The T5 Q&a Thread - split

[TropTrea]

Originally Posted by DiscusHeckel

Thanks. I used to use a 6500K bulb, but found that it encouraged too much zooxanthellate on corals. The corals directly underneath the 6500K bulb looked noticeably brown. I swapped it with an aquablue special. The same corals look just fine shortly after the switch. I am going to avoid 6500k from now on.

This is an issue of what corals you have. The GE 6,500 does have strong Vellow-Orange element that other bulbs are missing. When not balanced with other strong Blue bulbs this creates the warm yellow cast. Now when you look at the color wheel you will find that dark yellow also is very close to brown.

The other thing is getting that right balance of RED. While 60% of corals can utilize some degree of red light for growth about 25% of corls will bleach out if they have an excess of red light. while the GE bulb produces some red it is very minimal and therefore most people add a so called purple bulb which has a high peak in both th blue and purple range. But caution needs to had here with the combo as too much red will also cause the same effect your describing.

[TropTrea]

Originally Posted by nichthyes

Two questions: i have been running my current four ATI bulbs gor ober a year now, and the corals are very happy but so is the green hair algae. So is it time to replace the bulbs? And should i go with a higher K rating this time for all four?

Currently running
(Front)
AB special
Blue plus
Purple plus
Blue plus

Suggestions?

You are near the end of the life expectancy of the these bulbs. While they are still glowing for you with age the spectrum does shift slightly to a lower K equevience as well as intensity decreases. A lower K rating does produce light that mostalgea love as they are normaly shallow water fuana.

If you like the color balance you have with these bulbs keep the combination. But if want something slightly bluer than replace the Aqua Blue Special with a Coral Plus and the Purple with a a Blue Plus.

I try to rotate my bulbs by changing 50% of them every 6 months.

[TropTrea]

Originally Posted by Nanook

Standard 120g tank, SPS corals. I have an 8-bulb 4 foot fixture and looking for some recs for lighting the tank. Thanks

I have basicly the same set up you have running roughly 6 years now. In that time I changed bulbs frequently and get thebest results with the following

Front
1 Blue Plus
2 Purple Plus
3 Blue Plus
4 GE 6500K
5 Blue Plus
3 Purple Plus
7 Blue Plus
8 Blue Plus
Rear

If you want a slightly bluer effect replace
2 with a Blue Plus and 4 with an Aqua Blue Special

[TropTrea]

Originally Posted by gmyers0203

Hello, this may not be appropriate for this thread, but wanted to see if you could provide some guidance before starting a thread.

I have a 2x150w MH and 4x54w T5 combo fixture. The MH bulbs are an unknown brand and say they are 20k, but appear whiter to me than a 20k should. The T5s are all an unknown brand and just labeled as blue.

I was hoping to get a better idea of what to replace the T5s with to really get my corals to fluoresce. Didn't know if I should add some sort of purple to the mix or a better blue combination.

Thanks for your help in advance!

With the MH bulbs your main concern should be boasting he blue end of the spectrum with your T-5's. You can even consider adding some Atinic bulbs into the T-5 mixture however I would go with all Blue Plus Bulbs.

[invertinoob]

Originally Posted by invertinoob

i have a 6x39w t5ho over a 54 gallon bow front. my first question would be, with all ati bulbs would it be enough to keep high light clams? i want to run one of the two light set ups.

1) blue+ 4x
purple+
coral+

2) blue+ 4x
purple+ 2x

3) blue+ 4x
purple+
ati actinic

im afraid that running a coral plus in one will wash out all of the other colors. and i am also afraid that the actinic in the third one will not allow me enough par to do what i want.
(mixed reef sps dominate)

any suggestions will help. i have plans of adding some blue led strips in the future as well. will this help with raising par? and also help put blue back in the tank if i go with a coral plus?

does anyone have suggestions

[FlyPenFly]

I am using the Zoomed "ultrasun" which is another 6500k bulb but from Germany. Not sure who the original maker is.

I'm currently running

Blue+
Coral+
Blue+
ATI Actinic
Ultra Sun 6500k
Blue+
Coral+
Blue+

Debating switching out another Blue+ for a Coral Plus. I still feel the tank looks too blue.

[Michigan Mike]

Unless you really want to keep the actinic I would change that to a ge6500 or aquablue special. But this may be a bit more white than you want.

[FlyPenFly]

I replaced one of the my B+ with a Coral+

Looks pretty much perfect to me now. Color temperature is that of a Phoenix 14k bulb.

From what I've read, the Actinic bulb is still a good idea, it has spectrum spikes in violet that the Blue+ bulbs are weak in.

[YoungREEFA]

Originally Posted by invertinoob

does anyone have suggestions

Option one

Or 4 B+ , ge 6500k, fiji purple.

[TropTrea]

Originally Posted by invertinoob

does anyone have suggestions

Looking at your bulb selections they are all strong in he blue and purple spectrum.

I would simply run with 1 Coral Plus and 5 Blue Plus. The Coral Plus should give you enough purple.

[berbotty]

Hi - just looking for advice on T5 supplement to my 3 Radion gen 2 on a 6 foot tank. I have ordered a 60 inch t5 retro and would like to know what bulbs to get. The Radions lack some color pop on greens and blues and have no uv. I can use 2 bulbs - which ones would give me the best colors - thx

[DiscusHeckel]

Originally Posted by berbotty

Hi - just looking for advice on T5 supplement to my 3 Radion gen 2 on a 6 foot tank. I have ordered a 60 inch t5 retro and would like to know what bulbs to get. The Radions lack some color pop on greens and blues and have no uv. I can use 2 bulbs - which ones would give me the best colors - thx

I do not think you can get proper UV spectrum from any T5 tube on the market today. Even those LED units which claim to provide UV spectrum in fact provide around 420 nm light spectrum. Proper UV spectrum is in the region of 10 nm up to 400 nm.

If you had a light unit emitting proper UV spectrum, you would need either a UV screen (as in single ended MH bulbs) or a UV sun glass while viewing your tank.

[TropTrea]

Originally Posted by DiscusHeckel

I do not think you can get proper UV spectrum from any T5 tube on the market today. Even those LED units which claim to provide UV spectrum in fact provide around 420 nm light spectrum. Proper UV spectrum is in the region of 10 nm up to 400 nm.

If you had a light unit emitting proper UV spectrum, you would need either a UV screen (as in single ended MH bulbs) or a UV sun glass while viewing your tank.

This is true but must be taken lightly. How much UV ighting do corals realy need? While it is true that true UV lighting. UV lighting consists of wavelenghts shroter than 380 nm. What we need in the aquarium is light in the range of 420 nm to 440 nm which is considered near UV lighting. If we supplied any quantity opf light below 380nm in th UV range we would need to filter it not only from the corals but also our eyes.

Yes UVA as well as UVB bulbs ae available in both florescent and LED's. However shince they are useless in the Aquarioum world they are not marketed for it. These are usualy made for indirect lighting or medical usage and can be extremly expensive.

[DiscusHeckel]

Originally Posted by TropTrea

This is true but must be taken lightly. How much UV ighting do corals realy need? While it is true that true UV lighting. UV lighting consists of wavelenghts shroter than 380 nm. What we need in the aquarium is light in the range of 420 nm to 440 nm which is considered near UV lighting. If we supplied any quantity opf light below 380nm in th UV range we would need to filter it not only from the corals but also our eyes.

Yes UVA as well as UVB bulbs ae available in both florescent and LED's. However shince they are useless in the Aquarioum world they are not marketed for it. These are usualy made for indirect lighting or medical usage and can be extremly expensive.

I agree completely. I just wanted to make the point that what is stated as UV in various light units' specification is in fact is not quite correct.

[nichthyes]

not so much to do with the bulbs, but I have a problem with my Current USA sundial ballast, in the form of a broken timer. During some tank maintenance one day I accidentally dropped one end of the ballast into the tank water, and that timer took the hit the hardest. It no longer works, and it controls my two blue+ bulbs, so I have had to manually turn those bulbs on and off every day since then. Its mostly from the dial's inability to turn bc of salt inside the dial. I've tried turning it manually to get the salt out but there's still too much in there for it to turn itself.

Anybody know a way to replace/repair these timers?? Its become such a hassle to deal with.

[Dapg8gt]

Originally Posted by nichthyes

not so much to do with the bulbs, but I have a problem with my Current USA sundial ballast, in the form of a broken timer. During some tank maintenance one day I accidentally dropped one end of the ballast into the tank water, and that timer took the hit the hardest. It no longer works, and it controls my two blue+ bulbs, so I have had to manually turn those bulbs on and off every day since then. Its mostly from the dial's inability to turn bc of salt inside the dial. I've tried turning it manually to get the salt out but there's still too much in there for it to turn itself.

Anybody know a way to replace/repair these timers?? Its become such a hassle to deal with.

If it was me as I don't have experience with your specific light I would be taking it apart tracing the wiring to the timer to bypass it or remove and try to order a replacement or maybe fully clean it.. Most of the time fixtures and equipment in general look harder to repair then they are.

If it's not a sealed unit most likely it can be repaired or bypassed.

[TropTrea]

Originally Posted by nichthyes

not so much to do with the bulbs, but I have a problem with my Current USA sundial ballast, in the form of a broken timer. During some tank maintenance one day I accidentally dropped one end of the ballast into the tank water, and that timer took the hit the hardest. It no longer works, and it controls my two blue+ bulbs, so I have had to manually turn those bulbs on and off every day since then. Its mostly from the dial's inability to turn bc of salt inside the dial. I've tried turning it manually to get the salt out but there's still too much in there for it to turn itself.

Anybody know a way to replace/repair these timers?? Its become such a hassle to deal with.

Chances are it is a solid state timer since in todays electronics world solid state is much cheaper to build than mechanical timers. Often with solid state devices once they are dried out they can start functioning normaly again. With a salt water enviroment simply humid salt can shorten things out and create problems so make sure everything is dry and clean everything you can with a cotton stick and alchohol.

If the=is does not help then either by passing or replacing the timer is your option. I would hope that Current does offer replacelemt parts but I cannot direct you to were they are marketed other than Current themselves.

[nichthyes]

Originally Posted by Dapg8gt

If it was me as I don't have experience with your specific light I would be taking it apart tracing the wiring to the timer to bypass it or remove and try to order a replacement or maybe fully clean it.. Most of the time fixtures and equipment in general look harder to repair then they are.

If it's not a sealed unit most likely it can be repaired or bypassed.

Originally Posted by TropTrea

Chances are it is a solid state timer since in todays electronics world solid state is much cheaper to build than mechanical timers. Often with solid state devices once they are dried out they can start functioning normaly again. With a salt water enviroment simply humid salt can shorten things out and create problems so make sure everything is dry and clean everything you can with a cotton stick and alchohol.

If the=is does not help then either by passing or replacing the timer is your option. I would hope that Current does offer replacelemt parts but I cannot direct you to were they are marketed other than Current themselves.

Thanks guys! I'm not much of a electronically saavy person, but I'll give it a shot. Thanks again!

[andrewbram]

So here is my question. Considering moving from led back to t5. Last time I had 4x54 on a 75 and had over 200 par on the sand. So my question is if I do 4x80 on my 210 will I get close to same effect. I know it's a much bigger tank but going with let reflectors again because those things were beast. Tia

[Bpb]

Originally Posted by andrewbram

So here is my question. Considering moving from led back to t5. Last time I had 4x54 on a 75 and had over 200 par on the sand. So my question is if I do 4x80 on my 210 will I get close to same effect. I know it's a much bigger tank but going with let reflectors again because those things were beast. Tia

Definitely research this beyond my own advice but I read somewhere that T5HO bulbs were most efficient at 54w 48" size. That suggests longer or shorter bulbs may not have as much par per watt as the 48" ones do. I could
Be wrong

[andrewbram]

That is very possible. However 4x80 have been ordered. Just debating on if I need the 5&6 one lol.

[DiscusHeckel]

In another thread, a reefer (bigE) advocates ATI coral + and ATI blue + in 1:1 ratio. Has anyone tried this combination? Coral colouration in his tank appears to be stunning.

[andrewbram]

That is Combe I run but I do like adding a purple plus to mine.

[DiscusHeckel]

Originally Posted by andrewbram

That is Combe I run but I do like adding a purple plus to mine.

What is your experience in terms of coral growth? Any chance of a FTS?

[andrewbram]

Originally Posted by Bpb

Definitely research this beyond my own advice but I read somewhere that T5HO bulbs were most efficient at 54w 48" size. That suggests longer or shorter bulbs may not have as much par per watt as the 48" ones do. I could
Be wrong

I would love to read more about this can you pm a link. Or post one.