ATI T5 Side by Side & Overheating!

[Miami Reef]

Hey guys,

I LOVE my T5 technology so much.

I have an 8 foot tank so I need 2 ATI T5 fixtures. In an ideal world I would have purchased 2x36” fixtures instead of 2x48” because of the overheating issue, but hindsight is 20/20.

Anyway, the fixture on the right is overheating (exclamation mark + fixture is automatically dimming). To me, it seems pretty obvious what the issue is: the heat needs to escape from the left side of the right unit (the T5 exhaust is opposite of where the power cable is). Seems like the fixture on the left is too close to it which is causing the problem.

Here’s pictures for a nice visual:

See?

I notice when the house AC actively cooling, the fixture on the right overheats. I purchased thesefans, but I want to know:

1. Will using them work in my situation?
2. Where is the most optimal place for them?

I don’t even have my canopy installed yet, so I’m pretty worried that T5’s aren’t the right option for my system. I do have 4 ai hydras that I can switch back to in case the T5’s don’t work. Maybe I can use 1 t5 in the middle and have 2 leds on each side? I don’t know.

Someone help!

 

[Miami Reef]

Also, ignore the current fan placement, I had these laying around, but blowing air from below the units did not work at all.

 

[Aquavaj]

Heat rises so fans need to blow across the fixtures and slightly above it. You'll need ventilation for the canopy if it's fully enclosed. Preferably a fan blowing in and one blow out.

 

[rtparty]

You need serious air movement around them. ATI will void warranties (if they're still intact) if you install their fixtures in a canopy.

They need open air as much as possible.

It is not ideal but flipping the one unit around may solve the problem. It just make the controller inaccessible. Set it and forget it?

 

[Miami Reef]

You need serious air movement around them. ATI will void warranties (if they're still intact) if you install their fixtures in a canopy.

They need open air as much as possible.

It is not ideal but flipping the one unit around may solve the problem. It just make the controller inaccessible. Set it and forget it?

I would totally flip it around 180, but the clock gets out of sync every few weeks (a known problem) so I would prefer to have access to each of the controllers so adjust the time. Sometimes I manually turn the lights on when I need to inspect something in the morning, so it’s another reason.

Right now they are not even in the canopy. I lowered the fixture on the right under the the one on the left so it’s staggered.

I can and will install the fans. I will make a diagram explaining so hopefully someone can tell me where to exactly place the fans for best air flow.

 

[Miami Reef]

1&2: I have holes already perfectly made for fans to fit. I can blow air into, or out of the canopy (vertical

3&4: I can place the fans on the sides of the tank to go horizontally

5: I can blow horizontally towards myself to go through exhaust of the overheating fixture.

I can only choose 2 numbers as of right now, which would you pick?

 

[Miami Reef]

Update: I checked the fan settings and I noticed the fixture on the right was set to 38 instead of 42. This makes total sense as to why it’s been “overheating”.

I will give it a week and see if things stay on track. It didn’t overheat today when I staggered the fixtures!

 

[Sean Clark]

Odd that the firmware would alow a setting that high.

 

[Reefahholic]

People don’t think T5’s run hot. My Hybrid T5/LED 8 bulb PowerModule ran hot AF at 100% on the bulbs and 50% LED’s. I agree with @rtparty that they need to have a lot of open air and if possible cool them down with some fans.

 

[Miami Reef]

Odd that the firmware would alow a setting that high.

ATI recommends 42 for 8 bulb fixtures. They made a video and they even told me via phone.