T5 bulb combo

[CY2010]

Hi reefers, I had just gone through a nightmare yesterday that i was trying to get some help to fix one row of my blue LED, turned out that this "professional" eletrician made all my blue LEDs stop

working and claiming its nothing to do w him. The color looks terriable now.

So I will probably dump this LED at this moment n get a new lighting. Think of the positive side of this incident which gives me an opportunity to try sth new. I started this hobby w LED (never used other light source before) n hv a quite gd result w my LPS so far. I hv just started w some SPS recently, understand that alot reefers hv great success of keeping SPS under T5, would like to give it a try.

I'm thinking to simply start w a 2x2 tubes T5 first. Thus, would like to get some advices fr T5 gurus on the bulb combination. Thanks.

[peacemaker]

What are your tank dimensions? This will help us help you determine the number of bulbs required for adequate coverage.

[CY2010]

Sorry, forgot to mention. It's 48" x 28" x 24"

[dnsfpl]

50-75% blue, 25-50% white, 0-25% purple/actinic/etc

4 tubes combo, i will go for

1 x Purple Plus, 1 x Aquablue Special, 2 x Blue Plus

as for my 6 tubes combo

1 x Purple Plus, 2 x Aquablue Special, 3 x Blue Plus

1 x Purple Plus, 1 x Aquablue Special, 4 x Blue Plus (my fav)

2 x Aquablue Special, 4 x Blue Plus

depending on my tube availability

[CY2010]

50-75% blue, 25-50% white, 0-25% purple/actinic/etc

4 tubes combo, i will go for

1 x Purple Plus, 1 x Aquablue Special, 2 x Blue Plus

as for my 6 tubes combo

1 x Purple Plus, 2 x Aquablue Special, 3 x Blue Plus

1 x Purple Plus, 1 x Aquablue Special, 4 x Blue Plus (my fav)

2 x Aquablue Special, 4 x Blue Plus

depending on my tube availability

Tks, bro for ur advice. I am browsing the pics post on RC to find my favorable color combo:) i think this combo is by far the most popular one:) and wat abt the photoperiod?

[peacemaker]

For your tank width, I would suggest at least 4 tubes for LPS & softies, and at least 6 tubes for SPS. Get a reliable T5 HO (High Output) lightset, which amounts to 54 watts per tube for 4ft tanks. You can consider DE Lightings.

[CY2010]

For your tank width, I would suggest at least 4 tubes for LPS & softies, and at least 6 tubes for SPS. Get a reliable T5 HO (High Output) lightset, which amounts to 54 watts per tube for 4ft tanks. You can consider DE Lightings.

Tks, bro. I will definitely consider that lightset:) how abt the photoperiod then?

[CY2010]

Btw, can share a bit wat is the most important factor when choosing a T5 fixture? Ballast? Reflector?

[peacemaker]

Tks, bro. I will definitely consider that lightset:) how abt the photoperiod then?

This is really up to you. Most people would like to simulate dawn to dusk, so they will set the blue lights for the full duration that they want it to be on, and switch on the white lights in-between this period. Also, this is up to personal preference, but if you are working normal day shift, you might want to come back and still get to admire your tank, so you can set the lights on timer according to something like this:

4pm - Blue lights on

6pm - White lights on

10pm - White lights off

12am - Blue lights off

If you think that your corals are doing well even with a shorter photo period, or perhaps you have too much algae in your tank, you can shorten the duration.

Btw, can share a bit wat is the most important factor when choosing a T5 fixture? Ballast? Reflector?

Some of the following to consider:

1. High Output (wattage)

2. Ballast (electronic)

3. Individual reflectors (each tube has its own reflector)

4. Reliability (reputation)

5. PAR output (something not easily measurable if you do not have the equipment)

6. Active cooling (tubes last longer)

7. Type of light tubes

[oldrookiesjeremy]

for 4 tube T5 i would choose

Back | more white

Blue plue | Blue plus

Purple plus | Purple plus

Coral plus | Mid day

Blue plus | Blue plus

Front

Edited August 14, 2012 by oldrookiesjeremy

[minez]

Anyone can share how many T5 tubes should I use for 6x2x2 feet tank? Currently keeping lps but plan want to keep some sps soon. Thanks

[CY2010]

This is really up to you. Most people would like to simulate dawn to dusk, so they will set the blue lights for the full duration that they want it to be on, and switch on the white lights in-between this period. Also, this is up to personal preference, but if you are working normal day shift, you might want to come back and still get to admire your tank, so you can set the lights on timer according to something like this:

4pm - Blue lights on

6pm - White lights on

10pm - White lights off

12am - Blue lights off

If you think that your corals are doing well even with a shorter photo period, or perhaps you have too much algae in your tank, you can shorten the duration.

Some of the following to consider:

1. High Output (wattage)

2. Ballast (electronic)

3. Individual reflectors (each tube has its own reflector)

4. Reliability (reputation)

5. PAR output (something not easily measurable if you do not have the equipment)

6. Active cooling (tubes last longer)

7. Type of light tubes

Thanks bro. How much roughly is the monthly electric bill if I turn on the light for 8 to 10 hours?

[CY2010]

for 4 tube T5 i would choose

Back | more white

Blue plue | Blue plus

Purple plus | Purple plus

Coral plus | Mid day

Blue plus | Blue plus

Front

Thanks Jeremy. Is coral plus the latest bulb released by ATI? Is it look like a pinkish blue plus?

[ethantang]

Sorry to hijack the post abut... But I got a 5 ft tank 2.5 ft high... I'm currently running 4 x t5 bulbs... It doesn't seem to be bright enough for my corals... Now I'm thinking of getting another 4x t5 light set...

Anyone can advise me on this??

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[peacemaker]

Thanks bro. How much roughly is the monthly electric bill if I turn on the light for 8 to 10 hours?

I'm afraid I can't help you on this. You will probably require a wattage monitoring device (ie. Kill-a-watt) to capture your monthly usage.

Sorry to hijack the post abut... But I got a 5 ft tank 2.5 ft high... I'm currently running 4 x t5 bulbs... It doesn't seem to be bright enough for my corals... Now I'm thinking of getting another 4x t5 light set...

Anyone can advise me on this??

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

How far is your lightset placed above the tank? What brand and type of lightset do you use? You have to elaborate a little more on what you mean by "...doesn't seem to be bright enough...". How do you tell?

[minez]

Anyone can share how many T5 tubes should I use for 6x2x2 feet tank? Currently keeping lps but plan want to keep some sps soon. Thanks

Anyone can give some share and advised? Thanks

[Admiraltian]

Anyone can give some share and advised? Thanks

6-8 tubes will be good.

[dnsfpl]

Anyone can give some share and advised? Thanks

i thought T5 max 5 feet?

[Admiraltian]

i thought T5 max 5 feet?

Ya, I think 80W is the maximum for T5HO tubes.