Am I crazy for considering T5s only on a 40B build?

[ReefWithCare]

Hi All,

I'm an old school reefer and LOVE the clean light look of T5. I hate the disco look AKA "Shimmer" of LEDs.

Just from an overall coral health standpoint I'm highly considering a 4x39W Wavepoint fixture for my 40B setup over a 2xAI Prime or a CBB Vispar.

I'm planning LPS/Softies mostly. I find the replacement cost argument invalid given I see a number of LED name brand fixtures breaking after 3-5 years (or people get upgrade fever and just dump it for the latest and greatest by then) and most ppl really replace their T5 bulbs every 12 months.

I'm also considering an aqutic life Hybrid fixture 36" or 24" and just running the T5s, but was concerned with how they were spread out.

This video by MD pretty much shows the difference in look. I know it's ATI, but it's that non shimmer look I prefer.

Someone convince me I should go with 2x AI Primes instead:

 

[sde1500]

Light is light, you do you

 

[Hulley]

Nothing wrong with T5s, if you can get the bulb count and color you want, you'll be GTG.

 

[Coralmaniac21]

I use t5s on my 60g hexagon... the fixtures are way cheaper thrn expensive leds.. for a 40b you need what a 36 inch or 48 inch lookig fixture ?

Get one of these ( link below) . or something like it thats what i use.. with 4 bulbs i use 2x ati blue plus and a coral plus and purple plus.. on my 30g i use a two bulb t5 fixture with a coral plus and blue plus. I wouldnt bother with a expensive ati fixture... get one of the grow t5 light fixtures.. they have individual alum reflectors like the ati and are much cheaper.. you just gatta mount it high enough so you dont get salt on them

Here is what my tank looks like.. has a nice pinkis blue

 

[PDR]

Nothing wrong with all T5’s. That’s what I run on my frag tank. I personally would prefer a hybrid option on a display tank but that’s just me. FWIW, led “disco” and “skimmer” are completely different lighting effects.

 

[ReefWithCare]

I would use a 36” fixture for a 40B. I know ppl who have used a 24” for ATI or if they go hybrid.

The problem I’ve had with the cheapo amazon lights that Tidal garden uses is they only sell 24” or 48”

 

[Rybren]

Nothing wrong with T5s. Ran an ATI sunpower for years. I switched to blackbox LEDs because I was tired of replacing bulbs every 10-12 months. My black boxes have been running for 6 years and cost me $250 for the pair. At $125+ per year for bulb replacement, the black boxes have paid for themselves many times over.

I have a pair of Primes over my 28G AIO; I'm not sure that I'd be happy with only 2 over a 40B.

 

[ReefWithCare]

Nothing wrong with T5s. Ran an ATI sunpower for years. I switched to blackbox LEDs because I was tired of replacing bulbs every 10-12 months. My black boxes have been running for 6 years and cost me $250 for the pair. At $125+ per year for bulb replacement, the black boxes have paid for themselves many times over.

I have a pair of Primes over my 28G AIO; I'm not sure that I'd be happy with only 2 over a 40B.

6 years wow. I was talking to a Hydra owner in my reef club who had to get ocean revives because their hydra died after 3 years. They couldn’t afford to replace them [emoji29]

 

[Coralmaniac21]

I would use a 36” fixture for a 40B. I know ppl who have used a 24” for ATI or if they go hybrid.

The problem I’ve had with the cheapo amazon lights that Tidal garden uses is they only sell 24” or 48”

Oh i never realized that your right lol.. my 30g is 36 inch but its using a old T5 normal output fixture i bought in petsmart years ago from aqueon... funny thing about the N9rmal output fixture is HO bulbs will work just fine in them... so thankfully i didnt have to buy a new fixture... yes i know it wont be powered fully but i honestly dont notice a brightness difference. And with a 30g being like 13 inches tall its actually better ho would be too bright i think.

 

[SDK]

I think you already answered the question in your original post. Looking forward to seeing the T-5's......

More specifically, you answered it in the first sentence of your first post...

 

[ReefWithCare]

Do you think I would be okay just running an Aquatic Life 36" T5 Hybrid with T5s only for now? Having that big gap in the middle seems odd without anything in the middle. Thoughts?

 

[FishyDP]

I agree that the aquatic life fixtures have kind of a strange bulb arrangement with the t5s at each end..but they are slick looking. You mentioned the AI primes. You should look at the hipargero/aqua knight leds on amazon. They are very comparable to the ai primes at a fraction of the price, minus the controllabilty. 2 of them would be more than sufficient on a 40b w softies and lps..$60 a piece. I used 3 over a 125g keeping softies and lps for 8+ months..I will be using these lights as a supplement to a 4 bulb t5 fixture over a 150g 6 foot tank.

 

[ReefWithCare]

I agree that the aquatic life fixtures have kind of a strange bulb arrangement with the t5s at each end..but they are slick looking. You mentioned the AI primes. You should look at the hipargero/aqua knight leds on amazon. They are very comparable to the ai primes at a fraction of the price, minus the controllabilty. 2 of them would be more than sufficient on a 40b w softies and lps..$60 a piece. I used 3 over a 125g keeping softies and lps for 8+ months..I will be using these lights as a supplement to a 4 bulb t5 fixture over a 150g 6 foot tank.

hmm given the dimensions of the Aquaknights they would fit on the T5 Hybrid Fixture. They provide a 7 inch gap so it should technically fit

 

[Coralmaniac21]

2 t5s if they are full length for a 40b imo should just be enough for full coverage.. Just raise the fixture like 6 inches above the tank to get full coverage if you dont raise the fixture fairly high youll have dark spots in the upper front and back of the tank.. Like my 135g 6 foot tank is 18 inches wide like a 40b and a 2 bulb fixture isnt quite enough to cover the entire tank meaning if fish swim up front on the top they will be in the shade.... and i dislike that so the fixture needs to be high to fix that.. if you had 4 bulbs then it can be lower without that problem

 

[crusso1993]

As has been mentioned; kind of sounds like T5's will be hanging over a 40B soin!

Just as an FYI - the below link has a wealth of info on LED lighting. I recommend checking it out if you go with a hybrid and want a couple LEDs.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-real-black-box-light-study.503052/

 

[ReefWithCare]

I honestly thought a number of people would hit me with. No control, it’s dying tech, no ramp up ramp down etc.

Maybe a few EcoTech rulez post. Call me dumbfounded [emoji848]

 

[crusso1993]

I honestly thought a number of people would hit me with. No control, it’s dying tech, no ramp up ramp down etc.

Maybe a few EcoTech rulez post. Call me dumbfounded [emoji848]

It's early!

 

[Coralmaniac21]

I honestly thought a number of people would hit me with. No control, it’s dying tech, no ramp up ramp down etc.

Maybe a few EcoTech rulez post. Call me dumbfounded [emoji848]

You can control t5s if you get a fixture that has two seperate ballasts ( i wish i had gotten that vs the one i have.. its the same fixture too darnit)... Some 4 bulb and 8 bulb fixtures have two switchs. So you can set them with timers to turn one on in the morning. Then have the 2nd set on in the afternoon so all 4 bulbs are on. Then in the evening set it so a pair turn off then later the last pair turns of.. gives it a morning high noon. Evening and night kind of cycle.

For LEDS you can add blue leds to the fixture. I plan to do that to my 4 bulb t5 fixture.. Get a pair of actinic blue led strips and mount one on each side of the fixture so i have moon lights for extra glowy corals with the lights off

 

[ReefWithCare]

You can control t5s if you get a fixture that has two seperate ballasts ( i wish i had gotten that vs the one i have.. its the same fixture too darnit)... Some 4 bulb and 8 bulb fixtures have two switchs. So you can set them with timers to turn one on in the morning. Then have the 2nd set on in the afternoon so all 4 bulbs are on. Then in the evening set it so a pair turn off then later the last pair turns of.. gives it a morning high noon. Evening and night kind of cycle.

For LEDS you can add blue leds to the fixture. I plan to do that to my 4 bulb t5 fixture.. Get a pair of actinic blue led strips and mount one on each side of the fixture so i have moon lights for extra glowy corals with the lights off

What fixture do you have?

 

[Coralmaniac21]

Well you need a 36 inh fixture.. as someone stated the grow fixtures are 24 and 48...which sucks..

Mine is one i linked in my post like 5 posts up.. vivisun plant grow t5 fixture.. its a 24 inch fixture i have on a 30 inch long hexagon.. works just fine.. but 36 inches is too long..