6x ATI T5 + Reef Brite XHO Actinic?

[SnowDog]

I'm building a new 60x20x15 sps tank and have been considering going with a 48" 6x ATI T5 + Reef Brite XHO Actinic set-up. This is a display tank, and I'm hoping the addition of the Reef Brite will provide shimmer and some extra color pop.

Any feedback or advice on the shimmer question would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers!
EB

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

IMO it's a lot of light. But probably fine. Get the controllers for the leds.

 

[SnowDog]

Since it is a very shallow tank, maybe a 4bulb t5 and 2 XHO or SB Actinics with dimmer / controller?

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

That would be more along the lines of how I'd do it yes. A six wouldn't be bad , you do have to consider the hanging height.

Myself I feel look at the W/b leds and a controller.

I've only metered the reef bright blues fwiw. As I recall it has more intensity than a maxspect ethereal or ap700/360 at the same distance.

So in my mind that would mean you actually don't need the t5lol. So if you set the ramp and intensity on the leds and have the t5 come in at peak you get the best of both worlds and could effectily double the life of the tubes. Ie 6 to four hours of t5.

 

[Leyth]

Oh cool, information about my set up might be of some use to you. So I have a reefer 350 which I believe is about 47x20. I have a 36" 8 bulb with 1 reefbrite XHO blue over it. It is currently sitting 10.5" above the water and my bulb selection is 2 biotek LED LED 20,000K, 1 ATI aquablue special, 2 ATI blue +, 3 ATI actinic. At 100% everything, these are the par levels I get:

On sand bed directly under the fixture for the fixture's length end to end which is 20" below the water line: 150-200 PAR
On sand bed 2" away from the glass sides of the tank: 75-100 PAR
6"-10" below water line directly under the fixture for the fixture's length end to end: 230-300 PAR

There are a couple of points that you might want to consider or research though.

A 48" fixture is going to be more powerful that a 36" fixture and not linearly. Someone else can correct me or provide more details about this, but I am pretty sure that the larger T5 fixtures are more efficient at putting out light. For example, if you replicate my setup and the ratios of tank size to fixture size are the same, you will actually see an increase in PAR if you measure the same locations that I did.

Another thing. My PAR levels might seem low for having an 8 fixture and a reef brite strip. I believe this is due to two of my bulbs being LED strips from biotek and also that ATI actinic's don't put out as much PAR. Take this with a grain of salt because this information is just based on other forum posts that I have read. I don't have any concrete facts that prove this.