Am I Crazy For Switching from Halide to T5?!?

[Bouncingsoul39]

I thought we'd keep this "Am I Crazy?!?" series going. Just got a really nice AgroBrite fixture in from Amazon today. Only $100 including shipping. Much nicer than the Sunblaze BRS is selling. Includes individual reflectors, solid construction and a five year ballast warranty Including 4 ATI bulbs totalled about $200.
I think it will match if not exceed the par output of one Kessil A360we but with better coverage. Without testing though, just my estimate.
That was the other light I was considering replacing my Radium 250 with. Why replace the Radium? A couple of reasons, mostly switching gears to a lower energy tank but also the light spill from the Hamilton fixture is driving me nuts when I'm on the couch, and also the fan noise is too much for me. To reduce the light spill I moved the fixture to only 6" off the waters surface, which in turn kicked the heat transfer way up, was using a six fan back thing from eBay to mitigate that heat. Am I Crazy to grow SPS in a lower energy environment with only a 4 bulb T5 HO fixture?!? We'll see! [emoji38]

 

[sghera64]

I thought we'd keep this "Am I Crazy?!?" series going. Just got a really nice AgroBrite fixture in from Amazon today. Only $100 including shipping. Am I Crazy to grow SPS in a lower energy environment with only a 4 bulb T5 HO fixture?!? We'll see! [emoji38]

I think it was Aristotle that said, "If you think but have not 'done', then you do not truly know". (I'm sure he said it in some fancy Greek prose and not my choppy 'american'. But you get the point. So, share back with us what you learn so we can all benefit.

I think Dana will tell you that you can probably grow most coral beneath T5. They may need time to adjust and they may not grow fast or be spectacularly colored. But, they may need time to adjust to the new lighting conditions. Good luck and keep us informed.

 

[sghera64]

@A. grandis , What do you think? All T5's here. Is he 'crazy'?

 

[DSC reef]

With that cheap of a unit I'd be concerned with the quality of the ballasts and units ability to withstand a salty environment. I thought ballast quality matters on a unit to run the T5 tubes correctly?

 

[jda]

I have that same fixture that I used for a while over a frag tank not even a year ago. It is pretty good. It got about 75% of the PAR as an ATI and 80% as a AquaMedic, with the same bulbs in all three. It is well built and mine showed no signs of not being able to handle the salty, humid environment. With the lower output, I ended up with 150W Halide instead.

The PAR from this at 8" under my frag tank water was about 225 in the middle and 175 on the edges - on Apogee 510 with no correction factor. It is only four bulbs, so that is decent, but not great.

On your list of choices, I would put the output as Radium (by a mile) > This T5 > a360we.

 

[Bouncingsoul39]

I have that same fixture that I used for a while over a frag tank not even a year ago. It is pretty good. It got about 75% of the PAR as an ATI and 80% as a AquaMedic, with the same bulbs in all three. It is well built and mine showed no signs of not being able to handle the salty, humid environment. With the lower output, I ended up with 150W Halide instead.

The PAR from this at 8" under my frag tank water was about 225 in the middle and 175 on the edges - on Apogee 510 with no correction factor. It is only four bulbs, so that is decent, but not great.

On your list of choices, I would put the output as Radium (by a mile) > This T5 > a360we.

That's great info thanks. That will put my sticks close to 200-225 which is in the lower end of acceptable range I believe. Should be good.

 

[A. grandis]

I thought we'd keep this "Am I Crazy?!?" series going. Just got a really nice AgroBrite fixture in from Amazon today. Only $100 including shipping. Much nicer than the Sunblaze BRS is selling. Includes individual reflectors, solid construction and a five year ballast warranty Including 4 ATI bulbs totalled about $200.
I think it will match if not exceed the par output of one Kessil A360we but with better coverage. Without testing though, just my estimate.
That was the other light I was considering replacing my Radium 250 with. Why replace the Radium? A couple of reasons, mostly switching gears to a lower energy tank but also the light spill from the Hamilton fixture is driving me nuts when I'm on the couch, and also the fan noise is too much for me. To reduce the light spill I moved the fixture to only 6" off the waters surface, which in turn kicked the heat transfer way up, was using a six fan back thing from eBay to mitigate that heat. Am I Crazy to grow SPS in a lower energy environment with only a 4 bulb T5 HO fixture?!? We'll see! [emoji38]

Thanks for sharing!! Get some Blue Plus/a Coral Plus bulbs there and light that thing up!!
Grandis.

 

[A. grandis]

@A. grandis , What do you think? All T5's here. Is he 'crazy'?

LOL!
I can't say much. My system is a 75gal and I have 6 X T5s now.
I miss my halides though. The best lights I've had...
Grandis.

 

[Dogtown]

You and your corals will be very happy with that agrobrite fixture. So will your wallet each month when you pay your electric bill.

 

[jda]

You might save a nickel a day in power (.4 kwh from the light so maybe a dime with a fan), so keep that Radium around for a few months in case you decide that you want to go back to it - if you do want to, there are thing that can be done about the spill. Otherwise, this is a pretty good light for t. The gal that I gave it to has a 60g cube full of BTAs, a big wall hammer and some soft coral and they are all doing very well.

 

[Bouncingsoul39]

Thanks for sharing!! Get some Blue Plus/a Coral Plus bulbs there and light that thing up!!
Grandis.

I've got two Blue+, one Coral+, and one AquaBlue Special on the way. When I placed my order with BRS for them, I couldn't help but notice some of your bulb reviews there buddy.

 

[A. grandis]

I've got two Blue+, one Coral+, and one AquaBlue Special on the way. When I placed my order with BRS for them, I couldn't help but notice some of your bulb reviews there buddy.

Yup, I get my bulbs from them too.
Grandis.