another lighting question

[tdmichel]

We have a 90gal wave. were running t5's.
216 total watts, 2-460nm Actinic,- and 2-10000°K T-5 HO lamps.
is this enough? we were told it would be fine. can we do hard corals with theses? just trying to understand the lighting.

[sir_dudeguy]

what reflectors? i've heard that t5's are only good with a good reflector, but i've never had any, so i cant really give any input on how they are.

[tammiescritters]

We bought the unit from Foster and Smith but use it as it came.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=12772&N=2004+113030

This is what we have...the 48 inch 216 watt.
Is this enough lighting in a 90 gallon?
(tdmichel is my hubby)
Thanks
Tammiescritters

[davocean]

That's OK for softies, but general rule of thumb is 3-5 watts per gal. depending on what you want to keep.
My tank has 4x54w t-5's and 2 150w MH.
My tank is a shallow 90, on deeper I would have gone for 2x250w MH
Your OK, but for hard corals you will most likely want to add more T-5's or MH retro

[sarduci]

Watts per gallon is a bad rule of thumb. 500 watts of PC light vs 500 watts of double ended metal halide lighting is not even close to the same PAR.

A better question is what kind of ballast are you using? If it's over driving the bulbs like an IceCap will with nice reflectors for T5's like the SLR's (single light reflectors) that IceCap makes, then yes, it's fine to keep anything from softies, LPSs and SPSs under them.

Good reflectors are 90% of the battle. Safely overdriving the bulbs like IceCap does with 18 months of useful life makes 'em bright and cheap.

If I found a canopy I liked when I started my 90 I would have gone with T5 and not MH lighting. With no canopy, the simple solution was to go MH.

[tammiescritters]

I know theres a reflector in there but I think its just one that goes across the whole top. i looked under the t5's and i dont see any thing for a retor kit for that 2 give each bulb its own reflector.

[Lamorak]

Judging by the link provided, it appears that there is a single reflector for all four of the T5 lights. Being as the accepted "best" T5 configuration is a single reflector for each T5 bulb; I'd have to say that the fixture you own is not able to produce as much concentrated light as a unit with individual reflectors per bulb. That's ok though.

That being said, you should be able to definately keep soft corals and LPS corals. You should be able to keep some hard/SPS too, with that light.

T5's are very good and as mentioned previously, it is the PAR that counts. As I understand it, the wattage per gallon rules are a little dated and tend to apply to lighting that has been around for a while. T5's are able to produce a lot more light per watt than say a standard flourescent bulb could. So while the T5 wattage may seem low, the light output or PAR is much higher than what was available when the 3-5 watt per gallon rules were conceived.

Hope that helps to answer your question.