Lighting Questions

[JWallace]

I just got back from the store and picked up some T5 lights. The guy at the store did not sound very knowledgeable so I wanted to double check what he said. The lights that I got say that they are Daylight, is this the same as 10K? My other question is he sold me Blue instead of Actinic bulbs. He said that they are better for coral, is this true?

Any feedback would be great!!!!

 

[Scooterman]

Normally the Daylight bulbs are somewhere around the 10k range, depends on the manufacturer of the bulb. Blue isn't the same, I don't believe what he said on that part is correct but without farther bulb information & information from the manufacturer it would be difficult to determine what he was relating to, In most cases the blue bulbs are cheaper & offer nothing more than a bluish color. I do like T5 lights from what I've read up on them, so any more information you can post would be great, Including your set-up and maybe picks of them. Maybe we can get a few others to chime in with more info.

 

[JWallace]

Thanks Scooterman,
They are "Helios T5 high performance fluorescent light fixture and bulb"
The Daylights are Model: T5 48D Item# 13252
The Blues are Model: T5-48W (BLUE)
I am using them in a 100 gal tank. I purchased 3 daylights and 2 blues 59" long. I ordered 120 lbs of rock, and plan to have soft corals. Let me know what other information will help out.

Thanks!!!!

 

[mojoreef]

the blue and the violet are pretty close for bulbs, you ight get a bit better color with the blue. if you go to my photo gallery I have the wave length plots thier to look at for the t-5s

Mike

 

[JWallace]

Cool, thanks for the info Mojoreef.

 

[Scooterman]

That should be sweet, The said performance of the T5 is un-comparable to the other fluorescents, 5 bulbs at 48w each is 240 total, you still may need more power but I guess it will depend on how much is reflected directly into the tank. I use three VHO tubes @ 140w each, they are URI & have the built in reflectors, I also have a reflector underneath the entire canopy to aid in more reflection, I have to admit even so I feel that I'm loosing lots of valuable light off the sides, I think a more directional reflector like the curved spider reflectors would be a huge performance boost. I say the lessons we learn, when I do a new tank setup, a series of T5's will probably be my first choice, I was talking to Andy with IceCap, they are doing some neat things with the T5's. I've seen a few set-ups & just from observations they look to perform better than what I have but without proper testing equipment, observation is just that & nothing more.

 

[RGibson]

Mike how long do thay make the T5s like for a six long tank. RGibson

 

[Scooterman]

Until JWallace, posted 59", I couldn't find any HO T5's longer than 48" anywhere, I guess they are coming around at slower pace than other lighting that is avaliable.