T5 Nova question
- Thread starter breeze
- Start date
wangotango
Active Member
T5 run cool compared to halides, but they still produce a lot of heat. How high above the water is the fixture? The fans aren't obstucted at all are they? Also how much is the temperature rising? I can't imagine that it would be a serious problem.
-Justin
-Justin
thangbom
Active Member
t5 dont run that cool... i would say my 6 54watt t5s put out as much heat as my 400 watt MH... do you have fans blowing in and out??? if all are just in or out then they dont doo much.. you need both... if you can make the out fan the one that is higher in the canopy... imo if the tank temp is only raising like 3 deg then you should be ok... the less the better but like i said.. imo 3 deg temp swing is ok...
YzGyz
YzGyz
ibew
Active Member
Originally Posted by breeze
i have the t5 nova extreme 4x54w on a 75 gallon
and the fixture gets very hot when the actinics are on it raises the tank temp alot
its in a closed canopy with pleanty of room and vent holes for the fans
is this normal for these fixtures i thought t5 ran cool?
the big problem your having is the nova has one vent hole and a fan on the opposite side. Its designed to pull air from the room through the fixture to cool it off which works fine unless your house temp is close to tank temp. I have the same fixture and I found this out last summer when the power was out for a day. I don't even use the legs on the fixture it sits flat ontop of the tank thats how I know the way they use the fan works
i have the t5 nova extreme 4x54w on a 75 gallon
and the fixture gets very hot when the actinics are on it raises the tank temp alot
its in a closed canopy with pleanty of room and vent holes for the fans
is this normal for these fixtures i thought t5 ran cool?
the big problem your having is the nova has one vent hole and a fan on the opposite side. Its designed to pull air from the room through the fixture to cool it off which works fine unless your house temp is close to tank temp. I have the same fixture and I found this out last summer when the power was out for a day. I don't even use the legs on the fixture it sits flat ontop of the tank thats how I know the way they use the fan works
breeze
Member
It sits on the legs it came with 2 1/4" above the tank it only has one vent hole and one fan with nothing blocking them. I let it raise the temp 5 degrees from 77 to 82 then i shut the lights off but my house was a little warm. i only have live rock in the tank and tomorrow i want to see how high it will go maybe its not that big of a deal
Thanks for the info
Thanks for the info
ibew
Active Member
you might not be blocking the holes but having a sealed canopy with just vent holes is your problem the heat isn't getting out fast enough also your not pulling frsh air through the fixture anymore your pulling hot air from the canopy through the fixture. Try running the nova without the canopy for a couple of days and see if it over heats also im not sure if you have central air or not but if your house temp gets even remotly close to tank temp your tank temp will start raising.
ikemeyer
Member
I have the t5 nova ext. 2x54 10k 2x54 actinic on top a 75g with glass tops. The tank temp only gets to about 77.8F with an average room temp. around 72-74F.
The reason you are getting high temps is most likely due to the canopy. Its not the t5 bulbs that are causing the excessive heat its the ballasts within the light fixture and the canopy top is trapping in the heat radiated from them.
In short, this light fixture is not designed for a canopy top.
The reason you are getting high temps is most likely due to the canopy. Its not the t5 bulbs that are causing the excessive heat its the ballasts within the light fixture and the canopy top is trapping in the heat radiated from them.
In short, this light fixture is not designed for a canopy top.