T5s Q&A

No problem. I think that the Blue+ and Aquablue blend will be a good look for you, if not then next time around, either add more white or more blue...

Good luck

 

Fixture

Hey Poseidon, nice set-up & thread!! If I can, where did you get the cool suspension system?

 

Many manufactors of lighting systems sell hanging systems for their lights. Sometimes you can use one for a retro/DIY build or use a similar suspension system

 

question on T5s

what is the ratio or par to wattage?
what I am trying to get my head round is simply

having 6 x 80 watt T5s and being told its great for almost anything I need to understand
is it because there are 6 tubes
is it because they are all 80 watts

would 6 x 39 watts on a smaller tank = great for anything?


Steve

 

personally thru experience and talkign to locals its the bulbs not the wattage, I have t5's and will not go to mh or anythign else, my corals are thriving right now, pretty much all softies and 1 chalice, im going to add sps once my water becomes stable, only going since late april. My sundial is awesome and love the 4 bulb 39w. More is better but you dont wont to bleach out your corals. I believe t5's are more energy effiicient than the mh but they both are great. But back to your questions it doesnt matter wattage regarding like pc, just get good bulbs.

 

It also matters on the depth of the tank. T-5's are great and can grow almost anything but if you have a tall tank then you may need metal halides if say you want to grow SPS towards the bottom of the tank. But if you keep your more light demanding corals towards the top and the less light demanding corals towards the bottom of the tank, then you should be fine with just t-5's. I have 4- 39w T-5s in my 40G breeder tank and the light is extremely bright at the top and the bottom. But when I held my hood over my 37 tall tank I could notice that the light wasnt nearly as bright towards the bottom of the tank. As far as the number of bulbs is concerned, that is more for dispertion of light. It makes the light spread to more of the tank so you don't have any dark areas. But like devlz said, its mostly about the bulbs. High end bulbs are a must.

You could always use a icecap ballast and over drive your bulbs as well. Or Tek reflectors to spread the light out more.

 

Steve I am not 100% what the ratio to PAR output to watts as, but I am sure that it is pretty close proportionately for say a 39w lamp to a 80w lamp... Keep in mind all lamps will have a different proportion so you would have to compare same lamp brands and spectrum in different sizes... Say an Giesemann Aquablue 80w to a Giesemann Aquablue 39w. I would have to ask Grim if he has tested same lamps in just different sizes.. I am sure he has and am interested myself in knowing.

I would say that with decent lamps and reflectors it isn't the wattage Steve but the number of lamps in proportion to tank size... 8x80w lamps over my 24" wide 180 would in my eyes be comparable to 6x54w lamps over a 18" wide 75.. Not not exactly but similarly.. I should've used a better example, 6 54w lamps over the 18" wide 75 to 6 39w lamps over an 18" wide 30 or 40 breeder tank... The wattage does play a role but the coverage and proportionate size has just as much in the equation.

I think if you look at it as far as watts consumed versus PAR output I think the larger lamps have a slightly better percentage, or thats what I believe Grim told me before... I know that is the case for sure with OD lamps..

Looks like I have homework Steve!!

 

I read somewhere that longer bulbs have a higher PAR output than shorter ones for some reason although I don't think it was a huge difference. I can't recall where I read that though, sorry.

The ends of the bulbs do put out less PAR than the middle. According to this article, in their test, it took about 4" on each end for the bulb to reach its' peak output, at least on the test 30" bulb. So I would imagine that 8" of sub-peak output will affect a shorter bulb more than a longer one, although that's assuming that the bulb length does not affect the "warmup" length.
Advanced Aquarist's Online Magazine - Product Review: T5 Fluorescent Lamps: UV Lighting's 'Super Actinic,' 'Actinic White,' and 'Aquasun' High Output T5 Lamps

I guess different types of bulbs could have different "warmup" lengths as well.

Hopefully that's not confusing things too much, I just assume more information is better, just be careful about the assumptions when trying to draw conclusions (if a conclusion can even be drawn!).

 

Read till my eyes hurt so posting my question ??

When do you know its time to replace the lights ??

I have the Nova Extreme Pro 6x54watt T5's ....8 months old.....how do I know when they have reached their lifspan?? this is a stock setup...4 white 2 blue ? And what would you suggest for replacements ?? Prefer a little more blue color ??

I started swimming with the info on this thread !! must get asprin!

 

Most people go on hours burnt on the lamps... You could use a LUX or Quantum meter to determine when you are starting to rapidly lose output but neither of these meters are cheap esp the Quantum!
Your "higher" end lamps typically recommend changing out the lamps at 4500 hrs on them or so, which turns out to be a little over a year if they are ran 12 hours a day. Granted you could stretch them longer but you will see a marked decrease on output, at least with most lamps. Your NEP lamps should be swapped out soon as they aren't the best of lamps to begin and will most likely start to degrade soon.

You have 4 whites and 2 blues? Weird... I sold a buddy/customer of mine, one and it was 3/3... Oh well.
If you want pretty blue heavy go with a simple 4 ATI blue+/Giesemann Actinic+ and 2 Aquablues+ by either company. That will be pretty blue heavy. A 1:1 of said lamps in my eyes is a pretty crisp white/blue... I personally think its a good starting point.
You could toss in a True actinic if you want but keep in mind that they do not put out much PAR... UVLs Super Actinic is a decent lamp if you want an actinic, or try the True actinic by either ATI or Giesemann.

What kind of corals do you have?