Help understanding T5 HO lights

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Al&Burke http:///t/389744/help-understanding-t5-ho-lights#post_3447126
I think the purples are great ATI purple plus - I have them on my tank, the make the coral look great, they are considered a daylight bulb from what I have been told.
I plan to replace one of the actinics with an ATI purple...I will have a 6 bulb T5HO light system....three 10K, two actinic and one purple when it's all said and done. 2 light units are on back order, and are not expected to be in until this weeks end or early next week...so I have a good two weeks to plan the bulbs and how I want to set them up....I figured the actinic should be in the center over the rock where the corals live, and the purple I have no idea where to set it...any suggestions?

 

[al&burke]

I have 6 bulbs on my 65 I have the front two come on in the morning for a couple of hours, then in the afternoon the back 4 come on they have 2 10K and 2 super blue ATI - then the front two come on a couple hours later. Then the back two shut of around 9 and the front two stay on untill about 10 30. I like the look when only the front ones are on with the purple plus. Just a suggestion.

 

[reefraff]

Quote:
Originally Posted by acrylic51 http:///t/389744/help-understanding-t5-ho-lights#post_3446923
Reef or whoever how would you rate the Tek fixture.......

A (4) bulb system over a 40 breeder tank.....

They aren't bad. That unit placed over say a 55 gallon would allow you to raise anything you want. Just don't use the splash shield. T5's don't heat tanks much but you do have to control the heat of the lamps to get the best performance. ANY t5 unit without cooling fans shouldn't be ran with the heat shield.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flower http:///t/389744/help-understanding-t5-ho-lights#post_3447100
LOL...now I'm lost. Didn't you post the question on my opinion of the Tek lights shown?

I know Reefraff was quoted and explained the difference between Tek and ATI and said cheap lights were crap. I assumed everyone was blasting the linkable T5s. I personally think the T5 Linkables are a better light then the Tek ones shown.
Cheap units are crap. That isn't a blast on anyone in particular. Aquaticlife's stuff isn't cheap. Their 6 lamp fixture is about equal to the Tek light as far as performance but the design is way nicer. In the case of your linkables I haven't seen them in person so I am not positive but it doesn't appear they have cooling fans. If that is the case and they have splash shields it was a terrible design flaw. If they were mine I would remove the shields.
If your tank is a 120 the lights as is will be fine for what you are raising. Stonies on top of the rocks only. As far as the lamps go the output is OK and the color is nice, I preferred the look of the ATI Blue Plus to their Blues and the PAR was way better but I like their 10K and Purple lamp combo, very nice running with 4 lamps.

 

[reefraff]

The Aquaticlife LED's are not highpower so you couldn't keep corals under them but they are well designed and look good.

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by reefraff http:///t/389744/help-understanding-t5-ho-lights/20#post_3447208
They aren't bad. That unit placed over say a 55 gallon would allow you to raise anything you want. Just don't use the splash shield. T5's don't heat tanks much but you do have to control the heat of the lamps to get the best performance. ANY t5 unit without cooling fans shouldn't be ran with the heat shield.
No fans, but has the splash shield. The linkable units combined with all three, make a 6 bulb light system. My tank is a 90g, 48 x 18 x 24...I prefer no fans, they get so thick with dust because the dampness attracts it. The one linkable unit over the SH tank doesn't put out any heat, the light itself is hardly warm to the touch, and it's so light and easy to manage.
Clarify for me...4 bulbs over the 55g and you can keep anything, or did you mean the 6 bulbs? I will have a 6 bulb T5 over a 90g tank
Oddly, I have found the T5s that have no shield, have the fans, and the ones with a shield have none.

 

[reefraff]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Flower http:///t/389744/help-understanding-t5-ho-lights/20#post_3447387
No fans, but has the splash shield. The linkable units combined with all three, make a 6 bulb light system. My tank is a 90g, 48 x 18 x 24...I prefer no fans, they get so thick with dust because the dampness attracts it. The one linkable unit over the SH tank doesn't put out any heat, the light itself is hardly warm to the touch, and it's so light and easy to manage.
Clarify for me...4 bulbs over the 55g and you can keep anything, or did you mean the 6 bulbs? I will have a 6 bulb T5 over a 90g tank
Oddly, I have found the T5s that have no shield, have the fans, and the ones with a shield have none.

4 lamps over a 55. 6 is best for a 90. But they have to be set up right. Your units with the splash shield wont produce as much light as the Tek unit does. I have a 6 lamp AquaticLife fixture here. The design is nice but Tek uses better material in the reflector. It's amazing how big a difference that makes. I had a company called AquaZ send me a reflector to evaluate that I would have mistaken for an Ice Cap just to look at it. It had way less output than an actual Ice Cap reflector. It was just polished aluminum where the Ice Cap used Mirro aluminum. Aquaticlife uses special aluminum but it doesn't match the Mirro material. With 6 lamps running I got PAR in the 120's at the bottom of my tank. With the stock lamp it was just over 100 so their lamps aren't as good as the Giesemann and ATI but they aren't horrible as long as they last well.
In your case I would probably change lamps at 8 months or so. A guy on RC did an extensive PAR study on his ATI fixture which has fans. Just turning his fans up from 7.5 to 9 volts made a big difference in how long the lamps produced good PAR. With no cooling an d a shield installed it's going to take a toll on the lamps.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Yeah, I was fixin' to say that the heat generated in those linkables without a fan and having a splash shield makes the life of the bulbs much shorter.

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by reefraff http:///t/389744/help-understanding-t5-ho-lights/20#post_3447552
4 lamps over a 55. 6 is best for a 90. But they have to be set up right. Your units with the splash shield wont produce as much light as the Tek unit does. I have a 6 lamp AquaticLife fixture here. The design is nice but Tek uses better material in the reflector. It's amazing how big a difference that makes. I had a company called AquaZ send me a reflector to evaluate that I would have mistaken for an Ice Cap just to look at it. It had way less output than an actual Ice Cap reflector. It was just polished aluminum where the Ice Cap used Mirro aluminum. Aquaticlife uses special aluminum but it doesn't match the Mirro material. With 6 lamps running I got PAR in the 120's at the bottom of my tank. With the stock lamp it was just over 100 so their lamps aren't as good as the Giesemann and ATI but they aren't horrible as long as they last well.
In your case I would probably change lamps at 8 months or so. A guy on RC did an extensive PAR study on his ATI fixture which has fans. Just turning his fans up from 7.5 to 9 volts made a big difference in how long the lamps produced good PAR. With no cooling an d a shield installed it's going to take a toll on the lamps.
Good to know the 6 lamp is going to work on the 90g....

There is no heat. I can hold my hand on the lamp all day long. The light bulb in the bedroom lamp gives off more heat, I can not touch it without getting burned. How do you know when the light has good or bad par, how do you test that?
I had a tiny drop of water splash up and hit my brand new $70.00 MH bulb...it burst. I will NEVER run a light over my tank without a shield. I will not purchase a light that does not have a splash shield.

 

[reefraff]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Flower http:///t/389744/help-understanding-t5-ho-lights/20#post_3447614
Good to know the 6 lamp is going to work on the 90g....

There is no heat. I can hold my hand on the lamp all day long. The light bulb in the bedroom lamp gives off more heat, I can not touch it without getting burned. How do you know when the light has good or bad par, how do you test that?
I had a tiny drop of water splash up and hit my brand new $70.00 MH bulb...it burst. I will NEVER run a light over my tank without a shield. I will not purchase a light that does not have a splash shield.
Try touching a lamp near the end. With no cooling they get toasty. Ideal temp is 120 degrees at the end. You have to have a meter to check PAR, they aint cheap. T5']s don't get hot enough to shatter like a halide. I've splashed lamps while doing tests many times. Maybe at the very end might get hot enough but I doubt it.

 

[flower]

Reefraff,
Okay...the ends do get hot....Can I add a fan like I do with MHs blowing across the unit?

 

[reefraff]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Flower http:///t/389744/help-understanding-t5-ho-lights/20#post_3447728
Reefraff,
Okay...the ends do get hot....Can I add a fan like I do with MHs blowing across the unit?
Be worth a try. Adding an external fan to a Tek light is good for more than 20% increase in output. Just based on the pictures it looks like you'd have to have a couple fans blowing in the end. It only takes a tiny amount of airflow through the units to make a difference.

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by reefraff http:///t/389744/help-understanding-t5-ho-lights/20#post_3447789
Be worth a try. Adding an external fan to a Tek light is good for more than 20% increase in output. Just based on the pictures it looks like you'd have to have a couple fans blowing in the end. It only takes a tiny amount of airflow through the units to make a difference.
Thanks, sound like a plan. I won't get the new API lamps until it comes time to replace the original bulbs. This is not the Tek light, but the linkable ones...three linkable lights make a 6 bulb unit that I will use over the 90g.

 

[snakeblitz33]