I have a cheap Amazon T5 unit, and have tested a few others... they are not quite ATI, but they should be 80-95% with most being right at 90%.
T5 lights and par readings
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esse
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I'd be interested to see if this issue is normal for this type of fixture, or if there's any potential to troubleshooting
I'm new to explorig t5 lighting but I haven't seen anything to suggest such a big difference in performance
There was a BRS video on how cooling affects T5 performance - perhaps operating temps could be explored
I'm new to explorig t5 lighting but I haven't seen anything to suggest such a big difference in performance
There was a BRS video on how cooling affects T5 performance - perhaps operating temps could be explored
The Chinese Units do not have splash guards and they stay quite cool in the open air. I do not think that heat is an issue here. The unit that I have has some sort of crappy-generic name like SunHydro or HydroSomething (they will probably have a different name next week)... it has ballasts for every pair of bulbs and wide, decent reflectors. It is made for Horticulture and I do not expect it to last more than 3-4 years.
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Herby’s reef
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That sounds like what I have. So do you think I'm safe to try some of my acropora under it. I am going to put it over my frag tank. So they will be 10 to 12 inches under the water
I would use it.
If I had to guess, the non-cosine corrected sensor on the SenEye probably was not getting the waves that were not straight-on, whereas a cosine corrected unit, like an Apogee 500 series, would get all of the light off of the reflectors and from the bulbs off to the side.
If I had to guess, the non-cosine corrected sensor on the SenEye probably was not getting the waves that were not straight-on, whereas a cosine corrected unit, like an Apogee 500 series, would get all of the light off of the reflectors and from the bulbs off to the side.
I’m guessing the fixture is junk my friend.
It’s I’ve walked all I’ve over my house outside and have t5 MH and several led (one jbj one that was suspected to be horrible and it actually was spectrayy.
I’d trust the meter.
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...except that I have the same fixture with a different name and it is 90% of what ATI Sunpower is measured with an Apogee 510.
I do not expect them to last as long or be as high of output, but they are far from incompetent from what I have seen.
I do not expect them to last as long or be as high of output, but they are far from incompetent from what I have seen.
Kinda hard to trouble shoot. I’d suspect either a really bad quality ballast or one that’s not actually for t5 ho. Like a t8 or t12 tube.
If you use the Lux only or a hand held Liz meter you could test intensity of a similar fixture.
Lux or footcandle intensity isn’t much different beteween a B+ and a c+ surprisingly. So if a lfs has a t5 set up you could use that. K
Kinda measure intensity at 6 8 and 12 in and compare.
A fwiw , the seneye lux is no Co-sign (or however spell check want sit spell it ) and a cheap hand held one is. This you get different results. So you can’t compare lux from seneye with Liz from a hand held with disk or ball.
I agree. It makes no sense. It would then have to be a bad fixture or a bad meter. The seney we know has been therog the ringer and mostly good 98.7% of the time. Stuff only meter snobs would notice. Shouldn’t be that far off.
esse
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I'd be interested to try measuring the end cap temp as they did in the BRS video
It may not point to the specific reason, but if it is operating too hot/cool it may be a symptom of a hardware issue with the fixture due to poor qc
It may not point to the specific reason, but if it is operating too hot/cool it may be a symptom of a hardware issue with the fixture due to poor qc
I think is fair to use an example , one that f the reef squad guys bought SB reeflight replacement boards for his BBs.
When we set them , he only got 28,000 lux on the cheap meter. He should have gotten 40,000.
Turns out , they sent him boards with all 120 degree lenses not the standard 60 90 combo.
Just saying , could be a quality control issue.
When we set them , he only got 28,000 lux on the cheap meter. He should have gotten 40,000.
Turns out , they sent him boards with all 120 degree lenses not the standard 60 90 combo.
Just saying , could be a quality control issue.
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Herby’s reef
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Ok. Thanks everyone. Not sure what I will do yet, but I appreciate the advice. I have an extra gen 3 radion so I am tempted to play it safe and go with that. I would like to try t5, guess I should have purchased the ati. I may put one over my next frag tank.
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Herby’s reef
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I will have to watch the video. I'm not sure I have seen this one
You’ll have to figure out a way to trouble shoot. If somone (like @jda) has the same fixture and the same meter you can compare levels.
You may be able to do this with the same brand and model phone and a lux or footcandle app on the phone.
You may be able to do this with the same brand and model phone and a lux or footcandle app on the phone.
esse
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Here's a link: lol Apologies if I'm being too pushy about troubleshooting. I was just taken aback by the performance of the 8 bulb fixture & I'm hoping it's just a miss on quality control
I'd like to go t5 for my next build, so I figure this is a low cost way to get a taste first hand. Since I don't own a par meter, I was hoping I may be able to diagnose whether my unit is defective by operating temps
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Herby’s reef
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Cool! I will watch it and let you know what I find. Thanks!
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So I'll throw in my experience. Tested my ATI 6-bulb (3C+3B+) and the Seneye reads 380 par @ 8in dead center, it's also showing ~14000 lux. My cheap lux meter says 39000 lux, which is much closer to what I expect. So something is up....
The seney uses a non co-sign (auto correct) optical sensor. So it’s kinda like a Uni directional microphone or zoom lens on a camera. Ie it’s not measuring all the available light. Just what the camera (optical sensor ) can see.
Your cosine corrected meter is reading is what I And most others report.
It does make me wonder about the par meter though. Most with a six tube her around 700 or more that close.
Etc etc.
Search t5 par chart or map.
Search t5 par chart or map.
