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SPS and T5s


kendaroo

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I've heard different opinions about T5s and SPS. As we design our setup, I'm wondering if we can get away with T5s only and still have some happy SPS. What do you think- are halides necessary?

 

The T5 setup I'm considering would be an 8 x 54 watt, 48" long fixture over a standard 90G tank, 48" long and 25" deep. What do you think?

 

Bonus points awarded for photos of happy SPS grown under T5 only. ;)

 

Thanks!

Gillian

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in my oppinion, you will probably be limited to certain kinds of sps. monti's seem to do ok under t5's but, they will all do better under halides. i've had sps like acro's die under 4 t5's placed about 8" away from the light and can bring them back under a single 175watt halide.

I would recommend that if you can afford halides and they work for your setup, it is well worth the investment. It opens up your options tremendously. want a nice blue clam, you need halides, they will eventually die under t5's. been there done that.

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Yeah its really tough (laugh) (laugh)

 

06_t5_test_sept_startbeck1.jpg

 

1.jpg

 

P1010015-6.jpg

 

a.jpg

 

28Mar06014danano1.jpg

Thats just a couple. There are a lot nicer ones. Lots of nicer ones. I think people worry too much about lighting rather than husbandry and flow. I think those are two keys in SPS.

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Yes, IMO you could do a 6 bulb on a 90 and be able to have any coral you want. Right now I have only 4 54watt T5's and 2 VHO act (The VHO's are about 2 years old min so I'm not sure how much they count) on my 150 gallon that is 24 inches deep and have acros growing and doing great and some of them are 18 to 20 inches deep in the water and my lights are 10 inches above the top of the water.

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If that is indeed 19 54" t-5's then the total wattage is 1026. You could do 2x250 watt halides for much less money. Bulb replacement costs alone would be staggering.

 

T-5's are good with sps, you just have to find the spot where the corals are happiest.

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I had no problem with 6x54w tek. Different kind of sps and 3 clams in the sandbed.

I had them for 8 months and sps were growing a lot. Many people have seen my t5 setup and you can also check out my FTS in the build thread.

The pics that R-3 posted are self explanatory :0

If you are able to find a color combination that you like, t5 are a great source of light, with the plus of less heat and a nicer power bill ;)

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If that is indeed 19 54" t-5's then the total wattage is 1026. You could do 2x250 watt halides for much less money. Bulb replacement costs alone would be staggering.

 

T-5's are good with sps, you just have to find the spot where the corals are happiest.

 

2x250??? No quite! Why dont we go with a shoplight from the Home Depot while we are at it that would work too (laugh)

 

4x250w wouldnt even be enough Lets try at least 6x250 w/good reflectors :) Thats a little closer (naughty)

 

6 bulbs would also be more than 19 ATI T5's! Thats without a case discount!

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Here ya go too Kendra! TOTM on RC. All I can say is WOW!

 

http://reefkeeping.com/joomla/index.php/current-issue/article/65-tank-of-the-month

 

man that kinda stuff ticks me off. I hope i get better results with the fixture i bought from grassi. i've gotta get one of those par meters cause my 55g with the 4 T5's just doesn't grow any kind of SPS except orange montipora and some of the purple birdsnest seems to grow ok in it. I switch them over to halides and they just blow up. i've even got nearly new bulbs in my t5 setup too. all the softies and LPS love the T5's though. i get great growth with them. But thats my issue, just sharing my experience with T5's and acro's. not trying to hyjack the thread.

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man that kinda stuff ticks me off. I hope i get better results with the fixture i bought from grassi. i've gotta get one of those par meters cause my 55g with the 4 T5's just doesn't grow any kind of SPS except orange montipora and some of the purple birdsnest seems to grow ok in it. I switch them over to halides and they just blow up. i've even got nearly new bulbs in my t5 setup too. all the softies and LPS love the T5's though. i get great growth with them. But thats my issue' date=' just sharing my experience with T5's and acro's. not trying to hyjack the thread.[/quote']

 

Thats why I say husbandry and flow are two things lacking in most SPS dominate reef tanks. Water quality is so key with good SPS growth. Most these guys are also using ATI fixtures which ROCK!

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Thats why I say husbandry and flow are two things lacking in most SPS dominate reef tanks. Water quality is so key with good SPS growth. Most these guys are also using ATI fixtures which ROCK!

 

Hey, i'm a bad father!

it must be my husbandry skills cause i think 2600gph on a 55g system should be enough flow.

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Didn't realize it was that big of a tank. $500 every time he has to replace bulbs.

 

How did you think he got 19 bulbs on there??? Also no intelligent person pays $30 a bulb when they buy 20 at a time

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I have been running Tek T5's 8 bulb, with individual reflectors on a 150 24in deep. I heard acros and most sps were out. I figured o.k. I'm gonna try just one. Well it not only lived it did well. O.k. let me try another. Same result. I am horrible with the camara and loading. I will see if hubby will do when he gets home.

I am by no means an expert on any thing to do with reef tanks. But so far so good.

 

 

Beckie

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man that kinda stuff ticks me off. I hope i get better results with the fixture i bought from grassi. i've gotta get one of those par meters cause my 55g with the 4 T5's just doesn't grow any kind of SPS except orange montipora and some of the purple birdsnest seems to grow ok in it. I switch them over to halides and they just blow up. i've even got nearly new bulbs in my t5 setup too. all the softies and LPS love the T5's though. i get great growth with them. But thats my issue' date=' just sharing my experience with T5's and acro's. not trying to hyjack the thread.[/quote']

 

With the bulbs you have now you should be able to keep all kind of sps.

As Ryan was saying it is one element of many. I keep improving the quality of my water and I see the effect on colors and growth

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Hey, i'm a bad father!

it must be my husbandry skills cause i think 2600gph on a 55g system should be enough flow.

 

So I can cut back then since I am running 5500 gph on my 75 gallon, and I am certain a little more would not be a bad thing.

 

And having done both T5's and halides and recently buying another MH light to replace the 4 T5 fixture, yes with T5's it can be done but MH it is done.

 

This is a never ending opinion thread-both will work, you need to dig deep into the future and decide what’s best- I too kept a clam and SPS that did great, some actually had better color than the MH set up.

Like many things personal preference and opinions-

 

My opinion-since I own a chiller and I don’t care about extra electricity costs or heat its MH-That’s my opinion, and 4 tanks later all of them starting with some type of T5 set up and ending with MH, well you can see what I think gets the results I strive for-(laugh)

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So I can cut back then since I am running 5500 gph on my 75 gallon, and I am certain a little more would not be a bad thing.

 

And having done both T5's and halides and recently buying another MH light to replace the 4 T5 fixture, yes with T5's it can be done but MH it is done.

 

This is a never ending opinion thread-both will work, you need to dig deep into the future and decide what’s best- I too kept a clam and SPS that did great, some actually had better color than the MH set up.

Like many things personal preference and opinions-

 

My opinion-since I own a chiller and I don’t care about extra electricity costs or heat its MH-That’s my opinion, and 4 tanks later all of them starting with some type of T5 set up and ending with MH, well you can see what I think gets the results I strive for-(laugh)

 

way to go thread killer.

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