reefgeek84 Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 As some of you know, I am in the process of upgrading tanks...so now I am piecing it together. My orignal plans were to go MH but I am considering going all T-5's I can get a dual PFO 400w set up with reflectors and bulbs (used about a month) for roughly 200 shipped from someone. or I can go with aqualux t-5's and run 7 of them over thank..I want good SPS growth as that is what my tank is going to be. I have talked with Rich (H20cooled) and he is going all t-5's on his new tank he is setting up... I would like to hear other people's thoughs on this situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefboy Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 well with the t-5 youll be replacing every six to eight months as ive ben told that you have to do this if keeping sps so cost wise thats why i stuck with halides on my main system's i use t-5 on most of my prop trays but only keep leathers and lps under them so i can get longer use out of them so i gess biggest thing u have to figure in is electric use plus replacement cost against halides then see if its worth it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefgeek84 Posted August 23, 2006 Author Share Posted August 23, 2006 well with the t-5 youll be replacing every six to eight months as ive ben told that you have to do this if keeping sps so cost wise thats why i stuck with halides on my main system's i use t-5 on most of my prop trays but only keep leathers and lps under them so i can get longer use out of them so i gess biggest thing u have to figure in is electric use plus replacement cost against halides then see if its worth it Interesting I have heard different....I heard that if you keep the bulbs cool, they can last over a year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyles Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 I run a fan on my bulbs, they have been tested by many people, as long as you keep them cool they should last up to 1.5 years but at least 9 months. I am refering to tests with Gueissmen (ATI) bulbs and those are all I use. I seen a tank in Europe that was tank of the month twice and went with the same bulb config and brand. mine are 6 months old, and I plan to change them in 6 months. You should easily get 1 year if you keep them cool. You need to make sure you get good reflectors, I recommend getting sperate reflectors so you get good airflow through them. If you need reflectors get ahold of me, I have a manufacturer in Beaverton. I know the owner very well and they made my parobolic "w" shaped ones. There is a couple pics on my link. Plus I still have cad drawing of them that I sent to them for fab. Oh I run 8 60" long bulbs on a 24" deep tank All Guissmen/ATI 5-11k, and 3 blue plus. I may replace one 11k with a daylight and 1 blue plus with an itanic just to see the difference, but I am very happy with what I have now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefgeek84 Posted August 23, 2006 Author Share Posted August 23, 2006 I run a fan on my bulbs, they have been tested by many people, as long as you keep them cool they should last up to 1.5 years but at least 9 months. I am refering to tests with Gueissmen (ATI) bulbs and those are all I use. I seen a tank in Europe that was tank of the month twice and went with the same bulb config and brand. mine are 6 months old, and I plan to change them in 6 months. You should easily get 1 year if you keep them cool. You need to make sure you get good reflectors, I recommend getting sperate reflectors so you get good airflow through them. If you need reflectors get ahold of me, I have a manufacturer in Beaverton. I know the owner very well and they made my parobolic "w" shaped ones. There is a couple pics on my link. Plus I still have cad drawing of them that I sent to them for fab. Oh I run 8 60" long bulbs on a 24" deep tank All Guissmen/ATI 5-11k, and 3 blue plus. I may replace one 11k with a daylight and 1 blue plus with an itanic just to see the difference, but I am very happy with what I have now. I was thinking of going aqualux reflectors and they sell the ATI bulbs... Also do you keep lots of SPS under the T-5's in your tank? Did you buy chance run halides and then switch to t-5's on the same set up with roughly the same corals in the tank? any difference if so? Wow, that is alot of questions...let me know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H20cooled Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 There have been studies done and if you have some ventalation around the bulbs and you are not overdriving them you can get upwards of 2yrs with them with little loss of output or color spectrum. If you have drive them (icecap 660 or 430 ballast) you need to have very good air movement on them and the should last a year or so. Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H20cooled Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 Brandon, I'm not sure if you have ever seen this tank, but it is ALL T5 and it is AMAZING.... http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=700454&perpage=25&pagenumber=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R-3 Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 Im not sure about the Aqualux brand but my 6 Bulb Teklight was pretty nice and keep SPS with no problem. Ive never heard of only 6-8 months on a T5 bulb though. I was under the impression that 6-12 month is when you replace bulbs on a MH. Who knows everyone has a opinion. Ive seen beautiful MH and T5 tanks so its kinda a preference. I know one thing though if you can save on a chiller by running T5's you save a lot of money right there. If you do go with T5's either get a Teklight or even better do a retrofit with the individual Ice Cap reflectors. Later Ryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyles Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 My tank was based on Iwans tank. and my lighting is the same. Also no Id idnt run mh on this setup, but yes there, is arcos, millis, torts, montis, and all sorts of others. PM me and I can give you my number and talk at you about it. Its really simple though. Also most my stuff comes from MH setups, and I haven't noticed an aclimation problem. I did have some issues a few months ago regarding another matter that did afect my corals, but they are recovering nicely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefgeek84 Posted August 23, 2006 Author Share Posted August 23, 2006 Brandon, I'm not sure if you have ever seen this tank, but it is ALL T5 and it is AMAZING.... http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=700454&perpage=25&pagenumber=1 Thanks rich, I will look over the artilce, very impressive tank to say the least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefgeek84 Posted August 23, 2006 Author Share Posted August 23, 2006 Im not sure about the Aqualux brand but my 6 Bulb Teklight was pretty nice and keep SPS with no problem. Ive never heard of only 6-8 months on a T5 bulb though. I was under the impression that 6-12 month is when you replace bulbs on a MH. Who knows everyone has a opinion. Ive seen beautiful MH and T5 tanks so its kinda a preference. I know one thing though if you can save on a chiller by running T5's you save a lot of money right there. If you do go with T5's either get a Teklight or even better do a retrofit with the individual Ice Cap reflectors. Later Ryan Aqulux, has 3" wide reflectors and they look very nice...I have heard them compared to Ice cap reflectors or better due to the reflectors being bigger, but again it is all who you talk to, plus they carry ATI bulbs and have good prices....I just want to know if I will be succesful with using t-5's as opposed to MH's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyles Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 ya, It took me hours to read it, I think it was closed and reopened 3 times if Im not mistaken, when I read it last time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 I'll be switching from MH to the TEK fixture Ryan is talking about (bought it off him ) I did a lot of reading about T5 vs MH and the debate will rage on just like DSB vs BB. But i made the choice to switch based on the length of time you can keep the bulbs before replacing them and the heat they produce. They also use less electricity. Another thing i like about them is if you do not like the color they are giving off, you can replace one at around 20 bucks to slightly change the spectrum, whereas with MH you are out 80 bucks and if you don't like the new color, another 80 bucks and on and on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyles Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 I have no doubt with the right reflector and the right distance from the water With the proper amount of bulbs you can be very successful. Like I said give me a call sometime, I talked to Bob about them at a meeting a while back, and have discussed mine with a few people. Cons: The downfalls of t-5 are there is little to no shimmer, the light it pretty darn bright compaired to mh watt 400. If you don't design the system right they will be in your way (access from the top). Pros: Wattage is pretty low for what you get They run cool and the electronic ballast are room temp I don't need a chiller (but I do have AC) The life expectancy is exceptional I must have read reviewes and researched them for 3 months before I got them. I can tell you one thing, I was going to get the TEK, then after reading reviews I was going to get the DIY type kit from sunlight, then decided to make my own (I am an engineer by trade) and made the reflectors, and ordered most the stuff from reefgeek. But Iwans system really got me going on the ATI bulbs. And if you see them next to a GE bulb or most the others they look better and the specs show a broader light array. They are brighter than you think though, with the reflectors the light is almost a full square bar, I will take A pic if I remember to, the reflectors really pic up a lot of light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R-3 Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 Read up before you buy any WH ballasts. I know they work but some say not to use them. Just read up. You will have success with T5's and MH. I think people spend too much time on this debate. I think other things are more important in the success of a happy reef. Like Miles said its an endless debate. Just do a lot of research and decide what you like better. Later Ryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefgeek84 Posted August 23, 2006 Author Share Posted August 23, 2006 Read up before you buy any WH ballasts. I know they work but some say not to use them. Just read up. You will have success with T5's and MH. I think people spend too much time on this debate. I think other things are more important in the success of a happy reef. Like Miles said its an endless debate. Just do a lot of research and decide what you like better. Later Ryan I have heard the same thing about the WH ballasts, but I also heard the same thing about my CS skimmer I am running now...Sine i do not have to get the light right away, I will be keeping my eyes open for some deals on some other ballasts and see if I can get a good deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H20cooled Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 The problem with the WH ballast is the way they fire the bulbs and the way the turn them off, I can't remember exactly what was said but I know that they will decrease the life of the bulb and they have lower output. Here is the thread from RC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefgeek84 Posted August 23, 2006 Author Share Posted August 23, 2006 The problem with the WH ballast is the way they fire the bulbs and the way the turn them off, I can't remember exactly what was said but I know that they will decrease the life of the bulb and they have lower output. Here is the thread from RC Thanks again for the link, I will check it out...I may have to go ice cap...but they are so expensive, i might consider triad, but have heard bad stuff about them as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeanF Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Ice Cap makes a ballast for UV lighting that is the same as their 660 but without the dimmer functions. You could save a little money that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H20cooled Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 I got mine used, there are a lot forsale... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefboy Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 just my choice ive run both like halide better and usaly go a year then replace but just ben told to do the 6-8 month changing cycle from other people growing sps im gessing theyd go longer also just like my halides but i change just to be safe before they lose spectrum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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