Question about t5 fixtures.

[FiremanRick]

Where did you purchase the parts?

 

[mcarroll]

How come the Kessil's (and LED's) are getting the short-shrift, and how do you define "under-lit"?

How will you know when it's "correctly lit"?

I would have a target lux or PAR number in mind.

And I would have a lux meter ($15) or PAR meter in hand to use so you can verify when you get to "correct".

(I'd get a meter and use that to assess where you are now in terms of need.)

 

[Usctom]

Look at some of the hydroponics T5s. Something like quantuam badboy. A little more then $100 but have a good ballast and reflectors.

 

[FiremanRick]

How come the Kessil's (and LED's) are getting the short-shrift, and how do you define "under-lit"?

How will you know when it's "correctly lit"?

I would have a target lux or PAR number in mind.

And I would have a lux meter ($15) or PAR meter in hand to use so you can verify when you get to "correct".

(I'd get a meter and use that to assess where you are now in terms of need.)

I rented a PAR meter from my LFS. 3 inches under the water was <100par. At the bottom of the tank, it was between 25 and 35 PAR. That was at 100% intensity. The assessment is what led to me looking for improvements

 

[TheEngineer]

How come the Kessil's (and LED's) are getting the short-shrift, and how do you define "under-lit"?

How will you know when it's "correctly lit"?

I would have a target lux or PAR number in mind.

And I would have a lux meter ($15) or PAR meter in hand to use so you can verify when you get to "correct".

(I'd get a meter and use that to assess where you are now in terms of need.)

I read right past the mention of Kessil. Lol. That's surprising to me too. I get about 8-10,000 lux 16" under water with it at 45% intensity and 50% color.

 

[FiremanRick]

Yeah I dunno what their deal is.

 

[TheEngineer]

Yeah I dunno what their deal is.

How high are they mounted and what are your settings? How many?

 

[FiremanRick]

They are about 12 inches off the water. A little high, but even out of the water, the PAR dropped to less then 300 before the water level. No way they would have made any decent light at the bottom if I lowered them. These readings were at 100% color and intensity

 

[FiremanRick]

There's only 2, not enough for the size of the tank either.

 

[gus6464]

Where did you purchase the parts?

I got the ballasts from ebay. Reflectors from coralvue. Wiring from mcmaster carr. Endcaps from custom aquatic.

 

[mcarroll]

There's only 2, not enough for the size of the tank either.

Right...that's twelve square feet to cover with light for only two fixtures that are good for two square feet a piece. (At the proper height.)

In fairness to the assessment, I'd prefer to add more Kessils (or a whole, different LED system if that's too much Kessil to swing) vs adding T5's.

I think AP700's, maybe with optics kits...or 360N's....would probably do it. ($1800-$2700)

On the mid-range, Orbit Marine Pro strips. ($900-$1800 depending on your goals)

Just two suggestions – there are many LED systems that would be worth considering.

2¢

 

[Christopher Davis]

I am going to chime in here all opinions of others set aside and respected. Now I went with the home depot fixture an have not had a single issue with bulbs burning out or ballasts failing at 6 months. I bought the 48 inch HO fixture for 90 dollars and built it into my canopy, 8 inches off the water on a 75 gallon tank. Before I was running 2x current pro LED fixtures for a year and my corals absolutely hated them. I mean they just looked ticked off after a year and began to shrink up. So naturally I made the change, and after spending 400+ I wasn't going to drop 1000 on a t5 fixture. I removed one current LED Fix and kept one on the tank and Currently supplementing with the T5HO and my corals are going insane. I am looking at my first bulb replacement period after 9 months and will be buying ATI bulbs. I was previously running the coral-life bulbs with great results so I am stepping it up with the ATI.
I mean I have nothing bad to say about this fixture and it has proven to be successful after 9 months now. I hope this helps after reading some of the comments on here I might do a ballast upgrade and possibly do the end caps, but as for now I couldn't be happier and my tank has never looked better.

 

[Christopher Davis]

I think this speaks for its self in terms of lighting intensity already. The Bottom is my tank taken at the 9 month mark in contrast to running LED top for a year...

 

[gus6464]

Well makes sense since Orbits are such crappy lights.

 

[Christopher Davis]

Well makes sense since Orbits are such crappy lights.

Agree ticked I spend that much money on them lesson learned.

 

[FiremanRick]

I am going to chime in here all opinions of others set aside and respected. Now I went with the home depot fixture an have not had a single issue with bulbs burning out or ballasts failing at 6 months. I bought the 48 inch HO fixture for 90 dollars and built it into my canopy, 8 inches off the water on a 75 gallon tank. Before I was running 2x current pro LED fixtures for a year and my corals absolutely hated them. I mean they just looked ****** off after a year and began to shrink up. So naturally I made the change, and after spending 400+ I wasn't going to drop 1000 on a t5 fixture. I removed one current LED Fix and kept one on the tank and Currently supplementing with the T5HO and my corals are going insane. I am looking at my first bulb replacement period after 9 months and will be buying ATI bulbs. I was previously running the coral-life bulbs with great results so I am stepping it up with the ATI.
I mean I have nothing bad to say about this fixture and it has proven to be successful after 9 months now. I hope this helps after reading some of the comments on here I might do a ballast upgrade and possibly do the end caps, but as for now I couldn't be happier and my tank has never looked better.

What bulbs did you start with? Are those fixtures capable of handling 10k bulbs??

 

[FiremanRick]

I think this speaks for its self in terms of lighting intensity already. The Bottom is my tank taken at the 9 month mark in contrast to running LED top for a year...

Wow. Very nice. Thank you for commenting. Very helpful

 

[gus6464]

Agree ****** I spend that much money on them lesson learned.

What made you buy them at first? Did you start with a fish only tank?

 

[Christopher Davis]

What bulbs did you start with? Are those fixtures capable of handling 10k bulbs??

I am running 1x 10k 2x actinics 1x color max have had no problems. Lux measured from an iPhone ap at 9 months just a rough estimate.

 

[Christopher Davis]

What made you buy them at first? Did you start with a fish only tank?

I have always had corals, initally I had a 2x 150w metal Halid fixture that I was looking to replace and reduce energy costs. One of my LFS told me to go with the currents. So I figured I would give them a try. And ended up very disappointed. The LFS Told me 2 fixtures would be more than enough to keep my corals going he was WRONG. So after all that cash dropped and frustration I ended up going back to the tried and true T5.