T5’s

Bpb · Nov 6, 2019

Jon Fishman said:
Why is a fancy “shop-light” so expensive though?!?!

Also, for bulbs, are these fine?

Because it is a big name aquarium product brand. It is no more effective than a shop light. Just more conveniently arranged to fit hobby leds, and prettier looking. There’s nothing special about it Beyond that though.
ATI would be the exception. The ballasts, reflectors, and cooling are improved over a shop light.

get ATI bulbs. Pass on coralife

Jon Fishman · Nov 6, 2019

Thanks guys Will probably bite the bullet. Just waiting to see if I pick up all of these Radions first !

I am ready to let my coral grow, and stop changing stuff!

RCS82 · Nov 6, 2019

Gaining over 400 watts from T5s at $400 is a win according to me. Let me know what 400 watts worth of Radions costs. IMHO T5 is the best there is relating to spectrum, spread and being plug and play. You're on the right track with adding 4 dual 4ft units added to your existing LEDs. The Aquatic Life hybrids are massively popular and are a no brainer.

Daniel@R2R · Nov 7, 2019

The Aquatic Life hybrid fixtures are very popular and have been demonstrated to be a great product.

+1 on using ATI bulbs over coralife (or pretty much any other brand).

Jon Fishman · Nov 7, 2019

RCS82 said:
Gaining over 400 watts from T5s at $400 is a win according to me. Let me know what 400 watts worth of Radions costs. IMHO T5 is the best there is relating to spectrum, spread and being plug and play. You're on the right track with adding 4 dual 4ft units added to your existing LEDs. The Aquatic Life hybrids are massively popular and are a no brainer.

Ok. so I am leaning towards a hybrid. The giesleman or whatever appear too wide to take advantage of.

I have the Black-Boxes, but I just bought 4 XR30 Radion Pro’s.

I was thinking of a configuration where I could run both, but can’t come up with anything.

What hybrid fixture would I want now?

Radions for every 2’ of tank, and my tank is only 20” deep (front to back) and it looks like I would be lighting a bunch of nothing with many of the hybrids

Is the retrofit add-ons my only option now?

Admann · Nov 7, 2019

What is the front to back measurement of your tank?

Jon Fishman · Nov 7, 2019

Admann said:
What is the front to back measurement of your tank?

20”

MikeSF · Nov 7, 2019

Get out some graph paper and cut out little pieces that represent your LEDs and literally play around with it.

20" wide though (on an 8 foot long tank?) yeah go length wise for certain. Are your lights going to be visible? Or are they are in a canopy?

Easiest no frills approach is 2 of those premade hybrid fixtures and call it a day. As to the size, 4' seems obvious but most people don't need the lights to physically go to the end of the tank, so maybe a 4' and a 3' fixture.

I somewhat recently did this on my 200g tank 4' x 3' foot print. My LED fixtures (DIY jobbers) are 20" long, and just went with 6 - 54w T5s with 2 of my fixtures attached to an extruded aluminum frame (8020-like) . However mine is going to be hidden from view (eventually) so it didn't need to really look that pretty.

Jon Fishman · Nov 7, 2019

MikeSF said:
Get out some graph paper and cut out little pieces that represent your LEDs and literally play around with it.

20" wide though (on an 8 foot long tank?) yeah go length wise for certain. Are your lights going to be visible? Or are they are in a canopy?

Easiest no frills approach is 2 of those premade hybrid fixtures and call it a day. As to the size, 4' seems obvious but most people don't need the lights to physically go to the end of the tank, so maybe a 4' and a 3' fixture.

I somewhat recently did this on my 200g tank 4' x 3' foot print. My LED fixtures (DIY jobbers) are 20" long, and just went with 6 - 54w T5s with 2 of my fixtures attached to an extruded aluminum frame (8020-like) . However mine is going to be hidden from view (eventually) so it didn't need to really look that pretty.

I assume the hybrid fixture is designed to mount the lights horizontal or perpendicular depending on how you want it?

Yeah, Wasn’t sure if it was worth saving $50 to have a 4’ and 3’ fixture vs just a couple 4’ ones

Lights will ultimately be visible..... and “yep”. 8’ tank but only 20” front-to-back

This is my current eye-sore BB lights I am replacing. They grow stuff fine, but I really want a better look when the lights are off and on!

madweazl · Nov 7, 2019

I have the AquaticLife hybrid and I'm not impressed with the output (PAR) of the T5s (this four bulb fixture only puts out 21% more PAR than my two bulb LET retrofits) but the fixture is otherwise nice.

AllSignsPointToFish · Nov 7, 2019

Jon Fishman said:
I assume the hybrid fixture is designed to mount the lights horizontal or perpendicular depending on how you want it?

Yeah, Wasn’t sure if it was worth saving $50 to have a 4’ and 3’ fixture vs just a couple 4’ ones

Lights will ultimately be visible..... and “yep”. 8’ tank but only 20” front-to-back

This is my current eye-sore BB lights I am replacing. They grow stuff fine, but I really want a better look when the lights are off and on!

I actually don't think this looks that bad. I've seen FAR worse!

RCS82 · Nov 7, 2019

What kind of corals are you planning on keeping or what is you're end goal here? That should be the first question.

Jon Fishman · Nov 7, 2019

RCS82 said:
What kind of corals are you planning on keeping or what is you're end goal here? That should be the first question.

It’s mixed. I have everything from euphylia to sticks, to leathers.....

jda · Nov 7, 2019

Jon Fishman said:
I may give them a try. I just hate to spend the money, then take them down in 3 months when I decide I want something else!

If it makes you feel any better, there are not really too many people ever regretted putting T5s on with their LEDS... there are some, but so few that they are truly outliers. The more common phenomenon is that people see what the T5s did and then want to add even more. I doubt that you will take them down.

Admann · Nov 7, 2019

The AquaticLife is 18" front to back and will accept any of the LED fixtures you mention. They also have a dimming feature on their newest fixture, DX15 I think. Nope DX18.

Jon Fishman · Nov 7, 2019

Admann said:
The AquaticLife is 18" front to back and will accept any of the LED fixtures you mention. They also have a dimming feature on their newest fixture, DX15 I think. Nope DX18.

The dimmable one is like $200 more..... each! I will probably go for the older model, hopefully discounted soon!

Bpb · Nov 7, 2019

jda said:
If it makes you feel any better, there are not really too many people ever regretted putting T5s on with their LEDS... there are some, but so few that they are truly outliers. The more common phenomenon is that people see what the T5s did and then want to add even more. I doubt that you will take them down.

I’d wager the majority of people who took them back down are more concerned with how the tank looks on the outside than how it looks on the inside. These are the people using light fixtures the size of poker chips over their tanks and don’t care about whether they have healthy coral or not

MikeSF · Nov 8, 2019

AllSignsPointToFish said:
I actually don't think this looks that bad. I've seen FAR worse!

Agreed, all the cables are neatly organized into a central bundle, looks fine to me actually... but I have way worse so it's a matter of perspective.

Something I would consider, for the OP obviously, is some sort of floating canopy around the lights if they're really that much of an eyesore. Cables from the ceiling, or something, and then go as cheap or as expensive as you want. Thin plywood can be cheap and painted/stained/whatever, Or PVC sheets can give it a more modern look and can be glued together, or colored acrylic can give it a nice shiny look (black, white, or other colors) but probably a bit more on the expensive side.

AllSignsPointToFish · Nov 8, 2019

MikeSF said:
Agreed, all the cables are neatly organized into a central bundle, looks fine to me actually... but I have way worse so it's a matter of perspective.

Something I would consider, for the OP obviously, is some sort of floating canopy around the lights if they're really that much of an eyesore. Cables from the ceiling, or something, and then go as cheap or as expensive as you want. Thin plywood can be cheap and painted/stained/whatever, Or PVC sheets can give it a more modern look and can be glued together, or colored acrylic can give it a nice shiny look (black, white, or other colors) but probably a bit more on the expensive side.

I was thinking along the same lines with a floating canopy

Jon Fishman · Nov 8, 2019

MikeSF said:
Agreed, all the cables are neatly organized into a central bundle, looks fine to me actually... but I have way worse so it's a matter of perspective.

Something I would consider, for the OP obviously, is some sort of floating canopy around the lights if they're really that much of an eyesore. Cables from the ceiling, or something, and then go as cheap or as expensive as you want. Thin plywood can be cheap and painted/stained/whatever, Or PVC sheets can give it a more modern look and can be glued together, or colored acrylic can give it a nice shiny look (black, white, or other colors) but probably a bit more on the expensive side.

AllSignsPointToFish said:
I was thinking along the same lines with a floating canopy

I will re-assess when the Radions get here and see if they look ok on their own. Local shop kinda talked me out of the hybrid fixture since I will be lighting mostly the outside of the tank! I looked at them and love the look of them though. So I may start with the radions on their own and see how I like them