Supplementing MH with T5
 

Should I supplement metal halide with regular T5 or overdrive T5? Any good recommendation for regular T5 ballast?

Thanks

i believe all t-5 ho are overdriven, thats how they get the high par values

I got rid of my two 150watt metal halides with two 50/50 CFs and replaced it with a 4x54 IceCap T5 retrofit kit. Everything is thriving with just the T5s and the electricity bill went way down. No fans necessary in the summer now either.

An IceCap 660 ballast will overdrive the 54 watt bulbs to 80 watts. If you are using for supp there is no need to overdrive the T-5's.

I do have the Icecap T5 ballasts, 430 & 660 on my 75gal now. But I like to use the metal halide pendants that I have for the new 120gal canopy with T5. just curious whether there is a regular ballast, like the one being sold at reefgeek with the Tek retro.

I have a 250W 14K Phoenix that is supplemented with 2x39W T5s. I LOVE the look and the abliity to have dusk / dawn effects. The T5 bulbs I'm running are Blue+ and an ATI Aquablue.

It brightens up the tank more than the MH alone and gives the corals more POP.

bdare, what kind of t5 ballast are you using?

I overdrive my T5 supplements with Icecap ballast. If I had room for 4 T5's I wouldnt overdrive. I only had room for two so I do overdrive them. Overdriving gives me more color impact from the T5's since I could only fit two of them. I didnt do it for the par.

...I have overdriven T5, but I dont think that you will need them for supplemental, Also

www.ballastwise.com has T5 HO ballasts for sale for 30-40$ range. No need to overdrive lights for supplemental lighting

I overdrive cuz I use T5 as my main lighting.

and, I think the reason for using Fans on an overdriven system is to prolong the life of the bulb, Since they are not running on original factory specifications, (current) I took old computer case fans and hooked them up to a transformer, for about $5.00 they work fantastically.

thanks for the advice. i think i am going to get this ballast made by sylvania

https://diyreef.authsecure.com/shop/...ffd2a29fa4c9a5