how much T5 on 29 gallons

[sandyc]

Hi everyone
I have a 29 gallon reef that has been up and running for about 3 years. I currently have PC lighting and keep only soft coral. I would like to upgrade to T5 but I am a bit confused as far as how much "light" to buy. Hope you guys can help. My tank is 30x12x18. I would like to be able to keep a sps and clam. The lights I have been looking at have either 4x24 or 8x 24 bulbs. Any recomendations as to what I need to keep sps and a clam? Is 4x24 enough? Is 8x24 to much? Also, how many of which bulbs? Please help.

[sandyc]

bump

[seagirl]

i think 4 t5's would be plenty. i only use 2 on my 29, but i keep only softies and a 'nem. I think 8 would be a little much. post in the t5 thread for a good bulb combo and they should be able to help.

[nativecracker32]

4 24 with a ice cap vho would keep sps alive. as for claims idk? never keep one. the color will depend on the sps you keep. some you'll need more blue, others red. but i think blue+, pro color, aqua sun, blue + wolud give you good color for the most part and good growth. you might get away with 3 blue's because your tank is shallow. that will depend on how you mount them.

[JCTewks]

the 8 bulb fixture would DEFINITELY grow corals (if not cook them), but you're not going to get that over a 12" wide tank :D

[alextheromanian]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12915670#post12915670 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sandyc
Hi everyone
I have a 29 gallon reef that has been up and running for about 3 years. I currently have PC lighting and keep only soft coral. I would like to upgrade to T5 but I am a bit confused as far as how much "light" to buy. Hope you guys can help. My tank is 30x12x18. I would like to be able to keep a sps and clam. The lights I have been looking at have either 4x24 or 8x 24 bulbs. Any recomendations as to what I need to keep sps and a clam? Is 4x24 enough? Is 8x24 to much? Also, how many of which bulbs? Please help.



i have the same tank and im just setting mine up please let me know what light you ended up going with...i have a very hard time deciding what to look at as im new to the hobby and i seem to shoot for the same as you do with this tank

[Mark426]

I have a Finnex 30G with a Aquactinics TX5. After months of research and feedback from this and a other forums, I settled on the TX5. So far its the perfect light for my tank. One major plus is the 5 lamps. With 5 lamps you can get some great color combos. Many people have been frustrated with the color combos using a 4 lamp setup...this solves that problem.

[sandyc]

Thanks for all of the imput! I ended up ordering an 8 bulb hood which measures 30" x 8¼" x 2 5/8" . The website it can be found at www.petmeister.com. It is the Solar T-5 Aquarium Hood 30" 8x24 Watts.

It does have individual reflectors but from what I have been told they are not the same quality as found in a Tek fxture. The problem for me with the Tek fixture is size, it just wont fix on my tank. I did not find anything other that what I ordered that will fit a 30x12 tank without doing a retro fit. Since I don't have a canopy and do not have any cabinet making skills I opted for the above fixture. As with everything, it is a compromise between the best and what will work in my situation.

I plan on using several layers of window screning and removing one layer per week for aclimation as my tank is used to PC lighting.

[sandyc]

I meant to say that my tank is used to PC and will be aclimated to T5.

[JCTewks]

not to burst your bubble...but there is NO WAY that a 7 1/4" wide 8 bubkb fixture will have GOOD individual reflectors!!! I'm not saying it won't work for your tank...i mean, it's 8 bulbs over a 29g tank :D But, my guess is theat the "reflector" is just a single pieceof mirro aluminum that is bent lightly at each bulb! The physics behind HOW light is reflected demands that a parabolic reflector be considerably larger than the light source for 100% reflection...that's why the SLR and TEK reflectors are 2"+ wide.

Let us know what you think when it gets to you...take some pics :D

[Reefer07]

Hey sandy I am in the same predicament as you right now.
I have a 29 gallon and I really want a 30" light that fits nicely.
Right now I run a 24" 130 watt PC but within the next 2 months I will be buying T-5's.
What I am aiming for right now is this 4x24 watt which many people have told me will be sufficient.
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~SearchStr~sundial~action~view~idProduct~CU01151~idCategory~FILTFIT53U~category~30_inch_C urrent_USA_SunDial_T5_HO_4x24W_w__Timers___LED_30in_Units~vendor~.html

I haven't really found many other 30" light setups other than the one now that you posted. I am curious though as to how this brand is because the 6x24 watt is pretty appealing to me.
If anyone has any experience with them please let me know. I see JCtewks point and it makes sense about the reflectors so I would be really curious. Another thing that I couldn't find when reading about this particular light is if it has fans built in which it doesn't seem like it does......I think fans are pretty important so I might also consider that.

If you want to keep SPS and clams at $300 for 8x24 T-5 setup you may want to consider spending another $100-$200 on an HQI unit or maybe a straight up halide setup......

[LJA]

I have a 29G tank, and was going through the same struggle to find a god lighting fixture a few months ago. Well, I ended up going with a SunDial 4x24 T5 fixture and it's great... but if I could do it over again I would defiantly go with a retro kit.

At the time I thought I had done enough research and knew what my options were, and a good deal happened to come up in the selling forum so I jumped on it.

I mean 4x24 T5 on my 29G is quite fine for keeping almost anything except maybe the highest light SPS, but I wish I would have done a retro so that I'm not confined down the road.

I would highly recommend looking at www.hellolights.com for their Metal Halide and T5 Retro kits. They can be mounted in a canopy that will match your stand for very cheap. If your not handy and don't want to make your own hood, you could find one for under $50 and fix it up by restraining it or painting.

I will defiantly be doing a retro kit for my next tank.

my $0.02

[Reefer07]

What would be the advantage of a retro-kit though. I am not exactly familiar with even how they work.....
Are they the kits that take the VHO bulbs? I think 30" 75 watt?

[blueblue48]

Hate to follow the trend, but sadly im doing this EXACT thing right now. all i want to keep is softies and maybe a monti-cap so i was going with the 6X24 watts, thanks alot for the link!! without that link i was going to pay 320 bucks but on that site the had it for 240!

[Mark426]

I am in favor of saving money anytime I can. BUT...T-5's without real individual reflectors are no better (maybe worse) than PC's. Please do yourself a favor and get a quality AQUARIUM fixture. I would return that light to petmeister ASAP. It is almost a waste of money.

Get something like a Current-USA fixture at least. A good 4 lamp fixture is MORE than enough to keep any corals in a 29.

[sprinj76]

I have the 6x24W Solar T5 fixture and love it!

I had a 130W PC fixture before and it didn't put out nearly as much light. I have had great growth with my SPS and glad I bought the fixture.

Comments like the one above are solely opinion based. They do have individual refelctors but they are U shaped and not parabolic.

[Reefbuoy]

Question:

Which would put out more light?
1) Thee 6 bulb Catalina fixture with the U shaped reflectors
2) A Current-USA 4 bulb fixture with individual reflectors.

[sprinj76]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12944472#post12944472 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Reefbuoy
Question:

Which would put out more light?
1) Thee 6 bulb Catalina fixture with the U shaped reflectors
2) A Current-USA 4 bulb fixture with individual reflectors.

I don't know of a Current USA 4 bulb fixture with individual reflectors. If you are referring to the Nova extreme T5 fixture then it does not have individual reflectors.

I would rate light out-put as followed:
1. ATI or Tek fixture 4x24W with individual reflectors
2. Solar T5 6x24W fixture
3. Current USA Nova Extreme 4x24W with one large parabolic reflector.

I left a lot of other fixtures out, but you get the general idea.

[Reefer07]

Does the solar fixture have fans?
And when you are referring to the current USA nova did you mean the sundial?
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~SearchStr~sundial~action~view~idProduct~CU01151~idCategory~FILTFIT53U~category~30_inch_C urrent_USA_SunDial_T5_HO_4x24W_w__Timers___LED_30in_Units~vendor~.html
This one has individual reflectors.
Also, the solar one claims it has individual reflectors around each bulb as someone said.

[corbett_n]

I have a 29g that is 30" also. I ended up with a 4 X 24" tek retro fit T5 unit. I love it, it uses almost no electricity and puts out more than enough light. I have everything from mushrooms to montipora to Bubblet-tip Anemone. everything is growing really fast and looks great.

My bulbs:
Blue +
Aqaublue
Aquasun (don't like the pink color)
Blue +

I definitely think the retro kit is better because you can stagger the bulbs to cover more area. They probably put out as much light as a 6 or maybe even some 8 bubl units because of the individual reflectors. I wouldn't trade them for anything.

[corbett_n]

here are some pics of my 4 bulb retrofit
blue+
Aquablue
Aquasun
Blue+

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t219/corbett_n/DSCF0201.jpg
http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t219/corbett_n/IMG_1802.jpg
http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t219/corbett_n/DSCF0201.jpg
http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t219/corbett_n/IMG_1842.jpg

[Reefer07]

I will ask again. What exactly does retro-fit mean and what wattage are the bulbs you have in yours?

[corbett_n]

retro fit means it just comes with the end caps and the reflector and the ballast. You have to wire it together and attach it to a canopy. I built a canopy for my 30g in under an hour. There just isn't a fixture holding everything together. My bulbs are 24w, they are High output so maybe they are drawing more than 24w, not sure about that though.

[sprinj76]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12946128#post12946128 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Reefer07
Does the solar fixture have fans?
And when you are referring to the current USA nova did you mean the sundial?
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~SearchStr~sundial~action~view~idProduct~CU01151~idCategory~FILTFIT53U~category~30_inch_C urrent_USA_SunDial_T5_HO_4x24W_w__Timers___LED_30in_Units~vendor~.html
This one has individual reflectors.
Also, the solar one claims it has individual reflectors around each bulb as someone said.

No fans in the solar fixture.

I didn't mean the sundial, but I checked out that fixture and it has individual reflectors almost the same as the Solar unit . . . they are not the really nice parabolic reflectors.

[sprinj76]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12946185#post12946185 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by corbett_n
I have a 29g that is 30" also. I ended up with a 4 X 24" tek retro fit T5 unit. I love it, it uses almost no electricity and puts out more than enough light. I have everything from mushrooms to montipora to Bubblet-tip Anemone. everything is growing really fast and looks great.

My bulbs:
Blue +
Aqaublue
Aquasun (don't like the pink color)
Blue +

I definitely think the retro kit is better because you can stagger the bulbs to cover more area. They probably put out as much light as a 6 or maybe even some 8 bubl units because of the individual reflectors. I wouldn't trade them for anything.

I agree with you Corbett_n retros would be a better choice than the solar if you have the cash and ability to mount the retro kit into something.

Tank looks great btw.

[corbett_n]

I do not need a fan with my retrofit 4X24w T5

[Reefer07]

I understand now....thanks for the help guys.
So now, what is the big hype about the parabolic reflectors? What exactly is so unique about them?

[JCTewks]

Individual parabolic reflectors are the ONLY thing that keeps/makes T5's a viable option for our needs. An individual T5 without a reflector only directs about 30-35% of it's light into the aquarium water...most of the light is lost to being directed up from the bulb, while some of the light that is downpointing has an incidental light angle that is too high to pnetrate the water (it is merely reflected off of the surface. If the same bulb is used with a flat sheet style reflector, most of the uppointing light is reflected back into the bulb and lost. THe individual parabolic reflector (IPR) directs all (well, most) of the light that would normally not penetrate the water down toward the tank. You have to understand the Parabola first. a parabola is the same shape used in reflective telescopes (think Hubbel)...only in a telescope it is used in the inverse of our application, it takes light coming into it and focuses it into a single point. In our application, it takes light from a single point and directs it all in one direction.

T5's IPR's allow for 300% increase in usable light to the tank vs a bulb with no reflector.

[corbett_n]

yeah what he said