Stu May 15, 2009 Share May 15, 2009 I am going to be setting my 30 gal. oceanic cube up again in the fall, and I'm debating what to light it with. I have a 24" Aqua Medic Ocean Light. It houses a 250 HQI and 2 T-5's. While I am sure it would be plenty intense and would give good colors, I really don't like the heat that it will generate. I have a 150 hqi over my nano cube now, and it warms up my upstairs bedroom considerably (even w/ A/C and a fan). I can only imagine that a 250 will be even more so. So my primary reason for switching would be heat output. I also like the idea of mixing t-5 bulbs for color balance, but I know I can do that to a certain extent with the 2 t-5's in the Aqua Medic. Can anyone comment on comparative heat output, and maybe some pros and cons of both? I want to be able to keep pretty much anything in terms of light reqts. (high light SPS, clams etc.) Thanks. -Stu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Grenier May 15, 2009 Share May 15, 2009 You can, and many do, keep SPS under T5's and yes they don't generate near as much heat. Just my $.02 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k May 17, 2009 Share May 17, 2009 Why switch? Halides are best. Learn how to control heat input in your tank from other factors than lighting. Color balance? Blue or white? Keep your nice halide fixture and suspend it a foot above the tank and you'll be just fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu May 18, 2009 Author Share May 18, 2009 Why switch? Halides are best. Learn how to control heat input in your tank from other factors than lighting.Color balance? Blue or white? Keep your nice halide fixture and suspend it a foot above the tank and you'll be just fine. My main problem isn't heat input, but rather the ambient temp in my bedroom. I have 2 roommates, and it doesn't go over so well when I try and crank the A/C because my room is hotter than the rest of the house. I used to have a tank in my bedroom a number of years ago with a 400W halide over it, and my room felt like a tropical rainforest, even running a dehumidifier and a ceiling fan. So I guess I'm saying is there going to be a big dropoff in performance if I go with T5's? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blaze98 May 18, 2009 Share May 18, 2009 You can keep just about anything with the right T-5 fixture. It is more difficult finding the right bulb combination that works for you. I run t-5's over my frag tank and they work on everything, even SPS. Really the only thing you lose when switching from the halides is that gorgeous shimmer effect, which I love. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefmontalvo May 18, 2009 Share May 18, 2009 I'd look into a little king air fan. Just place the fan over the sump and allow evaporation to cool the tank down. I currently run 2x 250w MH and use that as a back up along with the keeping my house around 71 degrees. Tank temp stays at a stable 80.1 degrees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu May 18, 2009 Author Share May 18, 2009 Thanks for all the feedback guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Mammoth May 18, 2009 Share May 18, 2009 I disagree with zygote on MHs being better, but everyone will have their opinion on this topic. I have T5s on my main tank an a MH on my frag tank. I'm only using MH on the frag tank because I got it for $25 Anyway, both have pros and cons. You can keep the same things with T5s as you can with MHs....at least for tanks under 30". I'm sure you could light your tank with T5s using less watts. On top of that you won't have the same heat issues as you do with the MHs. The short of it is that you can keep the same things under T5s that you can under MHs....not unless you got a really crappy setup. Even at that, you will probably just have to put your clams and SPS up higher. I've kept clams and SPS on the bottom without any problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctenophore May 18, 2009 Share May 18, 2009 I've found that T5s seem to wash out the colors of my sps a bit. The corals in my main tank have richer colors under MH+T5 combo than the same corals (in the same system, in my frag tanks) under T5s alone. It could be due to other factors, maybe the flow isn't as good in the frag tanks. Also the combo of T5s (two ATI blue+, one ATI aquablue over a 30 breeder) may not have the right spectrum to really pop the sps colors. I got about 330 micromols on the bottom of the tank (12") with my par meter with this setup, which suggests the T5s are putting out adequate light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu May 19, 2009 Author Share May 19, 2009 So after hearing everyone's input, I think I'm going to go with the t5's. Although I will miss the shimmer, it will be nice to not have to deal with heat issues. My next issue is the fixture. Since my Oceanic is about 20" wide, I was looking into the Current USA Nova Extreme Pro: Nova Extreme Pro It appears to be the only 20" t5 option for a complete hood. The real limiting factor there is there are only 2 bulbs in this size available, a Current 10k and an actinic. I know I could do a number of combinations with a 24" Tek Light, using ATI's, UV's, Geisemann, etc. I don't want a fixture sticking way out over the sides of my tank though. Anyone have any experience with the Current fixture? Several sites have it on sale for $230. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bamainva May 19, 2009 Share May 19, 2009 Even though you are a Gator fan... :-) I had the 20" over my biocube 29 and was very happy with the results. I thought the overall design was good and was easy to set up. I ended up going with MH bulbs for my 65g but I think you can't go wrong with either the T5 or MH. The only drawback is the limitation with only having the 2 bulbs to choose from at this time. I read somewhere they are going to be adding additional selection for 16.5" bulbs for this set up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen May 19, 2009 Share May 19, 2009 Anyone have any experience with the Current fixture? I'm using the 36 inch version over my 40 breeder. It's just about all SPS minus a few softies and LPS here and there. I've got nothing but good things to say about the light! Bulb Combo (front to back) ATI Blue Plus UVL 75/25 14,000K Aquablue GE 6,500K Daylight ATI 12,000K Aquablue Special UVL Super Actinic ATI Blue Plus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Mammoth May 19, 2009 Share May 19, 2009 I've found that T5s seem to wash out the colors of my sps a bit. The corals in my main tank have richer colors under MH+T5 combo than the same corals (in the same system, in my frag tanks) under T5s alone. It could be due to other factors, maybe the flow isn't as good in the frag tanks. Also the combo of T5s (two ATI blue+, one ATI aquablue over a 30 breeder) may not have the right spectrum to really pop the sps colors. I got about 330 micromols on the bottom of the tank (12") with my par meter with this setup, which suggests the T5s are putting out adequate light. This is a very good point. I forgot to mention this. Some corals look better under MHs and some look better on T5s. I'm not sure if it is the colors being used or what. For example, I bought some corals (I think from Moga) and when I put them in my tank....the ones that looked awesome in his tank looked OK...a bit washed out and color was a bit different. However, I also got some corals from him that looked so so...but when I put them in my tank they popped out and were very cool looking! I was seeing colors that I wasn't seeing in his tank. Some of it might be husbandry as well, but I suspect a lot had to do with the lighting. Yeah, you won't have the shimmer with T5s, but it didn't bother me. I'm not really familiar with the fixtures since I have a retro kit. Make sure that the fixture you pick has individual reflectors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu May 19, 2009 Author Share May 19, 2009 Even though you are a Gator fan... :-) I had the 20" over my biocube 29 and was very happy with the results. I thought the overall design was good and was easy to set up. I ended up going with MH bulbs for my 65g but I think you can't go wrong with either the T5 or MH. The only drawback is the limitation with only having the 2 bulbs to choose from at this time. I read somewhere they are going to be adding additional selection for 16.5" bulbs for this set up. I was in Tuscaloosa for the game during Urban's first year ('05), so you'll have to excuse me if I'm still a little bitter . Still stings thinking about it. I will say some of the best opposing fans I've been around. I was unfortunate enough to see Prothro's leg snap about 20 yards in front of me. I'm glad to hear about your good experience over the bio cube. My Oceanic is 18" deep, and I was a bit worried about light penetration with the depth. I believe the bio cube's about the same depth. Did you change up the light configuration at all, or did you just leave it 50/50? Do you have any pics of the tank with the light over it? Would be nice to get an idea of color if possible. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Camaron May 19, 2009 Share May 19, 2009 i run a TEK T5 light on my solana and i keep 3 clams and a bunch of SPS as well as LPS and i love it, i used to have a 250 MH with two 65 watt actinics on my previous 29 gallon biocube and this TEK T5 light fixture is by far better in every way, coral pigment, groth, no heat issues, nice looking fixture, bulbs last longer and you have more choices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bamainva May 19, 2009 Share May 19, 2009 I am still trying to get over the championship game this year...:-). I have a feeling that will be the game again this year. I didn't change anything at all, left it the way it came. Below is the best picture I have left from when I had the 29g set up with all the lights on. The color was a lot better then that. Here are some pics of how the set up is.... Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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