T-5 Lighting how many watts do I need

[newreef06]

I have a 48" tank thats 55Gallons. Im getting a T-5 light. Which one should I get. I dont want the one that hangs above the tank. Also how many watts do I need. Looking to put a aneome a few hard corals. Right now I have a current 260 watt PC. I m looking to just upgrade to a t-5

Scott

[yamaha racer]

tek 4x54w is more than enough, i have it and i have monti caps and digis until i get more money

[hahnmeister]

4x54 is 'enough' as long as you get a fixture with individual parabolic reflectors for each bulb... like a Tek fixture. Fixtures that have flat reflectors, or just one for all the bulbs (like the Nova) waste something like 40% of the bulbs potential output. If you ever see the two kinds side by side, you would see it right away. FWIW, I would get a 6 bulb unit, as the extra 2 bulbs allow you to use bluer bulbs if you like more blue in the color of the tank. Most blue bulbs are not quite as bright, and so the extra couple bulbs helps bridge that gap. But by all means, if you like the 'daylight' look, a simply combo of 2x daylight and 2x blue+ bulbs is very bright and all you will ever really need. I just prefer more blue, like a 14,000-20,000K look, so I use 2xaquablue, 2xblue+, and 2x actinic03... and having those 2 extra bulbs helps since if I were to use some of these bulbs and only have 4 total, I wouldnt get nearly as much light as I need.

Oh, and even though a 6-bulb tek is listed as being wider than a 55g, the front and back 2" of the fixture are overhang where the ballasts reside, and the light area is really only 11" wide... easily fitting over a 55g.

[horkn]

Im with hahn. the 4x54 tek will work great

[solitude127]

what does the Tek mean in tek t5s?

[The Grim Reefer]

If you want something that can sit right on the tank take a look at the aquactinics 5 lamp fixture. Aquactinics is on the sponsors page.

[ChemE]

I'm using 2 Triad ballasts to fire 3 54-watt T5's with IceCap SLR's over my 55. I prefer a 14K look and I'm very pleased with 1 Aquablue, 1 Blueplus, and 1 UVL Super Actinic.

[sjm817]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8193802#post8193802 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ChemE
I'm using 2 Triad ballasts to fire 3 54-watt T5's with IceCap SLR's over my 55. I prefer a 14K look and I'm very pleased with 1 Aquablue, 1 Blueplus, and 1 UVL Super Actinic.
I also like that look. I run 2 of each of the same over my 90G.

[horkn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8193802#post8193802 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ChemE
I'm using 2 Triad ballasts to fire 3 54-watt T5's with IceCap SLR's over my 55. I prefer a 14K look and I'm very pleased with 1 Aquablue, 1 Blueplus, and 1 UVL Super Actinic.

eventually when i swp my bulbs on my 3x39 over my 35g, i will run that combo as well.

glad to hear its the 14k look :)

[hahnmeister]

What, that combo is news or something? I said that months ago because its the combo I run... http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/101919dual_40s.JPG

2x aquablue, 2x blue+, 2x actinic03 on the bottom, and the top is a pheonix 14,000K. The colors are nearly identical.

[sjm817]

No, not new. I think several people run this combo. I've been running the combo since the UVL SA bulbs came out in June.

[ChemE]

Can't we just agree that we are all smart and right?

Seriously though, I think I did get the idea from Hahn. It is a beautiful combo and the PAR is killer.

[sjm817]

I think I got the idea from Horace.

[horkn]

i guess i did too. but hahn, you run an actinic 03, and these were suggestions to run the UVL SA in place of the actinic 03.

either way, i love that t5ho tanks color hahn:)

[The Grim Reefer]

The UVL SA is just a little more blue than the other actinics and produces more PAR. I currently run 1 UVL Actinic White, 1 GE 3000K, 1 ATI Actinic, 1 Blue Plus and 1 UVL SA. The look is really close to a 10K XM with VHO Actinic.