kendaroo Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgf86123 Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 Kendra, as long as you have individual reflectors, an 8 bulb T5 fixture would be perfect, but, you MUST have those individual reflectors lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReeFit Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R-3 Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 Yeah its really tough (laugh) (laugh) 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReeFit Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 LOL is that 19 bulbs on that one tank.. good grief! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef165 Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef165 Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 LOL is that 19 bulbs on that one tank.. good grief! I've seen that tank on another site and I believe that it is a 450 gallon tank, both sides are bowed like that. and if I remember right it is 30 deep/tall. Amazing tank! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowman Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grassi Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R-3 Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 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! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R-3 Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReeFit Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R-3 Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 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! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowman Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 Didn't realize it was that big of a tank. $500 every time he has to replace bulbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReeFit Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReeFit Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 I'm not saying it can't be done with t5's either, i can see lots of people do it. I just found it easier under halides. it was like pressing that red easy button only without the sound and it wasn't as funny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R-3 Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowman Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 You got me Ryan. Payback is a ***** though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beckie Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grassi Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R-3 Posted June 22, 2010 Share Posted June 22, 2010 You got me Ryan. Payback is a ***** though I love ya Bob! Now back to our regular scheduled thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefnjunkie Posted June 22, 2010 Share Posted June 22, 2010 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) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReeFit Posted June 22, 2010 Share Posted June 22, 2010 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefnjunkie Posted June 22, 2010 Share Posted June 22, 2010 way to go thread killer. Well its better than a FISH killer-(whistle) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kendaroo Posted June 22, 2010 Author Share Posted June 22, 2010 I guess it's LED's for us, then.(whistle) Gillian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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