replacement PC bulbs should make the cost of PCs more than t5NOs. I dunno, just food for thought. Maybe I should swap the PC lighting on my 5.5 soft coral tank for 7 t5NOs and see how it works (price wise, coral health, etc). Link to comment
ODOG Posted July 8, 2004 Share Posted July 8, 2004 Hmmm....I run the 2x36 watt pc config over my 5.5, the bulbs themselves really don't hangover. I'm in the process of setting up a 2.5 gallon and was going to use 2x20watt 50/50 screw in self ballasted bulbs. Might the T-5's be better? IFYNCEU, what else do i need to run these bulbs? or are they plug and play? Link to comment
ifynanceu Posted July 10, 2004 Share Posted July 10, 2004 actually fly. the t-5's are not the same diameter as a pc. i have mine side by side and the t-5 appears to be about 1/16th to 1/8th of an inch smaller in diameter than my coralife 28w pcs...it is almost the same diameter as the 24w jbj standard bulb though...but hese are not ho t-5's, just standard... Link to comment
bowfront26 Posted July 10, 2004 Share Posted July 10, 2004 The helios bulbs are great. I just finished my DIY with a 23" 24W T-5. Really brought some nice actinic light. I may add another, but a 10,000k. Very cheap and easy but I haven't seen them on the internet. Get mine from LFS for $35.00 (23" 24W) Link to comment
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