How High is too High?

[Dilan Patel]

So I am in the process of building my canopy for my new tank(I have build Thread if you want to see the canopy/progression of the tank) and I made it with a couple things in mind. One of them being easy access to the entire inside of the tank. With that being said the lights would be about 17-20in or so off the waterline. I wanted to put my old t-5 retro kit on from my old tank on the canopy. My question is 20in too high for two t-5 bulbs to add accent lighting to the LED's?

 

[Crabs McJones]

So I am in the process of building my canopy for my new tank(I have build Thread if you want to see the canopy/progression of the tank) and I made it with a couple things in mind. One of them being easy access to the entire inside of the tank. With that being said the lights would be about 17-20in or so off the waterline. I wanted to put my old t-5 retro kit on from my old tank on the canopy. My question is 20in too high for two t-5 bulbs to add accent lighting to the LED's?

What kind of leds? At 20 inches with LEDs you're going to loose a lot of power and have alot of light overspill. Most common mounting height is anywhere from 7 to 14 inches

 

[Dilan Patel]

Im not worried about the LED but am worried about the t-5 is it worth putting them in for just asthetic purposes at around that height?

 

[Crabs McJones]

Im not worried about the LED but am worried about the t-5 is it worth putting them in for just asthetic purposes at around that height?

Most likely not. Lets see if some other members of #reefsquad might have more insight. But to me two T5's at 20 inches wouldn't be able to be utlilized enough to justify the cost of them. You'd get alot of light overspill into the room .

 

[Dilan Patel]

Well this will be a closed canopy as well as I already have the t-5's from my old tank so it would basically be free to install.

 

[Dilan Patel]

Ill see if I can get some par values tonight.

 

[jsker]

Most likely not. Lets see if some other members of #reefsquad might have more insight. But to me two T5's at 20 inches wouldn't be able to be utlilized enough to justify the cost of them. You'd get alot of light overspill into the room .

+1

 

[Crabs McJones]

Well this will be a closed canopy as well as I already have the t-5's from my old tank so it would basically be free to install.

Ah, I see Closed canopy would help keep the light in. If you already have them and it costs nothing to do then I say have at it

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Yea at 20 in you might “see” some
Difference. But you’ll lose pretty much all the par.

 

[Dilan Patel]

So I just ran a quick test with 100% on both channels on my SBReef 16in box and I found I was getting around 200-250 at the top of my rock structure and around 80-120 on the bottom of my tank. So I believe when I do get the whole canopy covered I will gain a lot of Par back due to at least 50% falling out of the tank.

 

[Diesel]

If your LED's are the main light source and you looking for the T5's just to pop your corals you're good to go.
That is if you have at least some quality LED's
My ATI was 15" above water surface and I grew SPS on the sand bed.

 

[Dilan Patel]

they are sbreeflights so they are decent quality and yeah the t5 r for making corals pop only not really about par

 

[Diesel]

they are sbreeflights so they are decent quality and yeah the t5 r for making corals pop only not really about par

I would say make it a game plan, fire the lights up.

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

If I'm not mistaken WWC has their radions around 2' off the water, so I think you'd be fine.

 

[Daniel Waters]

For aesthetics, 20" mounting height will be perfectly fine for your two T5 bulbs. You obviously won't get much par out of 2 bulbs that far up. You say the T5s are to make your "corals pop". This will depend on your bulb choice. Most people when they talk about corals "popping" are referring to colors being brought out by actinic or an ATI blue plus bulb for example. In general, T5s are going to give the tank a "flatter" look and will reduce noticeable shimmer from the LEDs.

You also state that you think you may gain 50% of the light back when you get the canopy on due to the light falling out of the tank. I think that is probably ambitious, but I'd love to hear back on what your par numbers are pre and post canopy. I suspect the type of finish, color, and actual length of the canopy below the lights will all come into play on how much reflection you actually wind up getting. I'm thinking maybe a 15% increase but I have no idea and am truly curious!

 

[BradB]

How big is the tank? I have a 4 foot cube, and a high light in the middle has very little spill outside the tank. But a 10 gallon with a light 20 inches above it gets little light.

 

[dmunyon8]

You could cover the inside of the canopy with a reflective film/foil to help reflect light back down into your tank

 

[Sir Chris]

I think the closer the better as long as spreadnis equal. That’s y i love t5s with led bar hybrid and reefbrites.

 

[Dana Riddle]

What wattage are the T5s? What corals' fluorescence (Acans, Lobos, etc.) - spectral quality makes a huge difference in fluorescent yield.

 

[waxhawreefer]

I go into the premium shops when I’m in Florida, their lights are pretty high, but they run them 100% and their tanks are only 12” deep and the corals are about 6-8” below the surface , hard to compare with a home tank