Need advice - Switching from Black Boxes to T5s

JCOLE · Apr 22, 2020

Hello everyone,

I have a 150 gallon SPS dominant tank. It has been running for a little over a year now. My testing and husbandry is on par, my flow is on par, now I don't think my lighting is on par, no pun intended. My corals are growing and getting bigger. However, I feel something is off. I think it has to do with the spectrum the Chinese black boxes are putting out. I have been contemplating switching from my (4) MarsAqua LED's to an ATI 8x80 60" Sunpower fixture and running T5's only with ATI bulbs.

Does anyone have this fixture over an SPS dominate tank? If so, how is color and growth with SPS? Does the fixture get hot? Could I put it in my canopy without causing issues, etc?

Would love to hear from everyone on this. Also, pictures would be awesome as well.

RCS82 · Apr 22, 2020

T5s are a top contender for SPS tanks and an 8x80 sunpower over a standard 150 will give you what you want. Bulb combo is up to you completely. Some people like to go mostly blue plus with a coral plus or 2 while others might split it evenly blue and coral plus. I'd be more into throwing an actinic or two in maybe with a purple plus too and then blue plus coral plus for the rest. And snapping a Reefbrite onto it will give you some great coral pop when the T5s go out. I don't have an ATI unit but in a canopy I think you will definitely want to look at air flow and heating concerns.

JCOLE · Apr 27, 2020

I think I am going to pull the trigger on the 8 bulb sunpower. It says it is not recommended in canopies. I have seen them in canopies so just curious if anyone has had issues with this?

jerrod · Apr 27, 2020

I was running T5's over my tank and they worked great my only issue was I didn't have as much florescence as with the LED's due to my own bulb combo. They do get hotter than LEDs but that is manageable with fans etc. If you put in a canopy I would definitely have a fan and some holes to vent out the heat.

X-37B · Apr 27, 2020

My 120 4b+ 4c+.
10 months old from frags. 4" off the surface.

tehmadreefer · Apr 27, 2020

I went from Mars aqua to a 8 bulb retro kit. They do got hot and heat up the water in the canopy. I do have a small fan but don’t think it helps much. Just be sure the hot air can escape out of the i also have the ballasts on the top of the canopy and an open back.

jda · Apr 28, 2020

If you use them in a hood, it must be ventilated. If you are not going to use any fans, then open top will keep everything cool.

JCOLE · Apr 28, 2020

@jda this is what I am currently working with. I have two fans at the top of the canopy to pull hot air out. If I go the T5 route then I will add two fans in the back to bring in cool air. I don't know if I can go with the 8 bulb kit. It might be too wide. Would I be good If I went with the 6x80 ATI kit with 3xblue+, 2xcoral+, and 1xpurple plus on the 150 gallon? It is SPS dominate and I would hate to lose par of so.

tehmadreefer · Apr 28, 2020

6 should be just fine as on my 180 the 8th bulb is kinda off the back of the tank that I angle the reflector inward. Too bad can’t have 7 bulbs.

JCOLE · Apr 28, 2020

I was thinking I could do the 6 bulb and if I needed extra then I have a LET retro kit already so I could add two more if space permits.

Since adding the T5s 3 weeks ago I have seen a huge improvement. It seems the corals have went into a kickstart mode. I think it's the blue+ spectrum as well that is helping. I don't trust these black box spectrums. Just worried that I will sacrifice PAR by switching to just a 6 bulb fixture.

tehmadreefer · Apr 28, 2020

Yep, love t5’s. My entire setup is the retro kit as I’m cheap, lol

But ya those 2 extra bulbs would add quite a bit more par and you could even do an actinic for extra pop

Twocorns · Apr 28, 2020

I put my ATI fixture on top of my canopy. Reduced light spill and dont have to worry about heat issues.

JCOLE · Apr 28, 2020

Twocorns said:
I put my ATI fixture on top of my canopy. Reduced light spill and dont have to worry about heat issues.

I was thinking about that as well. I might have an issue as my canopy is 17" tall.

JCOLE · Apr 28, 2020

I guess I could go with a 8 bulb and build a new canopy to set it on top...hmmm

Uh oh. Brain is starting to spin here....that is dangerous lol

X-37B · Apr 28, 2020

I ran a 6 bulb on my 120 for 7+ months before adding a 2 bulb unit for 8.
Plenty of growth with the 6. I added the other 2 only because I got a 2 bulb unit for next to nothing.
Have not really seen an increase in growth from the extra 2 but the coralline on my back wall is getting thick lol.

tehmadreefer · Apr 28, 2020

Here’s mine. Notice all the extra storage on top, lol

ApoIsland · Apr 28, 2020

JCOLE said:
Hello everyone,

I have a 150 gallon SPS dominate tank. It has been running for a little over a year now. My testing and husbandry is on par, my flow is on par, now I don't think my lighting is on par, no pun intended. My corals are growing and getting bigger. However, I feel something is off. I think it has to do with the spectrum the Chinese black boxes are putting out. I have been contemplating switching from my (4) MarsAqua LED's to an ATI 8x80 60" Sunpower fixture and running T5's only with ATI bulbs.

Does anyone have this fixture over a SPS dominate tank? If so, how is color and growth with SPS? Does the fixture get hot? Could I put it in my canopy without causing issues, etc?

Would live to hear from everyone on this. Also, pictures would be awesome as well.

I went the opposite way you did. I had a 6 bulb ATI fixture about 10 years ago and went to Chinese black boxes about 7 years ago. Color and growth will be far superior with your T5 fixture. Just be aware of the cost associated. I don't think an industrial sized fan running around the clock would cool the tank enough with that fixture in a canopy. Will probably need a chiller. When I switched to LED I was able to ditch the chiller which really was a game changer for me. I was ok with the inferior color of the cheap LED. Although last week I did upgrade to a nicer LED fixture in an attempt to recapture some of the awe of those T5 colors.

JCOLE · Apr 28, 2020

tehmadreefer said:
Here’s mine. Notice all the extra storage on top, lol

Are those the LET retro kits? What is the width of all 8 of them put together? I measured about 3" for the reflector which would put it about 24". Hopefully I am wrong. That would be a cheaper route for me to go which would be good.

JCOLE · Apr 28, 2020

ApoIsland said:
I went the opposite way you did. I had a 6 bulb ATI fixture about 10 years ago and went to Chinese black boxes about 7 years ago. Color and growth will be far superior with your T5 fixture. Just be aware of the cost associated. I don't think an industrial sized fan running around the clock would cool the tank enough with that fixture in a canopy. Will probably need a chiller. When I switched to LED I was able to ditch the chiller which really was a game changer for me. I was ok with the inferior color of the cheap LED. Although last week I did upgrade to a nicer LED fixture in an attempt to recapture some of the awe of those T5 colors.

I have my tank plumbed into my garage and luckily have not passed 80 degrees for over a year. Hopefully I would not have to use a chiller. That would be a deal breaker if so.

tehmadreefer · Apr 28, 2020

JCOLE said:
Are those the LET retro kits? What is the width of all 8 of them put together? I measured about 3" for the reflector which would put it about 24". Hopefully I am wrong. That would be a cheaper route for me to go which would be good.

Yep let retro kits mounted on some type of hardwood, painted white underneath and the board is sitting on 2 angle irons. I think it’s right at 24 maybe a hair over. My 180 is 24 wide.