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gobytron
10-18-2010, 02:35 PM
Good old Craigslist...

Picked up a mint Tek T5 6 Bulb 48" fixture this weekend for a pretty good deal.

It came with
2 X Giesemann AquaBlue+ (15K)
2 X KZ Fiji Purple
2 X Giesemann Actinic+

I am switching over from
2 X 250W HQI Hamilton Reefstars (phoenix 14K)
4 X 110W VHO URI 454 Actinics

I immediately went out and picked up a Giesemann Midday bulb and swithced one of the Fiji Pinks out for it.

So far, I'm not liking the color in comparison to the old set up.
The vho's really lit my coral up and I don't think the t5's can really compare to them for phosphourescence pop.

I am leaning towards switching back to MH again, but it's only been a couple of days so we'll see.


Any comments from the t5 experienced on bulb choice/changes that might better match the Halide/VHO combo?


I DO like how the Tek fixture uses only 2 plugs (my halide/VHO uses 5 in total including the fan) and the Tex has an internal ballast, so my sump closet is less cluttered, not to mention the efficiency aspect.

daniella3d
10-18-2010, 05:41 PM
I think your midday bulb is not helping here. I know soneome with 6 T5Ho and his coral pop. He's using 4 x actinic, 1 figi purple and one 14,000k, no day light bulb.

I would exchange the midday for an actinic and maybe 2 figi is a little too much? but if you have sps it is said to make them color up nicely.

I have MH in one of my aquarium and T5HO in the other. I prefer MH for the shimer and it's very bright. So far I have put a few sps in the frag tank with the T5HO and still waiting to see if it is any good. I have only 4 bulb and use 2 x actinic, 1 figi purple and one 14,000k. I let only the 2 actinic early morning and evening so that really makes my coral pop with fluorescence. I have the full set on only during about 6 hours in mid day.

For my MH, I have 14000k plus 2 x actinic and I really like the look. My coral also have very nice color, espeicaly my sps.


Good old Craigslist...

Picked up a mint Tek T5 6 Bulb 48" fixture this weekend for a pretty good deal.

It came with
2 X Giesemann AquaBlue+ (15K)
2 X KZ Fiji Purple
2 X Giesemann Actinic+

I am switching over from
2 X 250W HQI Hamilton Reefstars (phoenix 14K)
4 X 110W VHO URI 454 Actinics

I immediately went out and picked up a Giesemann Midday bulb and swithced one of the Fiji Pinks out for it.

So far, I'm not liking the color in comparison to the old set up.
The vho's really lit my coral up and I don't think the t5's can really compare to them for phosphourescence pop.

I am leaning towards switching back to MH again, but it's only been a couple of days so we'll see.


Any comments from the t5 experienced on bulb choice/changes that might better match the Halide/VHO combo?


I DO like how the Tek fixture uses only 2 plugs (my halide/VHO uses 5 in total including the fan) and the Tex has an internal ballast, so my sump closet is less cluttered, not to mention the efficiency aspect.

gobytron
10-18-2010, 09:08 PM
thanks for that...

wingedfish
10-18-2010, 10:39 PM
So you went from 900+ watts to 300 watts? I'm having a tough time believing that your tank won't be shocked by the change. Aren't watts per lumen pretty close amongst today's bulbs? this would mean you dropped your light to a third.

Bloodasp
10-18-2010, 10:43 PM
As far as i know T5's have higher lumen per watt compared to VHO

Myka
10-19-2010, 04:29 AM
Crappy bulb choice in the fixture imo. Your old setup with the Phoenix and then those four 454 VHOs...wow, that's a lot of pop! Really...VHOs fluoresce corals better than any other bulb. Anyone who has seen them in action can attest to that, but you will have T5-heads that think their poop don't stink...and well... :lol:

Anyway, what I'm saying is you're used to seeing SUPER fluoresce and quite a blue look. You're not going to get that look out of a 6-bulb T5 fixture without losing a lot of PAR. I think you would need an 8-bulb with good bulb choice (less blue) to even come close to the PAR of your previous setup.

I'm not a fan of Giesemann T5s. They make great halides, but their T5s aren't that great imo. They always have dark ends, and the output isn't impressive. I also find the actinics aren't powerful, the blues don't hold their color, and the middays are pukey looking.

To get a similar look you will have to try something like:

UVL Super Actinic or UVL 454 or ATI BluePlus
KZ Coral Light II 15,000K
AquaScience 22,000K
AquaScience 22,000K
KZ Coral Light II
UVL Super Actinic or UVL 454 or ATI BluePlus

I'm not a fan of the AquaScience bulbs as I find they fade fairly quickly, but I really haven't found a high Kelvin non-actinic (not "blueplus") bulb I like better. The AS does have good PAR though, the KZ bulbs have good PAR, and the ATI would be the choice of the three actinics for PAR. I'm going to venture a guess and say the PAR of this combo (with the ATIs) would be about 50% the PAR of your previous halide setup at the sand assuming a 24" deep tank. Is the tank 24" deep?

It came with
2 X Giesemann AquaBlue+ (15K)
2 X KZ Fiji Purple
2 X Giesemann Actinic+

I am switching over from
2 X 250W HQI Hamilton Reefstars (phoenix 14K)
4 X 110W VHO URI 454 Actinics

I immediately went out and picked up a Giesemann Midday bulb and swithced one of the Fiji Pinks out for it.

So far, I'm not liking the color in comparison to the old set up.

Starry
10-19-2010, 05:55 AM
I'm running a 6 lamp tek with 3 ATI blue plus 1 Atinic white, 1 kz purple and 1 ATI aquablue. seems plenty bright, lots of pop, great PE on my sps. I was running Gman bulbs, was a very white 10k look compared to this combo. I'd say this is about a 17,500k look. My zoas have never looked better either.

gobytron
10-19-2010, 02:01 PM
just an FYI, all the bulbs with the exception of the midday came with the fixture.
Receipt from JL shows 4 months old.

I looked at the fixture and saw that I essentially had 4 actinic bulbs and 2 50/50 or 15k's...

Thats why I put the Midday on for the time being, JL told me the Giesemann Midday bulb is the brightest on the market.


I'm not married to any of these bulbs and I appreciate all suggestions here.

This is a trial, my halides/VHO are sitting in front of the tank as we speak and could go back on anytime.

I just picked this T5 up for a great deal, and I wanted to see what all the mystery is about.
So far, I'm already leaning back to my HQI/VHO set up but I'm defnitely going to try some other combos befor I put the T5 unit up for sale with all fresh bulbs.
Maybe t pick up an 8 bulb unit as I agree with previous post those 2 extra bulbs would really allow for some better combinations of colour and par.


And yes Myka, 24" deep.
Myka - I was told by the good people at JL (you know who you are) that the 454 t5's do not even come close to the 454 VHOs for "pop"...is this true?
I have a Maxima on my sand and it actually seems very happy since the switch, this is the animal I am watching the closest for signs of light deprivation.
Also, so far, my Euphyllia are loving life right now.

I was in the middle of doing some serious maintenance in the sump room and actually had lights off for 5 days when I just happened to see this t5 unit f/s so I think I may have avoided a little shock from an abrubt change there.

Myka
10-20-2010, 07:54 AM
And yes Myka, 24" deep.
Myka - I was told by the good people at JL (you know who you are) that the 454 t5's do not even come close to the 454 VHOs for "pop"...is this true?
I have a Maxima on my sand and it actually seems very happy since the switch, this is the animal I am watching the closest for signs of light deprivation.
Also, so far, my Euphyllia are loving life right now.

Ya, that's true. The VHO Super Actinics have uber POP too. You really can't touch those two VHO bulbs for fluoresce.

All your LPS should be happier with the new light...?

phi delt reefer
10-20-2010, 02:02 PM
24" is reaching the maximum limit of T5's from what i have read. Make sure you are placing them as close to the water as possible. I'm going to be using the same 6 bulb tek but 36" over a 12 inch deep tank. The fixture will gain about 10-20% Par if you add a fan to cool the label end of the bulbs. A cheap clip on fan will do the trick.

Bulb combo

4 ATI Blue Plus <-- very high par bulb
1 ATI Purple Plus (cheaper than the KZ - almost identical output)
1 GE 6500K daylight

swap out one ATI Blue Plus for 1 ATI Aquablue Special if its too blue.

I think KZ and ATI bulbs are both made by the same manufacturer but i cant be for sure. Maybe someone else can ring in on this.