A Second Opinion

strout · Post by **strout** » Fri Jan 30, 2009 1:43 am

I have just bought a new 125g tank, 6 ft long, 18 inches wide and about 22 or 23 inches high. At this point I am putting Live Rock in the tank, I have some in the tank and have the rest coming in next week in 2 shipments. My problem: When I bought my tank I told the LFS man I wanted to raise a few nice corals not a lot but a few choice nice ones. He sold me T5 lighting for the tank, saying these lights would keep most corals, but it appears, not the ones I want. Yesterday he had me give him my wish list for my fish stock and my coral wish list. The fish list was no problem, he approved all but 2 of my fish choices, my coral choices are another matter, out of 11 corals on my list he approved just three. He said that my T5 lighting won't be strong enough to support the corals on my list. This is the list: Acropora,Birds Nest,Sun Coral,T.Red Flower Pot,Montipora,Pipe Coral,Xenia,Xmas Tree Coral,Cynarina Button Coral,Rose Bulb Anemone. Anyway, what I want from ya'll, should I rip out these T5 lights and if so what do I replace them with? His answer to my problem is to leave the T5s in the tank and then also add the stronger lights to the tank leaving me with two differant kinds of lights in my tank. I respect his opinion's, I wouldnt be where I am today without him, but this just dosn't sound right to me, and a second opinion never hurts.

BigPumper · Post by **BigPumper** » Fri Jan 30, 2009 2:22 am

Never listen completely to what lfs people say. They will sell you what you can afford, tell you it will do then later they will spill the beans. Anyways, what type of t5 setup do you have? How many bulbs?

I would use the t5 setup with actinic bulbs and add either 2 150w halides or 2 250w halides. It just depends on the type of t5 setup you have.

Oh, and which fish store and specific person gave you this advice? I'm guessing b&b right?

Over my 120 oceanview I have 2 54w t5 actinic (will be adding 2 more), and 2 150 10k metal halide.

strout · Post by **strout** » Fri Jan 30, 2009 4:06 am

The tank is a 125g the lights are Marine Glo 46 inch/115cm 54 wattsT5 HO made in China.

strout · Post by **strout** » Fri Jan 30, 2009 4:10 am

Four blubs, sorry

Fishfood · Post by **Fishfood** » Fri Jan 30, 2009 7:05 am

T5 can Keep anything alive if they are the right setup. If you go with something from reefgeek.com where they use the Icecap Ballasts or Tek Ballast you won't have any problem with any coral period(with the proper amount of bulbs) and some might not even like the light that an overdriven T5 puts out on an Icecap 660 ballast. I'd imagine that the setup you have won't cut it when it comes to the anemone or the sps coral. Most of the other stuff I didn't see a problem with.

There are better ballast and bulbs for T5 on the market. There is tons of Info on ReefCentral about T5 Lighting. T5s typically last longer, cost less to replace per bulb, consume less electricity, and put out less heat.

MH with VHO actinics give you the best color IMO. I just don't feel you can match it with all T5 at this point. I run 3 T5 bulbs on an Icecap 660 ballast with 1 VHO Actinic bulb over my 30 gal tank. Some of my coral just can't take the light and the color is off just a little bit from what I was looking for.

woolyt2 · Post by **woolyt2** » Fri Jan 30, 2009 9:15 am

t-5 will work but you need more than 4 bulbs i have a 110 which is about the size of your tank i was going to do t-5 but the cost was high ,i was going to do about 18 3 foot bulbs ,so i just stayed with the 4 6 ft vho and 4 175 mh .

Fishfood · Post by **Fishfood** » Fri Jan 30, 2009 10:14 am

If he isn't going with an all SPS tank I don't see why a 6 bulb 80w setup wouldn't work. I think 2 Icecap 660s will run 3 80w bulbs. They are only 60 inches long but you can stagger them to cover the length of the tank. I'm not sure the price would be any better than going with some MH and VHO but it would be the same ballpark.

Neuticle · Post by **Neuticle** » Fri Jan 30, 2009 10:37 am

I keep anemones, and sps under 4 x t5's. Some of the more demanding acro's will do much better under 6-8 t5's, but t5's can do everything MH's do and then some. (With top quality reflectors). A 125 is a pretty shallow tank too, MH's would be a waste IMO. My T5 system will burn montipora that are too high in the tank.

Some of the most awesome SPS tanks I know of, run nothing but T5's. You can tune your light spectrum from back to front and tinker with it for power and color, all without a ridiculous power bill and the need to run a chiller.

Neuticle · Post by **Neuticle** » Fri Jan 30, 2009 10:43 am

Oh, and I'd skip the flowerpot coral, most don't even last a week, especially in newer tanks. I did all my research, got my water perfect, brought my iron content up, and mine melted in two hours, never even opened.

Fishfood · Post by **Fishfood** » Fri Jan 30, 2009 12:07 pm

There is one thing that I'd say both T5 and MH can't do and that is get the same Actinic results that the good old VHO can. Thus the reason I have one on my tank. I'm not sold on any of the Actinic T5s on the market but I haven't tested everything.

The problem we have with the OP is he has a moonglo setup. I know nothing about them so I'm going to assume that it doesn't have the best ballest or bulbs. I'd say an upgrade in ballast and bulbs may be needed. Reefgeek carries the higher end bulbs. I glad you reminded me about the reflectors. Without a good individual reflector T5 really aren't that good either.

Neuticle · Post by **Neuticle** » Fri Jan 30, 2009 2:00 pm

Geissman bulbs are the biz!

Fishfood · Post by **Fishfood** » Fri Jan 30, 2009 2:16 pm

I like the ATI bulbs. I had Geissman at one time and just didn't like them. I have an ATI Blue Plus, Blue Special and a Procolor on my tank right now. From the testing I've read on line these have some of the best par.

strout · Post by **strout** » Fri Jan 30, 2009 5:22 pm

Well, I think I will stick with the T5s for now, and buy a few corals, and see what happens. I am probley about four weeks away from getting some corals at this point. I will say this though, my T5s don't have any reflecters around them, is this something I need to look into?

Neuticle · Post by **Neuticle** » Fri Jan 30, 2009 5:42 pm

Definitely yes for reflectors, they increase your output by 150%+ depending on reflector. I recommend the IceCap SLR, you can get them for around $23 if you shop around, I buy mine from DIYreef.com.

Amphiprion · Post by **Amphiprion** » Fri Jan 30, 2009 6:52 pm

I can definitely say that T5s are sufficient, but I'll also reiterate what was said earlier--namely, the setup can make a gigantic difference. If he used a series of 80w bulbs on IceCap ballasts, that would be more than enough light, given that overdriving them can give a nearly 25% increase in PAR. Reflectors will make an even more marked difference, with boosts well over 50% (and that is ultra conservative). Using the proper bulbs will also make a big difference. Brands with higher PAR bulbs include ATI, some Giesemann bulbs, GE, and UVL. So far, GE and UVL have the most intense bulbs on the market, but they are daylights. The ATI Blue Plus aren't far behind and are incredibly intense for a blue bulb. All of these factors can make or break a lighting setup. On my previous 75, I had 6-54w (overdriven to ~85w) T5s (F--Blue+; Aquablue; Blue+; GE65;Aquasun; Blue+--B) and IceCap SLR reflectors. Fan cooling them (not overcooling, though) can also make as much as a 25% increase in intensity, since they seem to have an optimal running temp. At their peak, with cooling, polished reflectors, etc., I was getting ~30,000 lux (yes, I know this is a little antiquated for our purposes, but it gives a good idea)--in other words, a very similar intensity to a 250w halide bulb (minus a few very bright exceptions). If I didn't acclimate things, I would bleach them very, very easily, including the corals that tend to prefer more intensity.