Should I ditch my T5s?

[Sleepydoc]

I have a standard 120 gallon SPS tank (4’ x 2’ x 2’) and have been using a 6 bulb T5 fixture for the last 10 years. It works fine but about every 2 years one of the ballasts goes out. They’re not horrible expensive or difficult to replace, just a pain and another expense. Now that it’s happened again I’m trying to decide if it’s time to switch over to LEDs or maybe a hybrid system. I’d also like to be able to dim them.

BRS has dimmable T5 ballasts so I could replace the ballasts at a cost of about $200. Of course I still need to deal with replacing (and disposing of ) the bulbs. Or I could get something like a Reef Breeders Photon or Maxspect Razor for $800-1000 and not have to deal with T5s.

I’ve looked at some of the hybrid systems, too, but it seems I’d end up spending $6-700 for the T5 portion and have to shell out another $5-600 for the LEDs so I’m not sure I could justify that.

What should I do?

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

I have a standard 120 gallon SPS tank (4’ x 2’ x 2’) and have been using a 6 bulb T5 fixture for the last 10 years. It works fine but about every 2 years one of the ballasts goes out. They’re not horrible expensive or difficult to replace, just a pain and another expense. Now that it’s happened again I’m trying to decide if it’s time to switch over to LEDs or maybe a hybrid system. I’d also like to be able to dim them.

BRS has dimmable T5 ballasts so I could replace the ballasts at a cost of about $200. Of course I still need to deal with replacing (and disposing of ) the bulbs. Or I could get something like a Reef Breeders Photon or Maxspect Razor for $800-1000 and not have to deal with T5s.

I’ve looked at some of the hybrid systems, too, but it seems I’d end up spending $6-700 for the T5 portion and have to shell out another $5-600 for the LEDs so I’m not sure I could justify that.

What should I do?

I personally love my T5 hyrbrid. Yup..not cheap. From what I am seeing in your thread that cost is a primary driver (maybe Im misreading). If cost is a primary driver, I would stay with the T5s. yes the LEDs are pretty but based on reading, they need to be replaced every 4-6 years as they start losing their effectiveness whereas T5s, you replace a 25 bulb every other year (times 6 averages 75 a year). I would also say that if you have found success with a method..i would stick with it.

 

[DeniseAndy]

I love my T5s. I would rather pay the ballast every few years than the high cost of LEDs every 5 or so. I just like to plug and play though. I like knowing my spectrum without studying the LEDs. I am sure newer ones have all the data I need, but I am just old school reefing.
Check out the newest LED you are interested in and search for users to see if it is for you. Since you know the T5 side.

 

[Spare time]

Lol this thread is going to fire up to t5/halide people. You can switch if you want. An LED bar from quanta for be an easy and cheap replacement (no dimming though as they are basically an LED replacement for t5's. Reef brite fixtures can be dimmed. The nice thing about LED's is that they make fixtures and styles for pretty much every niche.

 

[Bj’s Reef]

I’m following to see where this goes.

 

[piranhaman00]

Keep the t5s the cost of replacing the leds is more rxpensice

 

[TX_Punisher]

Nothing wrong with t5, maybe some heat, but my leds heat my tank as well.

I probably expected too much with the switch from an 8-bulb to g5, didn’t notice any difference growth or color wise. Which is why I just added 4 t5’s on top of the leds. Best of both worlds.

 

[bobnicaragua]

Coverage & spectrum, you can’t beat T5. I would go hybrid.

 

[SilvermistInc]

There's no way I'll ever buy an LED system again. Especially since I've switched over to T5s. The insanely high prices and subpar coverage of current LED fixtures is a huge nope for me.

For example, I recently got a Marine X 60.2 from my lfs for an absolute steal. What lighting solution will I be doing? A T5 hybrid. Why? Because I'm not ever going to pay $800 for an XR15 or an a360x to light up that tank. Especially since I already have an AI Prime that I haven't used in a while, and because I know T5s work. So why suffer the hassle of having to program a whole new lighting system and dialing it in. When I could simply slap in a few light bulbs and just call it good? The AI Prime will just be there to add some perk to the corals anyway.

 

[Waters]

If cost isn't an issue, I would go hybrid....otherwise just keep the T5s.

 

[Steven Garland]

See,I used t5 back in the day and I LOVE THEM,but I keep smaller tanks nano's and pico's so its hard to have a 24" light over a 12" long tank lol. At the time there wasn't many small lights to light a tank that small unless it was a Kessil or a NanoBox. Kessil A150's were weak and NanoBox was out of my price range.

So I built my own lights. Plus 95% of the big light companies spectrum was trash. And many still run cool whites,reds,greens instead of warm whites and mint/lime.

So I finally got a tank I can run t5's and guess what I did.. I got t5's again. I got a XR15 from a buddy,with the mounting arm put half the array was hanging over my tank. Sold that,got a Tek 4 bulb fixture. Now,because I want some pop I am just building my own bar. But with quality diodes like SemiLed violets/uv and Luxeon/Cree royals.

What am I trying to say ? Well keep the T5's and if anything get a supplemental bar from ReefBrite,NicoLed,Orphek,SBReefLights,ReefBreeders,Alibaba or I will build you one. T5's are tried and true. People go all led because its more efficent,runs cooler,no bulb cost yada freakin' yada. But if its not broke don't fix it. Am I right or wrong ?

Having to replace a ballast every 2-3 is not bad in my book. I'd rather do that then endlessly spending money trying to get the light I want.

I always liked building my own arrays because I can use the diodes I want and not having to tolerate the diodes other companies used.

Like my bar will be using 385nm,390nm-400nm,400nm-410nm,415nm,430nm and 445-450nm diodes dimmable and still probably more than I'll ever need.

 

[BZOFIQ]

Keep T5s, add an LED bar if you want shimmer before/after day cycle.

 

[Crustaceon]

I have a standard 120 gallon SPS tank (4’ x 2’ x 2’) and have been using a 6 bulb T5 fixture for the last 10 years. It works fine but about every 2 years one of the ballasts goes out. They’re not horrible expensive or difficult to replace, just a pain and another expense. Now that it’s happened again I’m trying to decide if it’s time to switch over to LEDs or maybe a hybrid system. I’d also like to be able to dim them.

BRS has dimmable T5 ballasts so I could replace the ballasts at a cost of about $200. Of course I still need to deal with replacing (and disposing of ) the bulbs. Or I could get something like a Reef Breeders Photon or Maxspect Razor for $800-1000 and not have to deal with T5s.

I’ve looked at some of the hybrid systems, too, but it seems I’d end up spending $6-700 for the T5 portion and have to shell out another $5-600 for the LEDs so I’m not sure I could justify that.

What should I do?

Ok... I went through the same thing as you with a 6-bulb t5ho. They're great fixtures and grow coral well. I installed mine 6" over the water and that was that. I switched to three viparspectra "165w" fixtures because like you I thought "less $$$ in the long run". Knowing leds can fry coral pretty easily, I installed them 13" over the water and set them to 20% white and 40% blue. My acropora frags grew quickly for the first few months and seemingly hit a brick wall in growth. I used the photone app to check par which was $10 for both white/blue & full spectrum settings and got... 90 par 12" under water where my acros were affixed. Needless to say, I'm running the lights at 40% white and 60% blue, which put me at 250 par and have already seen improvements in growth. Now this is just what a $10 app tells me. A $700 par meter is probably going to do a better job. Either way, I would not run leds without using a par meter to initially set them up. That being said, I would factor the cost of a par meter rental/purchase (ideally) into the purchase of any led fixture/s. TBH, I probably wouldn't have bothered to do that with T5. I just install them low enough to prevent too much light from hitting the panels and that usually puts you in the par ballpark mid-upper tank for sps. All in all, I'm probably using around 225w with the leds. The 6-bulb t5ho uses 100w more electricity than the leds and needs bulb/ballast replacements every so often, but undoubtedly provides better quality light than leds from a spread and spectrum perspective. (I'm going to test this one out). It's a tough choice, but t5's are still top-notch. You're probably not going to get noticeable better growth results out of leds in my opinion. Colors will pop more for sure though.

 

[Sleepydoc]

Thanks for all the replies and input. Money is a consideration but not a dealbreaker. I can afford a new or more expensive fixture if necessary but it’s not like I‘m looking to throw $1000 at something without making it better.

From what I can tell the energy consumption would be comparable with slightly less heat radiated to the tank with LEDs. Heat generally isn’t a huge problem for me - my tank gets a bit warm during the summer months but nothing a couple fans can’t handle, so that isn’t really a deciding factor either.

I like the simplicity of T5s, just not buying, changing and disposing of bulbs. Part of the problem is it’s a bit of a pain to change the bulbs in my T5 fixture so I tend to put it off longer than I should. I think for now I’ll probably just replace the ballasts in my current fixture and get a hybrid fixture at some point in the future.

 

[CoralB]

Both if you can afford it .

 

[A. grandis]

I have a standard 120 gallon SPS tank (4’ x 2’ x 2’) and have been using a 6 bulb T5 fixture for the last 10 years. It works fine but about every 2 years one of the ballasts goes out. They’re not horrible expensive or difficult to replace, just a pain and another expense. Now that it’s happened again I’m trying to decide if it’s time to switch over to LEDs or maybe a hybrid system. I’d also like to be able to dim them.

BRS has dimmable T5 ballasts so I could replace the ballasts at a cost of about $200. Of course I still need to deal with replacing (and disposing of ) the bulbs. Or I could get something like a Reef Breeders Photon or Maxspect Razor for $800-1000 and not have to deal with T5s.

I’ve looked at some of the hybrid systems, too, but it seems I’d end up spending $6-700 for the T5 portion and have to shell out another $5-600 for the LEDs so I’m not sure I could justify that.

What should I do?

The amazing results using T5s are very unique!!! Make sure your fans are working in the speed they need!!! That is most likely the ballasts are going out!!! The ballasts last "forever" if those fans are working accordingly! Like a decade or more... Nah, don't change the T5s. They are the easiest way to have those superb results! Can you post some pictures of the corals under T5s?

 

[oreo54]

Thanks for all the replies and input. Money is a consideration but not a dealbreaker. I can afford a new or more expensive fixture if necessary but it’s not like I‘m looking to throw $1000 at something without making it better.

From what I can tell the energy consumption would be comparable with slightly less heat radiated to the tank with LEDs. Heat generally isn’t a huge problem for me - my tank gets a bit warm during the summer months but nothing a couple fans can’t handle, so that isn’t really a deciding factor either.

I like the simplicity of T5s, just not buying, changing and disposing of bulbs. Part of the problem is it’s a bit of a pain to change the bulbs in my T5 fixture so I tend to put it off longer than I should. I think for now I’ll probably just replace the ballasts in my current fixture and get a hybrid fixture at some point in the future.

First the " look" of t5's only and any other light type is completely different.
That needs to be accounted for.
In simplist terms flat and static vs more 3d and dynamic
Which one prefers is a personal choice.

Using non-dimmable ( some are dimmable) led light bars (really just a tube emulation with no need for a reflector) is the most cost effective transition in most cases.
You still have the simple on/off but no bulb changes likely for years.

Once going with channels and color adjustments is where the cost escalates.

Downside is one cord/ power supply per "tube".

$1000 for 5 quanta pro 4' light bars.
360 watts.
Replacing 324 w t5's.
You could probably get away with 4.

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[homer1475]

Absolutely love my ATI powermodule! Wasn't cheap by any standard. But I get the spread and spectrum of T5's with the added shimmer of LEDS.

On my previous sunpower(just T5) I used it for a better part of 10 years without ever having to change the ballast. Never really heard of ballast's having to be replaced as much as you. Are you running the fan speeds correctly?

 

[Sleepydoc]

I think that’s the problem - My T5 fixture is from Sunlight supply and has no fans so it probably runs too hot, causing the ballasts to burn out. The other problem is the bulbs are a PITA to replace. The polycarbonate lens is a pain to remove, and the reflectors extend all the way to the end of the bulbs so I can’t get my fingers in to turn the bulbs. All this means I need to completely take the fixture off down and Lay it on the floor to replace the bulbs.

The other problem is I’m having trouble sourcing a replacement ballast for my lights so I may just replace them anyway.

@oreo5457 - those Quanta lights look amazing. Do you get much shimmer from them? I’m strongly considering getting an aquatic life dimmable T5 hybrid fixture and putting a couple of the Quanta strips in the middle but I’m worried it will be too much par and I’d like to get a bit of shimmer.

 

[oreo54]

You may find info here:
25 pages to go through though.
He is quite the fan of them.

LED - telegraham's lighting tests

Nice!

humble.fish