T-5 upgrade from PC?

Speg · Jan 29, 2011

Would a 4x39 watt T-5 fixture be an upgrade from a 2x96 watt pc fixture? Are there more factors involved that I'm not considering besides bulbs?

skinz78 · Jan 29, 2011

Yes if it has good individual reflectors it would be a huge upgrade from any PC light setup.

btkrausen · Jan 29, 2011

Yeah, T5 are more powerful than PCs and should give you the ability to grow nicer corals if thats what you are after. Plus, you can swap out bulbs for different color combinations.

KLR · Jan 29, 2011

Yea t5's will be a great lighting upgrade! The good thing about t5's is like said above,you can choose your colors

btkrausen · Jan 29, 2011

I'm running 4 x 29w ATI bulbs over my frag tank. I think I have, from front to back:

Blue+
Aquablue Special
Purple+
Blue+

its a fantastic color, not to blue, not very white/yellow

clowns101 · Jan 29, 2011

That s amajor upgrade actully!Be careful,be sure to acclimate all your corals.Place windo screening on the tank in 3 layers over egg crate and remove a layer each week for 3 weeks.

Speg · Jan 30, 2011

Cool. I'll pick one up then. Any advice on a 4 bulb system? I was lookin at some around $250.

skinz78 · Jan 30, 2011

I really like the Nova Extreme that I have for my frag tank, even without individual reflectors it puts out a lot of light.

Troylee · Jan 30, 2011

Power compacts are a huge waist!!!! They use so much energy reflecting the light on it's self that it creates heat and little to no output... Don't get me wrong they work but a t5 puts out 10 times more light given it has a good reflector....

sexycorals · Jan 30, 2011

pic up the tek and run 3 blue + and 1 fiji purple.. :smile:

Speg said:
Cool. I'll pick one up then. Any advice on a 4 bulb system? I was lookin at some around $250.

skinz78 · Jan 30, 2011

I had a Tek on an old tank and I loved it! I think they are spendy though.

Speg · Jan 30, 2011

I'm on a budget..don't want to stray TOO far from $250.

solitude127 · Feb 2, 2011

What are the tank dimensions? are you looking for a fixture or a retrofit kit?

Speg · Feb 3, 2011

Well, I ended up getting a 4 bulb light with a fan & adjustable moonlights...can't wait to see it (it's on the way). I also got some replacement bulbs for my 12 gallon nano and they cost almost 20 bucks a piece...unreal...I can't wait until I only have to buy T-5 lights

The best part is the whole setup only cost me like 210 bucks! Way cheap...can't wait to see how bright they are...and thanks for the advice on how to acclimate my coral to the new lights..appreciate it.

jonzee2006 · Feb 3, 2011

skinz78 said:
Yes if it has good individual reflectors it would be a huge upgrade from any PC light setup.

+1 the reflectors make a world of difference. I upgraded from PC's awhile back and it was the best thing I've done. and there are a lot more colors for T5"s

fab1971 · Feb 3, 2011

Aquatic life for me. Love it so far. I miss my mh but at least I don't have to worry about over heating anymore. It's 75 bucks over your budget though.

dougers31 · Feb 3, 2011

Just be sure to be very careful acclimating your corals and fish to t5's. My friend switched from pc's to t5's and killed off most of his fish(from stress which led to disease I think) and corals. Hang it high and use something to diffuse some of the light, then just slowly raise the intensity over the course of a few weeks or so.

dougers31 · Feb 3, 2011

Speg said:
Well, I ended up getting a 4 bulb light with a fan & adjustable moonlights...can't wait to see it (it's on the way). I also got some replacement bulbs for my 12 gallon nano and they cost almost 20 bucks a piece...unreal...I can't wait until I only have to buy T-5 lights

The best part is the whole setup only cost me like 210 bucks! Way cheap...can't wait to see how bright they are...and thanks for the advice on how to acclimate my coral to the new lights..appreciate it.

Did you by chance get a coralvue fixture? If so I'd be interested in what ya think of it.

MimicOcto8 · Feb 3, 2011

Darn got to this thread too late. I would have tried to suggested saving up for a good fixture like ATI, but i'm sure you'll be super stoked on what you got since you had PCs. If you can hang your lights its the best way to go (IMO) what I did was raise the lights high off the tank for 2weeks then lowered for 2 weeks then 6" above the tank and its amazing! good luck with the new fixture

redtop03 · Feb 3, 2011

I have 2 of the 48" Odyssea MH/PC combo lights and am planning on replacing the PCs in them with T5,I'd be taking out 4x65w PCs per fixture,I planned on using 2x54w T5s per fixture...would that be brighter than the 4x65w PCs or should I go with 4x54w T5s per fixture ?