T5HO questions

[angmoh]

1) for a T5HO (aquaz) a 2ft 24W, the output is roughly equivalent to ? is it brighter / stronger intensity than a PL 55W ?

2) can i say that, a PL 55W needs to consume 55W to produce for example x amount light, yet a T5HO needs a 24W to produce x amount of light ?

3) how long do we need to replace T5HO tube ? 6 months ? 1 year ?

4) for a 2.5 x 1.5 x 1.5 ft marine tank, mostly will be LPS and soft coral will it suffice if i'm using 2 x 24W T5HO ? or is it still better to use 2 x 55W PL ?

5) what's the recommended T5HO K for my tank ? 2 x 10,000K ? or 2 x 20,000K or mixed of both tube ?

[YzF]

Basically T5 and PL are different and in my opinion cannot be compared equally. I guess your concern is that what kind of lighting is suitable for your tank. I have used both lighting in my previous 2ft tank before and i will give some advice based on my experiences in using them.

Types of Tubes and reflectors play a very important part. Generally t5 have better penetration power which is why most reefers dun use them for deeper tanks. Better penetration doesn't mean brighter. It probably mean the corals will be able to utilise more of the light spectrum. Brightness only apply to human eyes and is not a good factor to judge whether the light is 'good' for reefs. Example having 8 T8 or FL is brighter than 1 MH, but FL cannot penetrate a depth of 2 feet. Some reefers uses their T5 for more than a year with no ill effect.

Other advantages includes; lesser heat, getting more popular with more accessories (reflectors, tubes, fixture).

PL dun have too much options of reflectors and tubes. I had a 2 x tube PL set that melts partially when i switch on the lights for 8 hours (Yes it does produce so much heat). I used some branded tubes and it does show some pleasant colours but it blew within 3 months (I tried 3 times).

I will use 4 x T5 for a 2ft tank with LPS. It 24wx4 compared to 55w x 2.

Blue spectrum (20k) will bring out the colours of the corals more than white or yellow spectrum (10k). But corals normally make use of the 10k region more. Normally reefers uses a combi of both blue and white tubes. I will prefer 3 white and 1 blue combi.

Hope its useful for you.

[angmoh]

so based on your experience, 2 x 24W T5HO is definitely not enough ?

[Alvin Tan]

so based on your experience, 2 x 24W T5HO is definitely not enough ?

i use 2 HO tubes and 4 NO tube for my 2ft..

[Clownfish]

i tink u may wanna consider 3 X 24 W (2ft) or 4 X 24 W or 3 X 39 W (3 ft)?

the advantage of T5 to PL is that u do not need to replace the bulb as often... PL loses much of their intensity within a few mths

[angmoh]

most probably i'll get 3 x 24W

maybe 2 x 10000k and 1 x deep blue

[YzF]

Angmoh, i will say that 4 tubes are enough to keep most LPS. 2 tubes will mean that the coral can only make use of one tube (10k). And 1 tube have only so much coverage.

Btw most E-ballast for T5 fire 2 tubes at once. Meaning that running 1 tube is troublesome unless you know how to wire them yourself (to close one circuit with cable). So you will probably only have the option of either 2 or 4 T5s.

[angmoh]

ahh ic .. most probably i'll get 4 T5HO then ... 4 x 24W, should be sufficient right ?

i'll get hmm 20,000k x 2 and blue pro (aquaz) x 2.

and another thing is... any reviews/comment on aquaZ parabolic reflector and tubes ?

[damienkee]

wat im using currently,

4 X 24w HO T5= 3 X 20000k & 1 X actinic

1 X 55w PL

but really depends on wat r u keeping!

[Gouldian]

ahh ic .. most probably i'll get 4 T5HO then ... 4 x 24W, should be sufficient right ?

i'll get hmm 20,000k x 2 and blue pro (aquaz) x 2.

and another thing is... any reviews/comment on aquaZ parabolic reflector and tubes ?

I have tried Aquaz parabolic reflector and found that they are well worth the $$$ due to the fact that they are slightly thicker and dun tarnish as compared to another brand I used previously.

As for the tubes, I believe its value for $$$ but dun compare it with the German ones which cost 2 times more.

For me, I use 2 tubes of DD and 2 tubes of Aquaz.

[angmoh]

yup i know tubes cant be compared as the price diff. is too much ..

hehe of course aquaz is much much cheaper , but is it worth a buy ? at leasst the light tube can last for half year and more ?

[Kelmen]

yup i know tubes cant be compared as the price diff. is too much ..

hehe of course aquaz is much much cheaper , but is it worth a buy ? at leasst the light tube can last for half year and more ?

the Aquaz 20K bulb wear out its blueish after 6 months in my tank.

As for the white light, I can't really tell. But I did replaced 2 6.5K -> 10K liao, seems like some coral not doing so good with the old bulbs, but quite open and active after I replaced the 2 white bulbs . > 6 months too.

[angmoh]

kelmen: does aquaz 10,000k looks yellowish ?

if i'm goin for 4 tubes, what would be your recommendation for the k ?

2 x 20,000k + 2 x blue pro ?

2 x 10,000k + 2 x blue pro ?

or

3 x 20,000k + 1 blue pro ?

3 x 10,000k + 1 blue pro ?

[iantoh]

hi there bro angmoh,

The chief difference between PL bulbs and HO T5 bulbs is their lumens rating, which describes the intensity of the light waves emitted, which consequently affects the depth of penetration of the light. per watt of electricity consumed, HO T5 bulbs produce more lumens. you can pm Aquaz folks on src for the specs of their bulbs. the 24w tubes, bar the blue pro, are around 1900 lumens each. if youd like a detailed spec sheet, i think i still have it in my inbox somewhere so just pm if youd like to check that out ya.

as for the choice of colour temp bulbs to use, id suggest you sorta plan your tank's biotope before making the choice. sunlight is about 6500k. within the top 20 feet of a coral reef, due to refraction and diffusion, the colour temp of the penetrating light is about 10000k, with the figure rising as you go deeper. so if youre planning on keeping shallow water corals, youd do better with the 10000ks, whilst with deeper specimens, the 20000ks will be better. for a mixed reef, a mix will better fulfill varied requirements. if you have 2x 2 tube HO-T5 fixtures, perhaps on the outer ends of each fixture, you could use 20000ks, so one tube on each outer side. then in the middle, one blue pro, and one 10000k?

anyways, just my two cents ya. you can check out Nature aquarium at Balestier for well-priced HO-T5 fixtures in Atman light casings.

cheers,

ian

[Kelmen]

kelmen: does aquaz 10,000k looks yellowish ?

if i'm goin for 4 tubes, what would be your recommendation for the k ?

2 x 20,000k + 2 x blue pro ?

2 x 10,000k + 2 x blue pro ?

or

3 x 20,000k + 1 blue pro ?

3 x 10,000k + 1 blue pro ?

Personnally, the 6.5K or 10K boths look "yellowish" to me. Not "as white as" I expected, but the LFS claims its white and the "bit" yellowish is expected.

So, ask the seller test it out on spot. If its "a bit" yellowish, I guess its okay guah.

If you didnot noticed any yellowish at all, pls kindly PM me.

IMO:

I would put the near-white 6.5K or 10K wholely, except you gonna keep some deep-deep specises.

As many recommended putting more blueish light can enhanced or bring out more the pretty coral colourful pigments, I would go for actinic instead of 15K or 20K, as the later 2 just seems to me are suppose for deep water stuffs.

As a bro decribed, the eballast generally is controlling 2 bulbs, I would go for 2 or 4 white bulbs and 2 actinic blue (get different brand for actinic, as many recommended).

Then I would set the timer for the blue one on from 12PM - 12AM (example), while white from 2PM-10PM.

HTH

[angmoh]

well i'd say most of my corals will be muhsrooms, yuma, ric and a few species of other LPS like hammer, maybe prata, button etc...

so i hope my lighting can cover all the needs of the LPS.

-------------------

if you are talking bout the color, if the 10kk tube is yellowish , we still can balance it out using actinics blue rite ?

so in this case, 10kk x 2 + actinics x 2 should look nice, isnt it ?

yet 20kk is for deep sea corals, and i believe non of my corals are from that region .. haha