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-Logzor
2500 Club Member
I didn't see a 48" fixture?
T5 / LED combo fixture
- Thread starter -Logzor
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I didn't see a 48" fixture?
Lacktaters
Active Member
Actually a single 48" reefbrite is the equivalent of 2 54watt t5 bulbs in PAR value. If you went with the newer XHO reefbrites each one equals 3 54watt bulbs. I haven't seen them in person, but I hear the all white reefbrite adds a ton of shimmer.
I use the all blue reefbrites to add that POP you can only get from blue LEDs. I made DIY brackets from 1/4 inch acrylic to attach them to my ATI Powermodule. I'm pretty happy with the way they look...not TOO "science project".
I use the all blue reefbrites to add that POP you can only get from blue LEDs. I made DIY brackets from 1/4 inch acrylic to attach them to my ATI Powermodule. I'm pretty happy with the way they look...not TOO "science project".
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-Logzor
2500 Club Member
Actually a single 48" reefbrite is the equivalent of 2 54watt t5 bulbs in PAR value. If you went with the newer XHO reefbrites each one equals 3 54watt bulbs. I haven't seen them in person, but I hear the all white reefbrite adds a ton of shimmer.
I use the all blue reefbrites to add that POP you can only get from blue LEDs. I made DIY brackets from 1/4 inch acrylic to attach them to my ATI Powermodule. I'm pretty happy with the way they look...not TOO "science project".
Absolutely genius! Thanks for posting that it's a massive help!! Well it's super clean and "modern" looking and fits my style, hardly a science project look!
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Lacktaters
Active Member
One thing I forgot to mention. ATI Powermodule fixtures are slightly shorter than advertised because the fans are on top. I had to cut an inch off my 48" reefbrites with a bandsaw to get them to fit like that. I've heard that you can order custom lengths directly from reefbrite.
Lacktaters
Active Member
Reefbrites are not dimmable at the moment. I've heard claims they expect to be someday, but I'm sure that will require the purchase of a new ballast.
kodiak
Active Member
Here is my quick little aluminum bracket for my Reef Bright and my ATI Sun Power. I didnt have to cut the Reef Bright for this setup. I still need to clean up the brackets a bit if I decide to keep it this way.
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-Logzor
2500 Club Member
Here is my quick little aluminum bracket for my Reef Bright and my ATI Sun Power. I didnt have to cut the Reef Bright for this setup. I still need to clean up the brackets a bit if I decide to keep it this way.
Is that a custom bracket or something you picked up at the hardware store?
Lacktaters
Active Member
Very clean Kodak!!! Keep it that way.
rosko23
Active Member
U'll need 2 24" fixtures.
Lacktaters
Active Member
What t5 fixture are you going to be adding these to? What size tank?
I tested the fixture on my 90g yesterday using 2xDD actinic+, 1xDD aquablue, 1xATI purple+, and 2x48" blue reefbrite standard. I was getting readings around 1100 PAR right at the surface, 500-600 PAR at 6-8" deep where most of my acros are, and some as high as 300 PAR on the sandbed.
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-Logzor
2500 Club Member
I will be adding onto my 7 bulb Aquaactinics Constellation. The tank is 48x30x24. The 7 bulb caused some shadowing unless I raise it super-high.
Those are pretty impressive PAR numbers. These will be the XHO so it will be even more light.
I might end up pulling some of the T5s and put in pure actinics if it's too much.
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-Logzor
2500 Club Member
Well I just got these in, ran them on the kilowatt and they only pull about 40w from the wall. Kind of disappointed since they were advertised as 54w. I knew they were not fully driven 3w LEDs. Since there are 36 of them that's a potential 108w. So they're running at less than half power?
They barely change how the tank looks, even with just 5 T5 bulbs turned on. Provides little bit of shimmer.
Overall I'm not terribly impressed.
They barely change how the tank looks, even with just 5 T5 bulbs turned on. Provides little bit of shimmer.
Overall I'm not terribly impressed.
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Lacktaters
Active Member
The shimmer of all blue LEDs get washed out even by a few t5 bulbs. If you're looking for shimmer, you really need to go with white LEDs and use blue t5 bulbs for color. I haven't checked to see what kind of wattage mine are drawing, but I am happy with the PAR levels.
Lacktaters
Active Member
I cut the number of t5 bulbs I'm running in half, and I'm still getting 50-100 PAR better at any given spot. That's significantly less heat, less energy, less heat, and half the bulbs to replace. Since the LEDs are under driven, they should last much longer. Overall, my lighting/colors look very similar, but I view that as a plus since I've always been very happy with t5s. The biggest difference is the hour before and after my t5s are on when I'm running strictly blue LEDs and everything looks unreal! These are reasons I'm happy with my purchase.
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-Logzor
2500 Club Member
That's generally how I'm beginning to look at it, so long as they're producing output as advertised.
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-Logzor
2500 Club Member
Are you running the XHO units?
It's just that $320 seems awfully steep for a 40w LED fixture.
Lacktaters
Active Member
No. I'm running the TECH units. My 48" fixtures only have 24 LEDs drawing 37 watts. Jeremy from Premium Aquatics claimed the TECH units produce par comparable to that of 2x54watt ATI blue+ bulbs. My tests with a PAR meter show that it's very close. Like I said, I dropped from 8x54w t5 to a 4x54w t5 + 2 reefbrite TECH units and saw a slight increase in PAR values everywhere.
