The never-ending T5 bulb discussion

mykpoz · Post by **mykpoz** » Fri Dec 14, 2007 9:12 am

this closer?

sb1227 · Post by **sb1227** » Fri Dec 14, 2007 9:33 am

Yep, much closer. Thanks!

Amphiprion · Post by **Amphiprion** » Sun Dec 16, 2007 9:12 pm

Wow, I've been gone longer than I thought...
Anyway, I may be of some help, here. Sue, if you didn't like the aquasuns, you may want to try the GE 6500K daylights. They are almost as bright and are a balanced, whiter color. Personally, I wouldn't wander beyond GE, UVL, and ATI bulbs. I don't really like the rest color-wise (except for a few Giesemann bulbs) and none can compare brightness wise. You may also want to check out the re-formulated version of the ATI sunpro, which is supposed to be balanced as well (not to mention the the absolute brightest bulb on the market). I don't know if I mentioned this before, but I run 6 overdriven tubes on IC reflectors and never really had any problems from that, per se--at least none that were substantial. The brightness is killer, though

. I do agree, however, that getting the right bulb combination to suit one's taste is difficult due to the selection.

sb1227 · Post by **sb1227** » Mon Dec 17, 2007 6:52 pm

I had always thought the coral light to be a pink bulb, or maybe I was just looking at the pics wrong.

I'm glad it isn't though, it's white. I have it over some of my "don't like too much light" Leptastreas. They're fairly picky corals about lighting. Some (the greens and purples) are ok on the sand in a shaded area in the 120. (they would still like a bit more of the shade.) These are mainly the gold color ones in the 40, and the tissue between the corallites will quickly become whitish under much light. I have them in the front corner and am using them as a test. They seem ok so far. I figure since I have the bulb I'll check it out for a while.

I had felt that the daylight bulb was putting out too much light, but I may be wrong.....that's my problem with these bulbs, deciding if the issue is par or wrong color temp. I'll go bang my head against the wall now....

flricordia · Post by **flricordia** » Mon Dec 17, 2007 10:49 pm

Hello. New here and readin this thread and wondering what I can do with a 660 ballast and T5s. What is the max bulb wattage? I assume 4 bulbs? What is overdriven? Is this the bulbs that have 2 ratings? So if a T5 doesn't list the overrating it can't be overdriven? Reason I am asking is I have a 150 I might set-up and have the 660 w/VHO but the VHOs are old, very old. I really wanted to go with T5s. I have 2x24wtT5s on a 75corner tank (blue bulbs) and like the growth my ricordias, other corallimorpharians and zoanthids are dong under the T5s.

Amphiprion · Post by **Amphiprion** » Tue Dec 18, 2007 9:48 am

Sue, it is very possible that is too much light for your Leptastrea spp. In any case, be careful. I acclimated all of mine very slowly. I have two separate IceCaps, with the brightest bulbs on a separate one so that I could reduce their photoperiod. That seemed to work--even for my situation which neared overkill on T5 brightness. Keeping them in shaded areas, like you already are doing, seems to work pretty well, also.

flricordia,
A single IceCap 660 will allow you to run 4 overdriven tubes. Overdriving essentially means running more energy through them than usual, thus increasing their intensity proportionally, as well. Yes, the energy rating changes from (for a 48" tube) from 54w to around 85w. However, one brand gives the two ratings, but be aware that ALL HO T5 tubes can be overdriven--not just one brand. This also reduces their lifespan a bit to around 12 months (as opposed to ~18 ). They will also need to be fan cooled. You should seriously consider individual reflectors, as well. This combined with the cooling makes all the difference in the world. Depending upon what you are doing in the 150 and its dimensions, that may or may not be adequate.

flricordia · Post by **flricordia** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 6:00 am

Amphiprion, thanks for the info. I plan on raising ricordia FL so the lighting intensity vs depth of the tank should be a good combination. T5 4'x 4 overdriven is probably what I will do and ditch the 2x400wt MH/VHO set-up that is in the canopy now.

Amphiprion · Post by **Amphiprion** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 4:34 pm

Yeah, if you plan on keeping Ricordea florida you should be fine with that setup. That will allow a good bit of customization to play around with the fluorescing colors of the Ricordea, as well.