Going with T5's. What's the best setup?

[Sabellafella]

Heres an old picture around 8 months ago of the par reading i took. Disregard the top left yellow, these reading were took with my fixture 33inches from the bed with 2 month old bulbs

 

[Sabellafella]

13 inches from the top, from a 20 high tank

 

[glb]

Heres an old picture around 8 months ago of the par reading i took. Disregard the top left yellow, these reading were took with my fixture 33inches from the bed with 2 month old bulbs

These numbers are more for an SPS tank right?

 

[Sabellafella]

These numbers are more for an SPS tank right?

Yea but lps are fine. Ive always used t5s, theres just certain species of coral that need to be somewhat shaded

 

[glb]

Yea but lps are fine. Ive always used t5s, theres just certain species of coral that need to be somewhat shaded

Cool. Sounds like I could grow anything with those lights as long as there are shady areas. What about the colors? I know there needs to be some white and actinic blue but the other colors seem to be more a matter of preference. If I want a color pop on the corals and a bluish look but not too blue, what would you recommend?

 

[glb]

13 inches from the top, from a 20 high tank

So the areas to the left and right are lower in par. Do t5's get dimmer on the edges?

 

[Bpb]

Another vote for the ATI sunpower 6 bulb. The Giesemann fixture is more attractive but if you're on a budget it may not be worth the extra cost. It's only looks you're paying for. The ATI uses top end ballasts and reflectors and has a very efficient and functional cooling design. It just looks a little...industrial. But costs roughly half what the Giesemann does. Aquaticlife units are ok, but cost nearly as much as the ATI and with poorer reflectors...and I believe they've also discontinued all of their lights besides their 2 bulb non-cooled units so you would have to find a used one. As far as a DIY or hardware store fixture...just don't. DIY is fine if it's supplementing something or if you have a huge canopy, but you will run into issues with cooling and it becomes a lot bigger and bulkier of a setup than a prefab fixture which will cost close to the same. Hardware store lights and hydroponic lights may have an attractive price but typically sport cheaper ballasts, poorer reflectors, and often times zero cooling at all. Those three things are of utmost importance with t5ho.

 

[smh254]

I have ATI Dimmable 4 bulb fixture with a Reefbrite strip. I do love this light after dealing with LEDs for a year.

 

[smh254]

This is a 40b

 

[Sabellafella]

If you like leds, you could always add on reef brite strips like ive done. Reef brite actinics are Unbelievable, but the bulb option is up to you.

So the areas to the left and right are lower in par. Do t5's get dimmer on the edges?

I bought my fixture 5 inches shy both the left and right, and 5 inches shy both front to back so i could have some low par areas.

 

[glb]

If you like leds, you could always add on reef brite strips like ive done. Reef brite actinics are Unbelievable, but the bulb option is up to you.

I bought my fixture 5 inches shy both the left and right, and 5 inches shy both front to back so i could have some low par areas.

Would a 24" fixture make more sense then? Also I agree with you about the reefbrites.

 

[orbitee2015]

I have been researching Ati hybrid powermodule. Thinking of ditching my Hydra 26,s. The fixture looks solid but of course no cheap at 2K for 48" of course you wont need that size i wouldnt think

 

[glb]

So if you get reefbrites, can they hang on the ati fixture?

 

[glb]

I have ATI Dimmable 4 bulb fixture with a Reefbrite strip. I do love this light after dealing with LEDs for a year.

Is the 4 bulb enough for a 40b? That's what my build is.

 

[smh254]

Is the 4 bulb enough for a 40b? That's what my build is.

I think so I have a mixed reef with LPS SPS softies and everything is growing great and the colors are way better than they were with the LEDs I used to have. and for bulb fixture gives you enough room in the front and the back to add a Reefbrite strip like I have if you'd like.

 

[smh254]

So if you get reefbrites, can they hang on the ati fixture?

Yes there are screws and holes on the ATI light that line up perfect with Reefbrite

 

[smh254]

Yes there are screws and holes on the ATI light that line up perfect with Reefbrite

 

[glb]

So if I got reefbrites too, would six bulbs be overkill?

 

[ksc]

Having too much light is never overkill. Having the ability to mix many t5 bulbs is nice plus. When I ran my Sunpower over my 40b, I had about 120watts of blue LED's surrounding the tank. This allowed me to run some 6500's up to 10k's and still get that blue glow. I'll see if I can dig up a pic. There was nowhere in that tank that got less than 300 par.

 

[smh254]

I agree with ksc it would be nice to add some more colored bulbs. For the corals you want a 4 bulb fixture would be just fine. Now down the road you may decide to go all SPS and I think you would definitely want the 6 or even 8 bulb fixture.