Gd news for T5 light searcher!

[roidan]

thought of using T5's instead of MH instead for my tank..... alot more cooler then MH. Going to change my lights to T5's instead...

you are totally right....

but one thing..changing the many tubes of HO T5 is quite expensive compared to a couple of MH bulbs....

but maybe the cost saving of chiller running less often can offset this bulb change price

[Nic a Jon]

Well I can confirm that the 2 feet dymax T5 ballast is good for 20w..hence no problem for the 20w 12K tube supplied by dymax.

But when I replaced the tubes to ATI 24 w HO, it seemed to be under

performing. So I replaced the ballast to Osram quicktronic e-ballast (24w-39w) to drive the ATI tubes. The result was much better/brighter.

Hence I guess if u use the Dymax 3 ft 30 w ballast to drive a39w ATI tube..it wud be under driving the HO tubes.

just my 2 cents

[roidan]

thanks nic...

u confirmed what i have said earlier..thanks..hehe

[Weapon_Master]

Thanks Bro Roidan for your advise. Need to confirm if its the HO type. So cheam man. Didnt know there are so many things to consider.

[Acanthurus pyroferus]

you are totally right....

but one thing..changing the many tubes of HO T5 is quite expensive compared to a couple of MH bulbs....

but maybe the cost saving of chiller running less often can offset this bulb change price

yeah....save the chiller from working overtime with MH on and cut down on power supply usage....if I can put 8 tubes on my 4 footer will save me alot.....

[roidan]

no problem....

at least this thread can let other bros think if they wanna go the dymax way or the higher output german ways...hehe

a matter of price/perfomance here...just choose what suits each application best

[Weapon_Master]

True. I think its a matter of getting the right performance for what you can afford here.

[Nic a Jon]

But I must admit that using the german tubes and e-ballast set me back by another $150. Not budget anymore.

[roidan]

if u ask the supplier or whoever..probably they may say yeah yeah yeah..HIGH OUTPUT mah...so bright so bright...sure high output...hehe

but always learn to take what they say with a pinch of salt...with the power of the internet, probably we know more of the product than they themselves...

the feedback by bro nic a jon sums it up....if you use 39W ATI tubes on your 30W dymax....it will not be efficient...may end up your 30W dymax tube is brighter or as bright....so dun waste the money...

if you want brighter, gotta change the whole setup to get a 39W ballast to match the 39W T5 HO tube

[lightningstrike]

so let's say i buy the dymax 3ft T5s and i wanna use 39W ATI/Deltec?Aqualight T5 tubes. all i need to do is to replace the e ballasts right? if this is so, where can i get the osram quicktronic e ballast?

[roidan]

so let's say i buy the dymax 3ft T5s and i wanna use 39W ATI/Deltec?Aqualight T5 tubes. all i need to do is to replace the e ballasts right? if this is so, where can i get the osram quicktronic e ballast?

which means u just want to use the housing of the dymax right? so what are you going to do with the dymax ballast and tube? abit wasted hor...

can get at sinter at sim lim tower...they often do not have stocks...so call them before u go

[Acanthurus pyroferus]

for my 4 footer propbably 40watts X 10 would be able to keep SPS....

[Weapon_Master]

From the size of the casing, I have already been wondering how the ballast is hidden.

Judging from the size of this Dymax casing, I dont think the Osram or Elbaru eballast can fit hidden in the casing.

[Weapon_Master]

I thought the light intensity is also affected by no of K? Eg. 10000K or 20000K etc?

How does waltage impact here? Eg 30W or 39W.

[roidan]

for my 4 footer propbably 40watts X 10 would be able to keep SPS....

hehe...wah....steady liao...

[Acanthurus pyroferus]

cannot be "kang cheong" must wait and see....he...he maybe German ones will be better in the end..... if I use 4 MH 250watts or 2 400watts my power supply bill sure liao.....

[sunnymau]

any place other then k&k sell Dymax? Tampinies very far from leh, i stay CCK

[Nic a Jon]

Bro lightningstrike,

If u intend to buy a 3ft dymax T5 and replace the tubes to ATI and also replace the ballast to the Osram e-ballast. That wud land u up paying $80 for the Dymax casing only, since u intend to change most of the parts to german ones. Try contacting cookiemunster, maybe he can tell u where to buy a budget "Big Boy" 3 feet casing which can house everything inside. If u use the dymax casing, ur Osram eballast has to be out of the casing.

[roidan]

I thought the light intensity is also affected by no of K? Eg. 10000K or 20000K etc?

How does waltage impact here? Eg 30W or 39W.

generally, the higher the Kelvins, the lower the PAR.....in very layman terms you can probably treat it as penetrative power although it means photosynthetically active radiation

so we talk layman terms here, a tube of same wattage 10 000K vs same wattage 20 000K, the 10 000K tube with higher PAR can reach lower depths better to give your corals more usable light for photosynthesis...layman terms

and of coz for the same colour temperature(K), higher wattage 10 000K tube vs lower wattage 10 000K tube, the higher wattage will give out more light than the lower wattage....

eg. take for example..i mean loose example...the sun gives out the same kelvin (colour temperature) as your candle...(actually they are not the same kelvin..but let's take it as they are)....but the sun (bigger wattage) will give more light output than your candle (lower wattage) right?

hope my amateurish examples can help you understand better

[Weapon_Master]

Bro Roidan,

Thanks. That explains it perfectly!

Totally understood.

[roidan]

Bro Roidan,

Thanks. That explains it perfectly!

Totally understood.

no problem...

have fun choosing your lights

[Acanthurus pyroferus]

so T5's are just as good as MH's....what are the difference in T8 and T10 don't know if theres such a thing though...

[Weapon_Master]

I got mine yesterday liao so its a way of no return ! I am happy with the lights (brightness) thus far. Maybe because the height of my tank only 1.5ft.

I have checked with the supplier and he does carry replacement tubes which eases 1 concern on ongoing replacement.

Running cost is rather economical. At least wont burn a hole in the pocket!

I dont have a chiller and am cooling it with only 4 small fans. The heat generated from this Dymax T5 is rather manageable with only fans cooling it.

[roidan]

so T5's are just as good as MH's....what are the difference in T8 and T10 don't know if theres such a thing though...

there are T8 and T10 tubes around...basically those are the normal aquarium fluorescent tubes that have been around for eons and also those tubes in our old HDB void deck days...

they are definitely much cheaper...but much bigger as well..

the beauty of T5s is that they produce as much or even more light than the t8 or t10 but yet take a fraction of the space

meaning you can squeeze more tubes and have more light......but ....more expensive ..haha

[Acanthurus pyroferus]

yes it doesn't give off much heat as I noticed and the brightness is manageble because I'm using it for my sump at the moment. I need to try the bigger one for my main reef system.