suitable t5 lighting for 90 gallon sps & lps

[astroboy]

I'm upgrading my 75 to a 90. Currently I have 360W of compact fluorescents and while the sps have survived OK, they haven't grown all that fast and are all a brownish color. I'm thinking about doing a retrofit to:

 

4 or 6 T5 bulbs, and

2 T12 actinics.

 

I've read on another thread that I can't locate now that T12s were better as regards actinic lighting than T5s. Does anyone have any experience or opinions on this?

 

Also, would I be better off with 4 or 6 T5s? I don't want to bake the LPS and shrooms I have. If I used 2 T12s for actinic, would I still want to have a couple of the T5s be actinic?

 

Thanks!

 

Mark

[treesprite]

That's a really interesting theory about T-12s for actinics, and it kind of make sense to me (without being able to explain myself). How would you configure the mix?

[amay121]

Get the 6. If you can afford it, get the Tek 8 bulb.

[kngfisher]

if you are interested, I have a Hamilton canopy with 2x250 watt MH and 2x65 watt T5 setup .... I had it running on my 90 before upgrading to LEDs

[astroboy]

Get the 6. If you can afford it, get the Tek 8 bulb.

 

Just to clarify.... You're saying eight T5 bulbs would be OK for LPS? I've read warnings here and there (not on WAMAS, though, and mostly from 3-4 years ago) that its pretty easy to fry your LPS with T5s. I'm not sure I believe that, since you don't hear about people zapping their LPS (except maybe mushrooms) with metal halides, which are quite a bit brighter, so I wonder if 8x54= 432 watts of T5 would be over the top. Conversely, would 4 or 6 T5 bulbs be enough to color up the acros (located at the top of the tank?). I realize that comparing the wattage of T5s to MH or NO is like comparing apples and oranges. Unfortunately, I haven't come across any calculations or measurements that show the relation. Hence my post, hoping that people with experience have some ideas of what's OK.

 

As an aside, I have a couple clusters of duncans which I moved near the top of the tank (360W compact fluorescents, 75 gallons), and they just don't like to open up very much. I had them at the bottom of a 29 gallon with 160W CF, and they seemed only more or less OK. The current in both tanks where they were was at best moderate: torches/bubbles next door did great. Does anyone know, am I giving the duncans too much light? As I recall, one cluster grew like weeds when it was exposed to direct sunlight for a couple hours a day. I always thought that duncans were pretty hardy, and my other corals are doing fine, so I wonder if I'm overlooking something.... Is the current that a torch would be OK with be too much for duncans?

 

Last of all, why the Tek? Just general quality? Does anyone have any opinions on Catalina aquarium retrofits? I've found their quality to be reasonable, a decent bang for the bulb, especially if you put silicone over all the connections between the wiring... Which perhaps is to 'darn with faint praise' as Shakespeare would put it...

 

Thanks in advance for the help!!

 

Mark

[NightOwl]

Hey Mark,

I run 4 T5's (individual reflectors) and 2 T12's for my actinic lighting. I think i tried about three or four brands of T5 actinic and in my opinion they do not look as good as the T12 actinics. I have not taken any pictures lately but a few people have seen my tank and the colors you can achieve from the combination. I run Ice Cap ballasts so that my make a difference as well as my T5's are being over driven.

 

Hope that helps,

Henry

[amos]

If you are doing X number of T5s + 2 T12s, I imagine that using 6 bulbs is going to give you tremendous flexibility. 6 T5s over a 90 is a pretty standard recommendation for those who want to do SPS as well as LPS and softies. I only use 4 T5s over my 90, and while it doesn't maximize colors and has limits with SPS, I have been pretty happy. You can see some pics in the link in my signature.

 

Jon

[NightOwl]

Amos,

What kind of limitations do you mean with SPS with 4 T5's? Are there certain SPS you can not grow with your set up just curious...

 

Thanks,

 

Henry

[amos]

Amos,

What kind of limitations do you mean with SPS with 4 T5's? Are there certain SPS you can not grow with your set up just curious...

 

Thanks,

 

Henry

 

Good question. Sorry, my last post wasn't that helpful for lack of detail. When I said "limits", I meant that I have limited placement options, and even then, higher light requirement SPSs don't seem color up the way they look in high lit tanks. Corals still grow, they just look brown.

 

Jon

[Amuze]

I run a 4 bulb Tek T5 light over a 55g with SPS and LPS with excellent coloration and growth. I would run double that over a 90g.

[steveoutlaw]

First, we need to know if you are looking for a fixture or if you are going to use a retrofit (mounted in a canopy). If you are going to use a fixture, use a 5 bulb from aquactinics or a 6 bulb from TEK. If you are just loaded with cash, go for a Solar Flare by aquactinics or an ATI fixture.

 

Are you married to the T5 idea? If not, I would take up kngfisher on his offer. I had the same setup on my 90g and I was able to get amazing color and growth from both my SPS and my LPS. Plus, with MH you get the shimmer effect.

 

VHO does put off better actinic color, but with the spectrum of T5 bulbs offered you can combine them to get the color you want.

[trockafella]

I like T12 actinics much more than the T5's, but I use them halides, I dont see an issue with using 4 T5's and 2 T12's, I use a 2 250w halides and 2 4ft T12's on a 72gal and my LPS and softies are fine as well as SPS, I think the placement of your corals will be vital though.. just my .02...

[amos]

I run a 4 bulb Tek T5 light over a 55g with SPS and LPS with excellent coloration and growth. I would run double that over a 90g.

 

What bulb configuration do you run?

 

Jon

[NemesisElite]

I personally run 6 T5s which grows sps, lps, zoos, and softies no problem. I wanted an anemone and to keep it where I wanted it I supplemented the spot I wanted it in with a single 150watt MH pendant. Personally, I would go with 8 t5s because of the better par reading and the even more flexible color options.

 

This is droyal1110, its on my 90g. I didn't realize my brother was logged in on my laptop =/

Edited July 16, 2009 by NemesisElite

[steveoutlaw]

I think an 8 bulb is overkill on a 90. The TEK 8 bulb fixture is 19" wide and a 90g is only 18" wide. That makes it a pain in the a$$ to get into the tank to do anything. 6 T5s on a 90g will allow you to keep whatever you want, wherever you want. I kept clams and an anemone, as well as SPS, on the sandbed of a 120 with a 6 bulb TEK fixture.

[Amuze]

What bulb configuration do you run?

 

Jon

 

Jon,

 

I use Giesemann bulbs. Front to back: blue, purple, white, blue. I'll be switching to ATI's when it comes time for a change (which is due about now actually).