T-5 lighting

[Vader]

I have been doing some reading on the net and is there a difference between T-5 HO & T-5? Depending on which site I go to, they

[bprinehart]

If you're talking about lighting for reef corals and inverts, then it's T5 HO (High Output), which are used with individual reflectors. They provide much more light, and operate at a higher wattage than regular T5.

 

Usually, people only use regular T5 NO (Normal output) for freshwater or FOWLR tanks

Edited June 9, 2008 by bprinehart

[Clyde]

I have a 10 gal gal and I use two T5 (NO) Coralife units. The have day light and actinic light each and my coral, even my Merulina Coral is growing and looking great. Having two I get a wider spectrum of light.

[Vader]

I'm looking to put 6, T-5 HO's above my 75g and I see that some manufactures list their T-5's (48") at 54 watts and don't call them HO while other manufactures call them HO. I understand the whole wattage thing, but where is the line drawn for non HO and HO? is there a higher watt T-5 HO than 54 watts? I saw an ad for a T-5 NO (48") at 54 watts and an ad for a T-5 HO (48") at 54 watts.......what gives? or have I just been drinking too much today???

[Coral Hind]

If it is a t-5, 4'(actually 45.2") and 54 watts then it is an "HO" bulb. The t5, 4', "NO" bulb would be 28 watts. You rarely see the 28 watt "NO" bulb in the hobby.

 

As far as seeing suppliers selling 54 watt bulbs which are not listed as "HO" can either be ignorance or they just assume everyone knows that the hobby uses "HO".

 

I hope that helps.

 

 

 

I have a 10 gal gal and I use two T5 (NO) Coralife units. The have day light and actinic light each and my coral, even my Merulina Coral is growing and looking great. Having two I get a wider spectrum of light.

 

Clyde - what wattage are the bulbs that you are using on the 10 gallon tank?

[sheac12]

Coral Hind has got it right. If it is 54 Watts it is a High Output T-5.

 

Now like all fluorescent lighting, these bulbs, can be over driven to even higher wattage using an electronic ballast. The easiest way is to use an ICE Cap Ballast, which over drives bulbs 40-50% (430 does two 4' and the 660 does 4 4') and requires no special wiring or setup. It can also be achieved using a standard electronic ballast and special non-standard wiring schems.

 

I bring this up because you will find bulbs marked as V-HO (Variable-High Output) which would happen to fit within the 40-50% over drive of the ICE Cap ballast(assuming 54Watts over driven by 50% ~ 80(76 actual) Watts. Why does this matter, well 6 T-5s are going to generate heat, no where near as much as metal halides, but still it is going to get hot. So you might want to either, go with less bulbs and over drive them, or at least make sure you have really good ventilation in your hood.

[reefmontalvo]

Very good to know. Where did you find your information?

[sheac12]

Very good to know. Where did you find your information?

 

A combination of Reef Central and Wet Web media (http://www.wetwebmedia.com/T5fluorFAQs.htm) do a search on Variable. I was wrong on my numbers, the bulbs are actually 54/85Watts not 54/80. As for the ICE Cap info I just did a google search.

[Coral Hind]

At Dr. F & S's website the T5 bulbs have a following paragraph telling about the over driving of the bulbs with an Icecap to give you a VHO like output. I am sure it will reduce the bulbs life.

 

"Innovative T-5 lamps boast a variable output feature. When used with IceCap Electronic Ballast Model 660 or Model 430 these lamps become Very High Output (VHO) T-5 lamps. The 24 watt, 39 watt, and 54 watt lamps respectively boost their output to 40 watt, 60 watt, and 85 watt."

 

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...mp;pcatid=16887

[Vader]

If it is a t-5, 4'(actually 45.2") and 54 watts then it is an "HO" bulb. The t5, 4', "NO" bulb would be 28 watts. You rarely see the 28 watt "NO" bulb in the hobby.

 

As far as seeing suppliers selling 54 watt bulbs which are not listed as "HO" can either be ignorance or they just assume everyone knows that the hobby uses "HO".

 

I hope that helps.

 

That helps a lot, Thanks for clearing that up.

[reefmontalvo]

Yeah good looking out. Its hard sometimes to grasp the conecpt of various aspects in the hobby. I buy books but they only tell you the best light of filtration to use. I try my hardest to research lighting but in the end you have so many variations its often hard to figure what is the best light for your situation or the best light for your animals.

[rioreef]

Overdrive them!

 

I have been doing this for 4 of my 6 T5's and wouldn't have it any other way. I have no probleming maintaining any corals or clams, top to bottom.

 

As far as the bulb life, the expected life of an overdriven bulb is 12 months compared to 18 months for one that is not. I generally go about 12 and 15 months.

 

Individual reflectors is a must also to maximize.