going from CFL to t5 HO's?

[raggie]

i had a hood custom made to hold 8 CFL bulbs but recently my friend blessed my tank with one Nova Extreme T5 it houses 2 Square pin 36inch CF's one is a 10000k Daylight at 95w and the other is a dual Actinc 95w (the lights were made for a 40gallon) i have a 30 so it over hangs about 4 inchs on both sides right now lol now how are my corals gona look? i believe that i still wont be able to keep my Stoney or maybe a few? a clam high up? and if its really better then the CFL's i was using

Any Input is greatly Appropriated thanks

[Mr James]

i had a hood custom made to hold 8 CFL bulbs but recently my friend blessed my tank with one Nova Extreme T5

That part I understand.

it houses 2 Square pin 36inch CF's one is a 10000k Daylight at 95w and the other is a dual Actinc 95w (the lights were made for a 40gallon)

But this one I don't understand. t5's are nopt square pin. They are dual pin on the end, much like t12 VHO's, but smaller diamater. Is that what you meant?

i have a 30 so it over hangs about 4 inchs on both sides right now lol now how are my corals gona look? i believe that i still wont be able to keep my Stoney or maybe a few? a clam high up? and if its really better then the CFL's i was using

Any Input is greatly Appropriated thanks

t5's are better than CFL for corals, but fish don't care. You'll be able to keep SPS IME, but not the crazy colorful ones. No on the clams, they require metal halide IME!! You light overhanging won't do anything but light the outside of your tank, possibly affecting the looks of the tank. Time to get a bigger tank eh?

[Chiefsurfer]

If they are t5, as mr james is saying, they are not square-pin, nor are they that many watts, I think they are more Compact Flourescents. Are they like 2 long thin tubes right next to eachother, and about 7/8 of the way up theres a little piece of glass connecting them? Sounds you went from compact flourescents(U-shaped bulbs) to Power Compacts. The difference in light is not much at all.

As to the corals, even if it is a t5, with 1 or 2 bulbs, I doubt SPS will work out. If you want SPS, you have to go with a 4-bulb fixture.

[Mr James]

Don't forget that Montipora Digitata is also sps... Brown corals can be done under lower light, even CFL.

[raggie]

http://www.aquariumguys.com/dualsatellite2.html

Thats the very light i have, 1 bulb is a full 10000k 96w
and 1 Dual Actnic 96w.

Its a fixture that willl fit 36" bulbs over a 30 gallon cube!

[Chiefsurfer]

they look like this?

http://www.f3images.com/IMD/MD_images/aquarium/powercompact_bulb_colors_small.jpg

Yeah, those are Power-Compacts. From what I gather, they offer a LITTLE more light than Regular Compact Flourescents, but doubtful they could house most sps coral. Mushrooms and zoas(and similar), along with some LOWER light LPS, but more demanding LPS and SPS will probably not do too well. Also, no clams, sorry.

[raggie]

yeah i thought so no hard corals would last aswell as the clams :( maybe later ill upgrade so frogspawns are also a no no?

[raggie]

would it help if i was at around 7.5 watts/gal

[Chiefsurfer]

frogspawns, hammers, mainly euphyllia, are a MAYBE. If I understand correctly, they are a relatively low-light coral, and might work.

What were your other CFL bulbs like? Were the U-shaped ones? Or were they the "spiral" type you put in your lamps in your home. If it's the u-shaped ones, compare wattage. If the 8CFL bulbs have more watts than the new ones, go back to them, you will likely get more light. If not, then stick with the newer nova.

If the lighting is a money issue, there is one thing I suggest that might work well for you. Thought about it, what are the dimensions of your cube? If they are 24" or 30", I would reccomend Aquaticlife as a way to get into t5 lighting. They sell 2-bulb strip lights. Each fixture is roughly $120, and you can link up to 3 fixtures together to basically form a single fixture. This is a nice way to get into it on the cheap. The 2 t5's will easily be more lighting than both the fixtures you currently have, and then can upgrade cheaply to better lights by just adding fixtures.

[raggie]

the old bulbs were Spiral Cfl's 65k 23 watts a piece i can still place that on the tank as addition i would nearly be at 376 watts of light over a 30 cube lol (1 96w 10000k PC, 1 96w Actinic, 8 23w 6500k CFL's) isnt that enough lights now? lol

[Chiefsurfer]

well the spectrum on the 6500 is not great, but is good for added wattage. Honestly, I would take 100 watta(4-24's) of t5 over those 376 any day, but it will help for sure.

Maybe someone has experience, but if not maybe you can be our tester. "If you go with an insane number of CFL bulbs will you be able to keep lps/sps corals?"

[raggie]

lol i guess its worth a shot huh? man almost 12w/gal lol that sounds like a lot of damn light

[sdc19982002]

It's alot of light but at a low par rating. You should be able to do frogspawn on the upper 3rd of the tank with no problem. I would sure stay away from clams. You could try birds nest also, they tolerate lower light.