Best Source For T5 Lighting

reefjunkie30241 · 02-18-2007, 10:07 PM

What would be the best source for T-5 retrofit lighting???? And what combination would I need for a 6 ft 125, I was thinking 2 4bulb 4 ft units. Maybe someone could elaborate on this a little more for me?

Weatherman · 02-19-2007, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reefjunkie30241

What would be the best source for T-5 retrofit lighting????

reefgeek

Quote:

Originally Posted by reefjunkie30241

And what combination would I need for a 6 ft 125, I was thinking 2 4bulb 4 ft units. Maybe someone could elaborate on this a little more for me?

6' tanks are real tough to light well with T5s. However four to six, 60" 80-watt bulbs should work if you stagger them a bit. You should use an IceCap 430 ballast for each set of two bulbs.

Wiskey · 02-19-2007, 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Weatherman

reefgeek

6' tanks are real tough to light well with T5s. However four to six, 60" 80-watt bulbs should work if you stagger them a bit. You should use an IceCap 430 ballast for each set of two bulbs.

This is the direction I would go as well,... the 6 bulb 5' Tek retro with the bulbs staggered should put you in a good place.

What kind of coral do you plan to keep?

Whiskey

reefjunkie30241 · 02-19-2007, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wiskey

This is the direction I would go as well,... the 6 bulb 5' Tek retro with the bulbs staggered should put you in a good place.

What kind of coral do you plan to keep?

Whiskey

I have a mixed reef right now with some LPS, couple Clams, and some softies in the shade, I have a few SPS on the very top of the tank and would possibly want to add some more in the future as well as some more clams. I have a 3 foot fixture now with 2 250 halides and 2 96 watt VHO in it. So the ends of the tank are a bit shaded. I was wanting to switch to T5 someday and light the whole tank well. My delima right now is that
I could just add one more halide, disect the fixture I have now and buy some new reflectors and call it done or just change to T5 all together. I hate these kind of decisions!!!!

Wiskey · 02-19-2007, 11:43 AM

I would (and did over my 125 SPS) go with 3*250W Halides. I don't personally use any atinics, but you can add them if you want.

Whiskey

reefjunkie30241 · 02-19-2007, 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wiskey

I would (and did over my 125 SPS) go with 3*250W Halides. I don't personally use any atinics, but you can add them if you want.

Whiskey

The only reason I dont know for sure weather to do this is heat issues. My tank already soars to around 82 during a nice warm day and I didnt know if adding one more would put me over the edge on heat issues.

Wiskey · 02-19-2007, 11:59 AM

Well I guess that depends on how you have your system setup. I have 2 fans on a temp controler, the fans run about half the day to maintain the tank between 79 and 80. My bulbs are about 6" off the water.

When 120+ Deg temps hit, I may need to add another fan, but for now (house maintained at 80 Deg) the 2 are doing a great job,.. and just the one would probably cut it.

Whiskey

reefjunkie30241 · 02-19-2007, 12:09 PM

Wiskey what kind of temp controller do you use????

Nyles · 02-19-2007, 12:10 PM

reefgeek over my sps tank 8-60" 80 watt bulbs.

Wiskey · 02-19-2007, 12:13 PM

I use a Rancho Dual stage Temp controller from Granger. I wired it myself, rather than spending the extra for a pre-wired model. Right now I don't use the second stage because I don't need a heater due to my pumps, but I plan to set it like this.

79 fans kick off.
80 Primary fans kick on. 1 deg differental
81 secondary bank of fans kick on. 2 deg differental

I think I can do that,.. but I need to program it.

The reason for this is because I have killed fans before due to salt creep,.. this will ensure that if a fan is damaged I still have a backup cooling system.

Whiskey

reefjunkie30241 · 02-19-2007, 12:15 PM

Man I cant believe you spelled Grainger Wrong....LOL

Sounds like a good plan.

Wiskey · 02-19-2007, 12:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reefjunkie30241

Man I cant believe you spelled Grainger Wrong....LOL

Read the first line of my sig

Whiskey

hng · 02-19-2007, 04:43 PM

I really like T5s, but I have to say, in your situation, it sounds like buying one more halide makes more sense. In general, I think that T5s are better than halides as long as the tank is 4 ft long or shorter and less than 24 inches deep. Beyond that, I think halides make more sense in terms of cost and simplicity.

Wiskey · 02-19-2007, 05:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hng

I really like T5s, but I have to say, in your situation, it sounds like buying one more halide makes more sense. In general, I think that T5s are better than halides as long as the tank is 4 ft long or shorter and less than 24 inches deep. Beyond that, I think halides make more sense in terms of cost and simplicity.

This is my thinking too,...

Whiskey