t5 retrofit interfering with radion?

CoryC · Aug 20, 2013

I purchased a 2 bulb t5 retrofit kit from BRS to add to my canopy that already contains a gen1 and gen2 radion. Wired it correctly and fired it up and my radions started acting strange. beeping and cycling through the colors on their own. after some deductive investigation i discovered that the t5 bulbs themselves put off an EMF, and to an extent the ballast as well. I took it to a local reefer's house who happens to be an electrical engineer and we figured out that by grounding the reflectors it would pull the charge off and prevent the lights from doing this. For a while, i thought the problem was remedied but it's switched a couple times today. So apparently somehow there is still some interference. My friend suggested a replacement magnetic ballast so i may try that next. has anyone experience this? surely i cant be the only person to run radions and t5s together.

ReefLEDLights · Aug 21, 2013

CoryC

Back in the Day...

When my 110 watt VHOs using an IceCap 660 Ballast came on they would interfere with Chicago AM 890...AM 780 and the Loop 97.9 were fine.

EMI/EMC issues are interesting to say the least.

One of my Jobs before I left the USAF was working with Laptops in Military Aircraft and some did cause interference with some electronic equipment others did not.

BTW I was never able to properly ground my VHOs so I could listen to AM 890. At the time we joked it was a conspiracy to suppress talk radio.

I have yet to PAR Test the Radion on a 30" Deep Tank...Was it not enough light? How deep is your tank?

With the Proper Mix of LEDs you do not need T5 or VHO. My first LED fixture kept the T5s...Later I was more than happy replacing them with XT-E LEDs as T5 Bulbs are expensive and dont last long...

Bill

CoryC · Aug 21, 2013

mainly to supplement color, so that i could run a 14k spectrum with the radions and have better growth while still having the blue fluorescence from the t5's. at 65-70% my radions produce about 450 par at the top of rock work where my acros are and 150 on the sand bed. my tank is about 20" deep. I love these lights. Just felt like adding some t5s honestly. At any rate, i called ecotech and they showed me how to disable the buttons and that has prevented anymore interference.

ReefLEDLights · Aug 21, 2013

CoryC said:
mainly to supplement color, so that i could run a 14k spectrum with the radions and have better growth while still having the blue fluorescence from the t5's. at 65-70% my radions produce about 450 par at the top of rock work where my acros are and 150 on the sand bed. my tank is about 20" deep. I love these lights. Just felt like adding some t5s honestly. At any rate, i called ecotech and they showed me how to disable the buttons and that has prevented anymore interference.

Yes they are a good light. Thanks for the PAR Readings...

Bill