T5 Advise

[dpc goes west]

Im pondering on the idea of switching my LED's out for T5's.

What kind of T5 fixtures are you guys using? recommendations on fixture and what features to look out for?
things you wish you would have gone with? or realize you probably could of done without?

 

[Oakland Evan]

I thought everyone like hybrid these days (LED + T5's). Why not just add some T5's, you can find them cheap on Amazon, thats what I did. Also, I think all the T5 fixtures are pretty much the same, its more about the bulb and reflector.

 

[dpc goes west]

the tank is too small to add T5's to the Radions. It would have to be one or the other. if i had a larger tank i would run the hybrid set.
i see some good things with giesemann and ATI. but theres different levels depending on dimmable, timers, etc. i see different bulb options but know nothing about the colors. if people are running blue + 10k? 12k?

 

[Bruce Spiegelman]

I did a lot of research before I went T5 and the one thing that I kept stumbling over in tests that I saw is that the ATI fixtures are appreciably better than anything else on the market and it all comes down to their reflectors. As to features -- I have two fixturs with dimming -- and never use it. I also use Reefb right XHO's to add a bit more pop. As to bulbs I tried a lot of combos and came to the same conclusion most have -- use mostly Blue+ if not all Blue +

 

[daddio]

I had t5s on all our reefs. The problem for me is that the tubes only last 6 months and the cost to replace all of my bulbs is $300. So thats $600 a year for bulbs. Picked up 3 Mars Aquas for $400 and they will last for years.
Cheers! Mark

 

[Bruce Spiegelman]

I had t5s on all our reefs. The problem for me is that the tubes only last 6 months and the cost to replace all of my bulbs is $300. So thats $600 a year for bulbs. Picked up 3 Mars Aquas for $400 and they will last for years.
Cheers! Mark

BRS did a very recent test on T5 bulbs and their longevity and the results surprised the heck out of them even -- especially since it means less sales. They ran ATI and Geismann bulbs for a simulated year (same amount of usage) and found that the old theory that bulbs needed to be replaced every 6-9 months was just wrong. After the simulated years use the bulbs had lost only about 10% of their intensity. They are now testing "year two" to see what happens. On a side note, dimming bulbs made almost zero difference in lifespan.

 

[Oakland Evan]

I had t5s on all our reefs. The problem for me is that the tubes only last 6 months and the cost to replace all of my bulbs is $300. So thats $600 a year for bulbs. Picked up 3 Mars Aquas for $400 and they will last for years.
Cheers! Mark

How can you tell when the bulbs start to go bad, or do they just go out?

 

[Bruce Spiegelman]

How can you tell when the bulbs start to go bad, or do they just go out?

So that's kind of the thing -- at least after a year of use they don't seem too. It has been recommended for years to change them every 6-9 months and everyone just took it as gospel. I assume that was a clever marketing ploy by the manufacturers. But if you want to monitor it daily you can always buy the Apex PMR.

 

[Gablami]

How can you tell when the bulbs start to go bad, or do they just go out?

They start to lose par and shift spectrum. You could monitor with par meter or some report an outbreak of nuisance algae with the spectrum shift.


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[sfsuphysics]

They start to lose par and shift spectrum. You could monitor with par meter or some report an outbreak of nuisance algae with the spectrum shift.


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The key is to not try to squeeze every last drop out of them that you can and simply regularly change them on a schedule, although 6 months sounds way too short of a lifespan for T5s. Better still stagger the changing so that you don't go from all old to all new, that's a perfect recipe to shock your corals with too much light.

 

[rygh]

Opinions:
More modern bulbs, with a good electronic ballast, last quite a bit longer. 6 months seems very short now.
Make sure to get T5s with independent reflectors. That wrap around each bulb individually a bit.
If your LEDs are not so great, another option is newer modern LEDs. They have really improved.
Suggest Giesamann MATRIXX 2.
Research dimmable. Sounds good, but not sure what that does to the bulbs.

 

[Coral reefer]

Don't get built in timers. Whole thing becomes useless w a simple point of failure.
What are you unhappy with? Why do you want to change?

 

[Flagg37]

Don't get built in timers. Whole thing becomes useless w a simple point of failure.
What are you unhappy with? Why do you want to change?

I think that’s the real question that needs to be answered. We could be making suggestions that repeat what you’re trying to avoid.

 

[dpc goes west]

thanks for all the feedback.
Ive had Radions for about a year now, and throughout the year ive met multiple people who have made the switch from led to T5's. All reporting the same that growth has taken off once they made the switch.I dont have a problem with color, but in terms of growth things barely seem to grow. Over the weekend i got to visit Kid Cali and saw the difference with color on coral as well. Same coral piece from a led tank,and T5 tank, the T5's gave a different color pop on the coral which i prefer a bit more. I'm keeping LED's on my chalice tank, but for my SPS tank i'd like to give T5's a chance.

 

[Ibn]

Toss a Reefbrite on the Radions and you'll get your pop. Actually had a very similar conversation recently in regards to coloring in SPS with my friend from SoCal. He just delivered a pearlberry to me and we're gonna track the difference in colors. I'm growing mine with the Maxspect Recurve LED light and he's using a blackbox + Reefbrite supplementation. He's seeing the extra pop from the Reefbrites that isn't there with just LEDs alone. We'll compare the colors on our pearlberries in a month or two to verify.

BTW, his main tank is lit by ATI T5s and that's not where he gets the best color or growth. It's actually on the frag tank that's lit by the blackbox + Reefbrite combo. His frag tank is extremely simple. One 20 gallonish tank, one Marinepure block, one AC 70 to break the surface, and one Jebao powerhead for the actual flow.

 

[Flagg37]

thanks for all the feedback.
Ive had Radions for about a year now, and throughout the year ive met multiple people who have made the switch from led to T5's. All reporting the same that growth has taken off once they made the switch.I dont have a problem with color, but in terms of growth things barely seem to grow. Over the weekend i got to visit Kid Cali and saw the difference with color on coral as well. Same coral piece from a led tank,and T5 tank, the T5's gave a different color pop on the coral which i prefer a bit more. I'm keeping LED's on my chalice tank, but for my SPS tank i'd like to give T5's a chance.

Yeah, we’re still waiting for some scientific proof to show that one is better than the other for for color and or growth. So far it’s just people sharing their own experiences which may be true but our systems are so complex that it’s difficult to single out one variable and show that it was the reason for the change. Personally I don’t believe that leds in general are to blame for slow coral growth. All you’d need to prove that is one person who has good coral growth with leds (which there are). You have one of the better leds and should be able to get good growth but most corals do grow slowly (and some much slower than others). Many times I don’t realize their growth until I look back at pictures and compare.

 

[rygh]

Opinions/theories of mine, not to be taken as fact:

I think the best growth I had was with LED+T5. Specifically, LED was DIY cool-white, T5 was mostly actinic.
But never measured. Note that Actinic T5 is a pain since they die quick and it is not that easy to tell.
But there was less "pop"

Some people say they like LED/MH shimmer, but really don't.
I know that sounds weird. But the shifting/blinking effect can bug you almost subconsciously.
If so, T5 would definitely look better. As would more LEDs spread around.

A lot of people just have 1-2 LED point lights, which is very fixed, very directional light.
Unlike sun that crosses the sky, and waves that scatter light like crazy.
I believe that causes growth issues.

LEDs are often too powerful in specific spectra.
That may cause photo-inhibition, hurting growth.
Try turning them down.

Getting more "pop" is pretty easy if your LEDs are controllable.
Turn down the white a long ways, turn up the UV and royal blue.

 

[Oakland Evan]

Getting more "pop" is pretty easy if your LEDs are controllable.
Turn down the white a long ways, turn up the UV and royal blue.

I agree, I love how programmable these new LED'S are, I just upgraded to AI Hydra 26's about a year ago. Here is the schedule I just switched to which I found on a recent video BRS made. I extended my ramp up and down time's a bunch though.