Anyone using Dimmable T5 HO Miro-4 Retrofit Kit - LET Lighting

[joekool]

I didn't know you could get a 3 bulb fixture, but maybe you are building from one bulb individual retro kits. If a 4 bulb fixture is just as cheap, I'd look at that option as you can always choose not to use one of the slots. Having more slots will give you more bulb combinations.

Given your kessil color preference, I'd recommend at least 4 to 5 blue plus bulbs (with an option of rotating out one or two blue plus for an actinic) and 2 or 1 coral plus bulbs. You will just need to buy bulbs and rotate them in to get the color mix you like. Remember, if you make your T5 light whiter than you want, you can't really effectively use more blue in your LEDs to correct. However, you can add more white in your led (i.e. color % on your kessil) to make a deeper blue look less so.

I'm still very skeptical that you can achieve adequate par for SPS for your new tank dimensions given just 4 Kessil A360 and a 6 bulb T5. I think most of the other posters did not notice your tank depth of 47" and your tank height over 28".

How much coverage is a single t5 cover.

And the tank is 48 deep by 28 tall a d 72 wide. I have 4 kessil A360WE right now.

Also I don't plan on packing it to the edges with coral. Maybe 30 inches deep by 60 wide of reef area.

Going to have many fish eventually.

 

[Daniel Waters]

As I said before, I'd probably do an 8 bulb fixture in the center with at least 3 kessils on each side (6 or more total). This would be more of a T5 tank with LED supplements as the T5 would be the main lighting source. If you just want T5s to reduce shadowing and give that diffuse type light look, I think you could get by with 4 bulbs (2 on each side) and you would still probably need at least 6 Kessil A360s in the middle of the bulbs...And that's assuming SPS corals are not near the glass edges on the front and back and placed mid way up or higher in the tank. If you're planning on just soft corals, zoas, and LPS, the lighting demands would be much less.

 

[madweazl]

I get about 60 PAR from a single 54w ATI; assuming the 80w follow a linear increase in output, that will translate to about 72 PAR (approx 10" depth at that) but the major issue is that the width of your tank is double what most lighting recommendations are made for. For instance, I run two A360WEs and two 54w T5s (LET retrofit) on a 48x18" tank; that setup produces an average PAR of 275 across all measured points in the tank (front corner gets 185 and well lit areas receive 330). Your aquascape will likely be twice as wide so that alone will need four Kessils and four T5s to match plus you have an addition two feet of length AND 10" more depth to illuminate.

Reality is closer to eight to 10 Kessils and eight T5s to match the PAR numbers I'm getting.

Edit: my PAR map may be of some use (tank is 48x18x21 LxWxH).

 

[Daniel Waters]

I get about 60 PAR from a single 54w ATI; assuming the 80w follow a linear increase in output, that will translate to about 72 PAR

I don't believe higher wattage on T5 bulbs correlates to higher par output. The increased wattage is a result of the longer bulb so par values should be comparable, but I'm probably not explaining it correctly

 

[madweazl]

To help put this in perspective, BRS' tank has five A360WEs and four T5s but is half the width and eight inches shallower than your tank.

 

[Daniel Waters]

Also I don't plan on packing it to the edges with coral. Maybe 30 inches deep by 60 wide of reef area.

Given that rockwork set up, I think you could squeak by using 2, two bulb 60" T5 units (one two bulb unit on each side), and probably 6 Kessil A360s in the center in between the T5 units, assuming your reef is centered or mostly centered in the middle of the tank underneath the LEDs. This also assumes your SPS are placed higher in the tank.

I still think I'd favor an 8 bulb T5 in the center with 3-4 kessils on both sides of the T5 fixture.

 

[madweazl]

Length wise, five Kessils is plenty for the 72" span (six wastes half the unit to spill over on each end with nothing gained). Six could be staggered off the centerline by about four inches to increase the width of light hitting the aquascape from the Kessils through.

 

[Daniel Waters]

How much coverage is a single t5 cover.

It depends on what you mean by "coverage". One t5 bulb in the middle will shed light through most of the tank due to its diffuse nature. Would the light be strong enough for corals? No. My rule of thumb is one T5 bulb for each 3" to 6" of tank width (depending on aquascape, tank depth, types of corals, and whether it will be the only source of light or supplemented). Your tank is 48" wide, so I'd recommend a minimum of 8 bulbs. Given that you plan to use LEDs also, I think 8 bulbs makes sense. You can get away with less, but you will need more LEDs. I think you will still need 6 to 8 Kessil A360s (3 to 4) on each side of the T5 fixture in the middle if you go this direction.

From a par perspective, a blue plus bulb will give you 25 to 40 par per bulb depending on depth (and mounting height of fixture). These approximate numbers were taken from the BRS video where they tested 4 bulbs of T5 (go to around 3 minute mark on the link below). Thus, 8 bulbs would give you a pretty strong foundation and the LED fixtures can provide your remaining par levels needed for SPS in the middle and upper regions of your tank.

Hope that helps

 

[joekool]

No no no.

Just a question do any of you replying own A360WE lights? And also know the difference between a w and we a360

The four I have grow sps fine and I plan to keep using them. I only want to add t5s because I doubled the depth of the tank and don't want to buy more kessils.

I watched the BRS video with the t5 kessil mix and it was impressive.

I will put the kessils in the middle and t5s on both sides. With a total of 4 on each side of the 4 kessils

I originally just wanted to know if anyone had used the miro retro kits and If they were pretty good.

 

[Daniel Waters]

My apologies if you felt I hijacked your thread. While your original post was about the miro retro kits, you did post later that you were planning on using just two, 2 bulb T5 fixtures to supplement your kessils. I felt many people were giving you very bad advice given the size of your SPS tank, which is why I chimed in. It seems you have now rethought your original plan of using two, 2 T5 bulbs and going to use two, 4 bulb fixtures (which I believe is prudent).

But to answer your other questions and comments, I have and do use multiple Kessil A360 we. The w is for the wide angle lens version. I believe the e is the iteration they came out with several years ago that was supposed to be like 15% better than the previous version. Unless you bought your kessils many years ago, they are most likely e versions.

Given your decision to use two, 4 bulb setups and your color preference on your kessils you stated earlier, I will amend my earlier bulb recommendation. I would use 3 blue plus and 1 coral plus in each unit. If you want a bit more "pop" you can replace a blue plus in each unit and add a pure actinic bulb.

Good luck with your build.

 

[joekool]

No worries.
Ya each kit comes with 2 bulb setup so two kits would be 4 bulbs. I believe originally I was thinking 2 kits but not so much now

The bulbs aren't connected together in a single fixture and are separate.

But yes I'll buy 4 kits and it will give me 8 bulbs.

 

[Daniel Waters]

No worries.
Ya each kit comes with 2 bulb setup so two kits would be 4 bulbs. I believe originally I was thinking 2 kits but not so much now

The bulbs aren't connected together in a single fixture and are separate.

But yes I'll buy 4 kits and it will give me 8 bulbs.

Sounds like a plan. I'm not sure the cost of the kits, but I'd compare to buying a 4 bulb non-dimmable ATI fixture. A fixture might be near the same cost but the fewer cords and active cooling might make it worth paying a bit more

 

[Da mamba]

I got 48 inch fixtures for my 60 inch tank, and they work great. You don't want to get 8 36" fixtures -- the cords you would have to deal with would a real headache.

Only thing I would change is I would not pack it so tight length wise. It makes changing the bulbs harder than it needs to be. Shoulda built in an extra 1/2 inch on each side.

How did you mount it? To the wall or hanging from the ceiling? Beautiful setup i also have 2 ap 700