Thinking about t5's...

[BillNye]

Hi all,
I've had LED's since I started the hobby. I now am starting to regret that decision.

I have no clue where to start with t5's so I'm looking to you all for some some guidance. I have a hood that everything would need to fit under.

My main questions:
Will I need fans or more ventilation?
Will I need to do a little DIY or are there kits?
What colors would you recommend?
What sizes, watts, etc would you recommend?

Any threads or info for a noob would be greatly appreciated!!

[C3hutson]

Are you looking to buy a fixture or to build a DIY with retrofit? If retrofit, check out LET mira at BRS. Really nice.

[BillNye]

I don't know what I'm looking for to be honest...

I'm leaning more towards retrofit because I'm not sure how to mount a fixture under my hood without losing too much height, but I have no idea what I'm talking about.

What do you think?

[C3hutson]

If I were looking to do it under a canopy (hope nobody uses that one out of context) then I would probably retrofit. If you already have LEDs though, I'd be looking at adding as many T5's as possible to your current setup so you can keep the flexibility of the LEDs as moonlights, sunrise, sunset etc.

[Bill Nye]

You stole my name!

[Zacktosterone]

You stole my name!

lol

Hi all,
I've had LED's since I started the hobby. I now am starting to regret that decision.

I have no clue where to start with t5's so I'm looking to you all for some some guidance. I have a hood that everything would need to fit under.

My main questions:
Will I need fans or more ventilation?
Will I need to do a little DIY or are there kits?
What colors would you recommend?
What sizes, watts, etc would you recommend?

Any threads or info for a noob would be greatly appreciated!!

add t5 your existing leds. you can easily add a diy to it. there are complete kits they sell online... the MIRO retrofit kit, is what you're looking for, they have the same ballasts ATI uses (hep ballast "by LET lighting") so you're golden

[sleepydoc]

BRS and other outlets now have dimmable t5 fixtures, so you don't necessarily have to give up the sunrise/sunset 'feature' if you leave LEDs. They're relatively new, so I don't know if anyone can comment on reliability, whether dimming affects bulb life, etc. Of course, I know of no data or evidence that a sunrise or sunset matters to anyone but the people watching the tank. My 6 bulb T5 fixture has one switch for 2 bulbs and another for the other 4. My 'sunset' is just switching one of them off an hour earlier than the other.

[sleepydoc]

... I would also ask why you are leaving LEDs? It may be that your problem has more to do with your specific fixture than with the technology.

[smklaw]

... I would also ask why you are leaving LEDs? It may be that your problem has more to do with your specific fixture than with the technology.

My exact question?

[BillNye]

You stole my name!

:lolspin: But are you the real science guy?

add t5 your existing leds. you can easily add a diy to it. there are complete kits they sell online... the MIRO retrofit kit, is what you're looking for, they have the same ballasts ATI uses (hep ballast "by LET lighting") so you're golden

Thanks! I will have to check those out!

If I were looking to do it under a canopy (hope nobody uses that one out of context) then I would probably retrofit. If you already have LEDs though, I'd be looking at adding as many T5's as possible to your current setup so you can keep the flexibility of the LEDs as moonlights, sunrise, sunset etc.

Haha. I'm okay with keeping them but I'd definitely like to add at least 2 bulbs (one on each side) to help with growth and coverage.


... I would also ask why you are leaving LEDs? It may be that your problem has more to do with your specific fixture than with the technology.
My exact question?

First, they don't make the AI vega color anymore so I'd like to at least have a semi current setup. I also find that sometimes certain lights will be stuck two hours behind the 'schedule' and not connect properly to the director, requiring an unplug and replug to reset.

I was speaking with a buddy and when I voiced my frustration he basically asked why not ditch the LEDS and go with something that's pretty proven - and I kind of agree at this point.

[C3hutson]

:lolspin: But are you the real science guy?







Thanks! I will have to check those out!







Haha. I'm okay with keeping them but I'd definitely like to add at least 2 bulbs (one on each side) to help with growth and coverage.











First, they don't make the AI vega color anymore so I'd like to at least have a semi current setup. I also find that sometimes certain lights will be stuck two hours behind the 'schedule' and not connect properly to the director, requiring an unplug and replug to reset.



I was speaking with a buddy and when I voiced my frustration he basically asked why not ditch the LEDS and go with something that's pretty proven - and I kind of agree at this point.


That's exactly what I did. I followed the same path as you. Started with reefbreeders. Had a 24" on a 30" tank. Upgraded to a 48" tank and temporarily brought the reefbreeders over to that tank. It came pretty damn close to having a full 48" spread short of about 6" on each side of shadowing.

Added a coral+ and blue+ on each side of the LED and was amazed at how much brighter the tank was, even where there was a lot of LED coverage.

I then decided I wanted to commit to SPS dominated tank and noticed that I was having issues of browning and STN on SPS bases that were placed well in the coverage on the LEDs.

Long story short, I realized that I wanted to take a factor of uncertainty out of the success with SPS. scored a great deal on lumenbright mini pendants with 250 watt ice cap ballasts. Threw in some radium 20k bulbs and couldn't believe my eyes. Tank is now so BRIGHT. Lumen rights are designed to be mounted about 12" above the waterline so tank stays under 81F even during summer with ambient room temp of up to 77F.

Added 2x VHO super actinic to cover the UV spectrum that radiums are a bit on the low side with.

Now I'm building a DIY strip similar to what BML has for actinic. I've already tested 8 Cree XP blues running on one side of the rank with the VHOs and it's an absolutely killer combination. The VHO adds some pop that the LEDs don't and vice versa. I feel like I'm getting the best of all worlds with MH + VHO + led combo.

[d2mini]

T5 come in standards lengths. 24", 36", 48" and 60".
You are going to want to pick the one that comes closest to matching the length of your tank without going over, and leave room for the retrofit kit end caps.
The suggestion above for the LET Miro kit is your best bet.
You can do a search for "light racks" or "t5 retrofit kit install" or similar and see examples of how people mounted them. That's the hardest part. You can use wood or aluminum bar or mount directly under your hood. Just depends on your setup.
If you can fit 6 bulbs front to back that would be a good number to work with and give you good color option. 4 is harder to work with in getting the best color combo. 8 is probably too much for your tank.

ATI and Geisemann make really nice bulbs and I lean towards geisemann. Their Super Actinic for sure. You'll want at least one of those. A white bulb like an ATI Coral Plus, some blues like ATI Blue+, KZ SuperBlue (my preference) or whatever the Geisemann equivalent is these days. And plan on trying a bulb combo, living with it for a week, then tweaking it, etc. Might take a little while and a few different bulb changes before you settle on your favorite combo.

I also like the LED actinic strip addition. I did this. You get the best of both worlds this way.