how much is too much?

[ilv4xn]

how much t5 lighting is too much?
I am setting up my first tank it's 45 gal 20 inches deep. It has a short canopy that my wife won't part with so I have to go with t5. so here it is.

6-t5 at 39 watts = 5.2 wpg
4-t5 at 39 watts = 3.4 wpg

I have seen some reef of the month guys that are running t5s at like 2.5 wpg and keeping a large number of sps.

I would like to keep everything in my tank I am kinda greedy like that. I think it will be mostly lps and a few sps I would like a clam and plenty of critters.

[firebirdude]

Tagging along for the ride. Although I have been told that a set of 4 54W T5 was just barely enough to run certain SPS's. So there seems to be some confusion somewhere. Again, tagging alone with this one.

[Avi]

I can't say with precision whether the 4 t5 fixture provide sufficient light intensity for yourconfiguration, because I have t5s only on a freshwater planted tank. But, I've found from that, that the t5s aren't as effective as MHs, which I do have on my reef. I had to add an additional t5 fixture to the main one on that tank...which was said to be sufficient on its own...in order to get satisfactory plant growth. It isn't a perfect comparison, of course, but, I'd suggest that you get the 6-bulb unit so that you aren't limited as to the corals you chose. I'd say that the only thing that argues in favor of the 4-bulb unit is that your canopy would probably keep the heat generated by the bulbs so that your tank's water will rise, possibly to high temps. So unless you're venting adequately or, better yet, using a chiller, you're limited to the 4-bulb unit. Still, I'd say that you'd be able to keep a fairly wide variety of coral that aren't extremely light-demanding with the 4-bulb unit.

[saltman82]

i went with the 8x54 t5 on my 80g which is 5.4 wpg....its def. over kill on some corals. it started to kill them, my polys wouldnt open and my shrooms were all shrivled. i moved them out of the direct light and they are growing a ton now. i would go with more wpg, but place certain corals where they will get less light if needed or more if needed

hth

[secrest]

I would go with the 6 bulbs and make sure whatever fixture you get that each bulb has its own reflector. That is the key to running T5's and getting the same results as MH.

[saltman82]

which brand are you looking at? how long is your tank?

[fivesmallworlds]

Wow... am I the only real T5 advocate to post yet? anyway

Secrest hit the nail on the head, t5's need their own individual reflectors to be an effective alternative.

I have a 4 bulb T5 fixture on my 75g display right now. It's proven to be more than enough light for me. I keep mainly sps in the top 2/3's of the tank and my lps in the lower 1/3. Although I have had some great growth out of a stag that's on the bottom.

4 bulbs on a 45g would be plenty to do whatever you want, if you're at all worried about it you could run 5 bulbs too. (IC660)
Make sure to keep them cooled with a couple of fans in the canopy and you'll be fine.

[tmn_3]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13376078#post13376078 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by firebirdude
Tagging along for the ride. Although I have been told that a set of 4 54W T5 was just barely enough to run certain SPS's. So there seems to be some confusion somewhere. Again, tagging alone with this one.

I'm tagging along as well. I am looking at the same 2 lighting fixtures and its confusing because seem to really differ when it comes to these two fixtures on what is enough and not. Any info. would be great, thanks guys.

[A.VOID]

Quality T5 light and 4 bulb will be fine
Individual reflectors are the ticket.

[tmn_3]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13376291#post13376291 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fivesmallworlds
Wow... am I the only real T5 advocate to post yet? anyway

Secrest hit the nail on the head, t5's need their own individual reflectors to be an effective alternative.

I have a 4 bulb T5 fixture on my 75g display right now. It's proven to be more than enough light for me. I keep mainly sps in the top 2/3's of the tank and my lps in the lower 1/3. Although I have had some great growth out of a stag that's on the bottom.

4 bulbs on a 45g would be plenty to do whatever you want, if you're at all worried about it you could run 5 bulbs too. (IC660)
Make sure to keep them cooled with a couple of fans in the canopy and you'll be fine.
Hey fivesmallworlds, do you think that you could look at my thread and the 17th reply down and try to answer my question and any advise. Its called "3 to choose from, which lighting would you buy???"
Thanks
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1472240

[WinnipegDragon]

Yup. 4 x T5 with individual reflectors will be plenty for SPS.

Don't get hung up on watts per gallon. More watts do not mean more PAR, and PAR is what it's all about!

[crvz]

I've been running 8 T5 bulbs over my 150 gallon tank for a long time now with good success, so I'm surely an advocate. A good friend was running the 4 bulbs tek unit over a 55 and grew everything that was added to the tank. So I could see that being used with similar success over the 45. Though a 6 bulb fixture (like others have said, with individual reflectors) would probably do even better.

[cdness]

I have the 4 bulb Tek fixture on my 75 and I like it. Some may say it won't grow the higher light demanding corals but it's worth a shot.

Look into the icecap retro kits. Build it into the canopy and you have a little more flexibility. You could always add another bulb or two if you wanted at a later time if it seems to be not enough light.

[firebirdude]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13376720#post13376720 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cdness
Build it into the canopy and you have a little more flexibility. You could always add another bulb or two if you wanted at a later time if it seems to be not enough light. Could you stick mirror to the inside of the canopy and pick up a tiny extra bit of reflected, but otherwise wasted, light? Call it ghetto. But I'm a decently creative person with a college student wallet!

[ilv4xn]

I am looking at workhorse ballast's maby 3 two bulb set ups retro fit into my hood I only have 36inches of width I am thinking of mirrored metal or plexy glass

[crvz]

You mean the mirror instead of the single lamp reflectors? The mirror may help a little, but my understanding is that the SLRs capture enough light to boost output by 40% or more compared to simple mirror reflectors. It's due to the physics behind their parabolic shape. Surely the mirror would be better than nothing, but without the SLRs you won't be able to keep clams or stony corals with good success.

[firebirdude]

I was referring to covering the entire inside of the canopy with mirror. In hopes of reflecting a small amount of indirect light.

[ilv4xn]

Ok so 4 bulbs with single lamp reflectors it is. this will even save me a few bucks

[fivesmallworlds]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13376594#post13376594 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tmn_3
Hey fivesmallworlds, do you think that you could look at my thread and the 17th reply down and try to answer my question and any advise. Its called "3 to choose from, which lighting would you buy???"
Thanks
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1472240

Looks like Twisty8 (sp.?) beat me to it. I would have told you the same thing. Sorry it took so long for me to get back to you.

[Tswifty]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13376160#post13376160 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Avi
But, I've found from that, that the t5s aren't as effective as MHs, which I do have on my reef.
That's not a good means for comparison... As others have stated on the thread, there's more involved in the equation than simply T5 vs MH.

Reflectors, ballasts, and bulbs all play a HUGE role in determining how powerful any unit is.

For example my 6 x 54 watt IceCap Retrofit kit with SLR reflectors will smoke any 150w, 175w, and most 250w MH combinations. It's not an opinion... I tested the PAR readings.

T5's are plenty "effective" for growing just about anything you could ever want, and also allow you better control over the "color" cast in your tank because you can tweak individual bulbs to your liking. (I think this gives them the edge over MH's). However, MH's... you get the shimmer effect. It all comes down to preference though.

Just don't for a second believe that MH's are more "powerful" than T5's. It's not that cut and dry. ;)

Oh yeah... as stated above... don't get caught up in a watts per gallon number. It's not a good measure.

[Tswifty]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13376044#post13376044 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ilv4xn
how much t5 lighting is too much?
I am setting up my first tank it's 45 gal 20 inches deep. It has a short canopy that my wife won't part with so I have to go with t5. so here it is.
If you have a low profile canopy, a T5 retrofit kit may be your best option.

IceCap T5 Retrofit Kits from ReefGeek (http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5_Fluorescent/IceCap/SLR_Retrofit_Kits/)

UV lighting bulbs for the growth bulbs... ATI for the color is what seems to be most often recommended.

A GREAT place to ask your questions is on Grim's T5 Thread:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1460865&perpage=25&pagenumber=13

Good luck.

[ivgonmad]

Watts per Gallon is not a good way of measuring light output/intensity

Many things need to be considered when planning and choosing the right lighting. T5 might be ok for the shallower tanks, but when you have deeper tanks like 24"+, T5 might not be able to do as good of a job as MH.

I had a problem growing high light stuff near my sand in a 24" deep tank with 4x T5HO, 6 months later I added a 250w MH to the setup and I never turned back to T5, I use VHO or PC for actinics because the colors pop more than any T5HO I have seen (I've seen a lot...)

[apdonato95]

Using 4 80w t5 ho ( 2 sun and 2 ATI blue plus) and my soft corals are doing great and gives a nice tank color.

[ilv4xn]

I understand that watts per gallon is a poor compairason for mh vs t5. but t5 over a 100 gal tank vs t5 over my 46 gal tank is what I was looking at