T5 lights fact or fiction?

[pvillalba]

i know that all you are talking about watts vs lummens, intensity and par of t5`s vs mh , but check this out.

sorry i can upload the file from my comp.

 

[pvillalba]

i know that all you are talking about watts vs lummens, intensity and par of t5`s vs mh , but check this out.
this is a spanish forum , to access to the file click on the adobe logo


http://www.todomarino.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=17780

 

[Scooterman]

Bet if the put a 250w 10k xm MH to compare the three with you would see even more growth, plus the lamps last longer.

 

[prow]

intersting thread pvillalba.

i might have got more growth with MH who knows. i think if i had kept the Ca reator on i would have alot more growth too. to many factors more important than light. flow for ex., only IMO though. i could alway increase the light to all 6 bulbs more. if i ran them a extra our or two i think i would get more too. was not really going for growth here. if so i could run some 6500k and 10k bulbs for more growth. but i like the 12k with a 3000k and a couple blues. i am using. this is one of those frags in the last month after the reactor was back on. this is about 5-6weeks of growth.

 

[prow]

for color this is a acro i got that was under 14k MH. one month after i got it, puff it has color. did not expect it but i like it. so if its a question weather softies, lps, sps, clams whatever, T5's can do the job. when i started this tank most all said no way with sps or clams. but hey it keeps them happy all the way down. at least in my tank. one plus is because there are many bulb mixes you can get whatever look by playing with the confiq. there are so many combs of spectrums you can run togather. for growth you could go with all 10k or 6500k ect... for a variety of colors you can mix up the bulbs so all colors pop. its a alternative to MH for whatever coral.

 

[Scooterman]

Well yea you have a mixed reef even with placement options are limited, so some corals will grow great or show better improvements, nutrient free tank may help some coral but not others, so yea lots of factors. I like the idea of less heat for one, that is a big plus.

 

[prow]

alot less heat thats for sure. though i like MH too. i am getting ready to upgrade to a 300gal and use both MH and T5. T5 not just for actinic. i like how the 3000k brings out the reds. have not tried the 3500k yet or a few others but i will. thats not for about 6 months. well maybe less, sence i will be moving in a couple months. also on this tank the bulbs are 5' and my tank is 6' so its not fully covered end to end with light.

 

[Scooterman]

I'm sure I'll have some H.O. T5's around my MH & probably QT also, It is too flexable not to have, use pre & post daylight, I don't think you need lots of hours with a MH so the T5 would be the work horse before mid day & after & from there blue LED's on a moon timer & White LEDS for pre-dawn, all controlled on my PLC. So you can see, control & provide a good source of lighting & as efficient as possible, this may take a while but I'll get there LOL!

 

[DonW]

There are many folks with huge systems that run nothing but t5's. There are many that have masted the right bulb combonation for great growth and color. Go to the zeovit forum and search, I think youll be happy with what you find. I dont think the bulbs and fixtures will save you anything but the heat may be worth it.

Don

 

[prow]

i am running all T5's and like the results. i do still use chiller though. only about 2-3 weeks out of the year. thats not because of lights, no light i would still need the chiller for those 2-3 weeks. with MH i would need that chiller hooked up all year.

o man LED now thats going produce some killer lighting as soon as it gets a little more refined. limitless it seems on paper.

 

[mcvicker]

It looks like you are using the giesmann bulbs. Is that true? Is this one of the sunlight supply tek fixtures? Thanks for all the information, plus the pictures. There is a fish store up here that uses a lot of T5s and I love the look, but do like the shimmer of MH.
-chris

 

[prow]

just the 3000k is GE, then 2x 12k ATI aquablue specials and 3x ATI blue +. the ATI produce a lot more par than the GE's. i always wanted to try the UV super actinic but they dont come in 80w. i do like the ones i seen in the 54watters. no not a tek system. this a retrofit icecap set up with slr reflectors. i did have tek reflectors at first but switched them out with slr after i killer a couple of them. always been running on icecap 660 ballasts. i do know sunlights tek reflectors are a thing of the past, they now have tek 2 reflectors. they are supposed to be even better than the slr's.

 

[Scooterman]

LED'S makes great pre & post dawn lighting, just for visual effects & to let the fish know it is time to go to bed. I wouldn't use them as any type of required lighting, not at this point.