T5 help

My90Sea · May 10, 2015

Hey everyone. i tried out a 6 bulb T5 fixture a few months back and didn't get results I thought I would. I was running 2 Blue plus, 2 purple plus, coral plus and Fluval Actinic. my sps grew very fast but my Zoas looked bad. i know there is a acclimation period which i attemped. my tanks are 12" deep and i had 2 layers of egg crate over the tank. the minute i put my LED back over, zoas looked perfect

Reefing Madness · May 10, 2015

Throw a 10k on the T5 unit

My90Sea · May 10, 2015

just incase I wasn't clear on my issue. my zoas didn't open well. they were always half closed and I lost a few. but when I put my LEDs back up they liked it and seemed happy.

prsnlty · May 10, 2015

I have a combination AI Sol Blue LEDs and ATI 6 Bulb T5 setup and zoas melt all the time. Palys do great. My tank is too clean for zoas. It isn't always the lighting. there can be many factors. You said you have 2 layers of egg crate over them. Maybe the t5s weren't penetrating through it enough for them and the LEDs did.

My90Sea · May 10, 2015

prsnlty, I see your view. I also have a LED with 2 bulb t5 retro over a 40 breeder and seems like a but much. whats a good hanging distance for T5s?

prsnlty · May 10, 2015

Reefing Madness said:
Throw a 10k on the T5 unit

+1 I agree

prsnlty · May 10, 2015

My90Sea said:
prsnlty, I see your view. I also have a LED with 2 bulb t5 retro over a 40 breeder and seems like a but much. whats a good hanging distance for T5s?

To be honest I have always had mine the same over all my tanks. From bulb to sand bed (a more accurate measurement) is about 34" on all of my tanks. Reefing Madness probably knows more than I on this one

My90Sea · May 10, 2015

Reefing Madness... what height would you put a 6 bulb above a 12" deep tank?

Reefing Madness · May 10, 2015

Anything at 10"-12" would be perfect.
I recommended a 10k on the reasoning that SPS like the all blue lighting, as it penetrates much better than a 10k-12k bulb. Your zoas may not be liking the intense lighting that they put off. So I don't get why your T5s were not working and the LEDs did the trick, unless your T5s are over 9 months old, then I'd say that may be the issue.

prsnlty · May 10, 2015

Reefing Madness said:
Anything at 10"-12" would be perfect.
I recommended a 10k on the reasoning that SPS like the all blue lighting, as it penetrates much better than a 10k-12k bulb. Your zoas may not be liking the intense lighting that they put off. So I don't get why your T5s were not working and the LEDs did the trick, unless your T5s are over 9 months old, then I'd say that may be the issue.

I agree. And depending on the hours you have your lights on they could be getting old at 6 months. Something that happened to me once was that my ballast was overamping my bulbs and wore them out in 3 months.