Switching from Radion G5 Blue to T5

Hydrored · Apr 9, 2020

I ordered everything up, I still don’t think I’m going to be happy on how it installs in the canopy. I ended up ordering 36” reef brites instead of 48 due how I have to install them. Hopefully 2 36”will be fine in a 48” tank. Wife will not have the tank without a canopy, I even hand washed her car and she still said no. I ordered the 48” T5 fixture though. If I can’t make it work I may end up with Reefi after all.

edit: searched the forums and couldn’t find much if I need to acclimate for reef brites, T5’s I get it. Seems to me the the reef brites can’t over power the T5’s. Thoughts?

Reefcowboy · Apr 9, 2020

Hydrored said:
I ordered everything up, I still don’t think I’m going to be happy on how it installs in the canopy. I ended up ordering 36” reef brites instead of 48 due how I have to install them. Hopefully 2 36”will be fine in a 48” tank. Wife will not have the tank without a canopy, I even hand washed her car and she still said no. I ordered the 48” T5 fixture though. If I can’t make it work I may end up with Reefi after all.

edit: searched the forums and couldn’t find much if I need to acclimate for reef brites, T5’s I get it. Seems to me the the reef brites can’t over power the T5’s. Thoughts?

No need to worry about the reefbrites and acclimation. The 36" bars could cover the 48, depending where your coral placement will be.
I hear you about the wife, were all on the same boat!

Reefman71 · Apr 9, 2020

Throwing in the towel pretty quick on the Radions aren’t you?

Hydrored · Apr 9, 2020

QUOTE="John K., post: 7310352, member: 99878"]
Throwing in the towel pretty quick on the Radions aren’t you?
[/QUOTE]

Yes. What started all of this was I saw a tank with T5’s and LED supplements in person, the G5’s being trash just helped make it easier to switch since I have to pull all 4 to repair them anyways. I’m not out of the woods yet until I can get it all to fit. I’ve had the G5’s since release, I much preferred that AB+ with G4 and diffusers.

Hydrored · Apr 9, 2020

I’ve had it with these lights. Just lifted the hood to feed and noticed one of the lights is waaaaaay brighter than the others. Go to Mobius and hit sync just to say 1 of 4 lights updated, power cycle them all and everything went back to normal.

mfinn · Apr 9, 2020

If you are worried about light acclimation, the old window screen material worked pretty good.
Get 2-3 layers of window screen material and just pull a layer after 4-5 days.
You can support it with eggcrate.

Hydrored · Apr 10, 2020

Well, after messing with this for hours I just ordered 3 Reefi Duo Exremes. I hate this canopy, little does the wife kniw this dang canopy just cost me even more. Sorry for giving up on T5, its not meant for this canopy and Install does not give me any room for maintance. Only other option at this point would be to build another canopy that is much taller. I’ll post an update once everything is installed and will sell all 4 blues

A. grandis · Apr 10, 2020

You could simply remove the top part of the canopy leaving the sides and hang the T5 fixture from the ceiling. The very best you could offer to your system in the long run and call it a great day.
You have to say sorry to your corals, not us (and your pocket). LOL! Just kidding!
Good luck with your new LED. I truly hope that is the end of the nightmare.
Be safe!

Reefs anonymous · Apr 11, 2020

Hydrored said:
Hi,

I’m currently running 4 XR15 Gen 5’s Blue a 48” 120G with canopy. With all of the mobius issues and now cracked lights i’m looking for any feedback on switching. Mixed reef with LPS and just started adding SPS and a couple acros, all are doing great.

Budget is 2k
How many bulb fixture would I need to support sps?
Recommendation on bulbs? I do like the color of ab+, maybe more on the blue side
Should I add 2 Orphek or Reef Brites right away? I enjoy the dusk/dawn effect. Looking at the Orphek UV and Blue
I have an Apogee 510 to test par, currently sitting at 110 on the sand. Should i expect more par from this setup?

Been years since I used T5’s, I appreciate any help

Best ATI Bulb Combinations for Your 8 Bulb Fixture - ATI North America

It’s easy to spend hours deciding which T5 bulbs to use over your tank. It’s challenging to visualize how your combination of bulbs will look in your fixture. While a lot of aquarium lighting is based on personal preference, here’s a general guide to help you select bulbs for your 8 bulb...

www.atinorthamerica.com

Hydrored · Apr 11, 2020

I case any of you are interested I was bored late last night and installed 2 36” reefbrites along with my 4 G5’s. Wires are coming out of the canopy since its a temp install. Here is a photo just ab+ then with reefbrites on. The color of the coral pops more, definitely more of a blanket coverage as the caves have some light in them now. Phone photos make it look extra blue

Hydrored · Apr 11, 2020

Reef brites at 50%

OceanDiver · Aug 11, 2020

What bulb combination did you do with?

Reefs anonymous · Aug 12, 2020

I went DIY, kessil and orphek bars. Got dusk till dawn, adjustable spectrum, natural shimmer, no heat and I don’t have to buy replacement T5’s. I also installed a small blue LED in the middle of fixture for moonlighting. For me, the perfect combo, cause I covered every single requirement I was looking for in a fixture.

madweazl · Aug 12, 2020

Reefs anonymous said:
I went DIY, kessil and orphek bars. Got dusk till dawn, adjustable spectrum, natural shimmer, no heat and I don’t have to buy replacement T5’s. I also installed a small blue LED in the middle of fixture for moonlighting. For me, the perfect combo, cause I covered every single requirement I was looking for in a fixture.

I like the idea of no bulb replacements but the initial purchase sure is nasty on the Orphek bars.

Reefs anonymous · Aug 12, 2020

madweazl said:
I like the idea of no bulb replacements but the initial purchase sure is nasty on the Orphek bars.

I checked the par with 2 OR3 BP bars 10” off the water and 15” deep is approx 180 par, added 2 kessils you can get to the 250par easily. I bought my kessils used a few years ago, then got 2 X OR3’s initially, I just recently got the 3rd and 4th OR3’s.

Vwluv10338 · Aug 18, 2020

@Hydrored
Did you end up with the Reefi Extremes? How do you like them?

Hydrored · Aug 18, 2020

Vwluv10338 said:
@Hydrored
Did you end up with the Reefi Extremes? How do you like them?

ReeFi’s are great lights, I feel they need to be mounted higher than I could on my new 8’ tank due to not being able to mount them from the ceiling and being on the shallower side. It was hard to get a good PAR mix for a mixed tank. Dream setup is still a hybrid install if the wife ever lets me hang them from our 15’ ceilings. I still have 5 ReeFi lights, 2 Orphek OR3’s, and Reefbrite HXO’s around the house but decided to post them for sale recently.

Here is my setup today, and yes I still have issues with Mobius-

aggieoil11 · Nov 1, 2020

Why do you say they need to be mounted higher? How much higher do you think they need to be mounted?

Bpb · Nov 1, 2020

Throwing in my vote for 6x54 watt ati sunpower with a pair of reefbrite xho blues. 4 ati blue+ 2 ati coral+

Hydrored · Nov 1, 2020

aggieoil11 said:
Why do you say they need to be mounted higher? How much higher do you think they need to be mounted?

They a very v shaped in the spread, when mounted higher they are great lights. I would get lower PAR spots higher in the tank. I have settled on my final lighting configuration and I’m finally happy.