T5 vs Metal Halide debate answered

ibew

ibew

Active Member
Originally Posted by reefeel
Good Chemistry knowledge, most people would not know this or understand it
. As light goes through water it gets "filtered out" the first to go are the reds, yellows, and oranges. Most of the light that actually reaches the corals are maybe green but mostly blues and violet. The begining of the electomagnetic spectrum is filtered out because they don't have enough energy to go any farther. If you want I can explain with equations and such.
very interesting keep going
 
tx reef

tx reef

Active Member
Originally Posted by reefeel
Good Chemistry knowledge, most people would not know this or understand it
. As light goes through water it gets "filtered out" the first to go are the reds, yellows, and oranges. Most of the light that actually reaches the corals are maybe green but mostly blues and violet. The begining of the electomagnetic spectrum is filtered out because they don't have enough energy to go any farther. If you want I can explain with equations and such.
Very true.

Same as I said, though I did not go into as much detail.
 
hot883

hot883

Active Member
Originally Posted by oceana
Do you all realize that you are arguing with a guy that clearly has taken a defensive stance? Saying something like the light is the same on the top of the tank as it is on the bottom is simply enough for me to realize he is now using anger to steer his post and not logic. Due to this fact this will go no place and IMO it is time to let this one die. Simply agree to disagree
I agree totally. Anyone that waits for the next post to come up so he/she can spit some more garbage out so fast that he/she makes so many spelling mistakes is not thinking, just rattling out jibberish. No, I am not an English major nor am I condeming the gramatical errors of others but shows the lack of Reception (hearing what is said) Thesis (conjuring up mental thoughts) and Rebutal (typing so fast that what was intended did not get presented because of haste and or anger).
I came to this thread to try and learn about the lights that I NEED. I am concerned about power usuage, proper lighting for my animals, and of course heat.
I have a 6' 125 gallon and run 520w of PC's. Softies are fine, but I want to venture on.
From what I gather I need 250w MH with either a 13k or 14k bulb for all around color, mounted 8-10" above water line with fans extruding heat.
What is better speaking of electrical power usuage;
1- ballst w/2 250's or
2 ballast to run 2 seperate 250's?
 
matt819

matt819

Member
I think we've started to lose our grip on learning something, and instead on learning how to fight via ascii text. lol...back to the subject at hand. I've done a lot of research, and I do realize that metal halides are "the" light for a full blown stony corals and all reef tank. I've also seen some very nice setups with t5s...and I just like to play with new technology, and before someone says it, I know they've been around a while. I changed my mind and think I'm just going to order the sunlight supply retro...just with the icecap reflectors. This way I won't overdrive the bulbs, and I'll get good longevity, and fairly strong light. I would like to try and keep clams and anemones, and some sps maybe, we'll see. I could always buy the icecap 660 later if I feel like really fryin em I guess. I just hope I can share what I learn from this with anyone else thinking about getting t5s, and there doesn't seem to be many on these particular boards.
 
matt819

matt819

Member
BTW, From the par readings grim got, the 660 ballast put out roughly 39% more par, compared to the triad ballast. They run the lamps at 80w roughly, instead of 54w...food for thought.
 
matt819

matt819

Member
Oh and hot883: Seriously look into gettin 2 sets of 36" t5s, how deep is the tank?...each reflector is 2.5" so you could at least do 6 or 8 per side...they're 39w each...6 on each side would be 468w just for reference. You'd be able to keep almost anything, even with that.
 
fanker

fanker

Active Member
t-5 ho are already high out put, a no would be like 39w for a 48" fixture, and the ice cap doesnt over drive the bulbs that much 5-8wats max
 
hot883

hot883

Active Member
Originally Posted by Matt819
Oh and hot883: Seriously look into gettin 2 sets of 36" t5s, how deep is the tank?...each reflector is 2.5" so you could at least do 6 or 8 per side...they're 39w each...6 on each side would be 468w just for reference. You'd be able to keep almost anything, even with that.
My tank is roughly 18" tall. Is 468w t5's with individual reflectors better than the 520 PC's I have now?
 
tx reef

tx reef

Active Member
Originally Posted by hot883
My tank is roughly 18" tall. Is 468w t5's with individual reflectors better than the 520 PC's I have now?
I just sent you an e-mail.
 
fishieness

fishieness

Active Member
Originally Posted by hot883
My tank is roughly 18" tall. Is 468w t5's with individual reflectors better than the 520 PC's I have now?
as long as it is a quality unit and not one of those crappy nova extreames, from what i know and have seen/read/heard,absolutly.
Fanker: the 660 will overdrive them a heck of a lot more than 5-8 watts. get a kill-o-watt meter and test it for yourself. someone in my reef club tested them and a 24" 24 watt HO t5 put out 50 watts on an icecap ballast. as the bulbs get longer, the ratio that they increase get smaller, but that is still a big difference.
 
matt819

matt819

Member
Fanker, the icecap 660 WILL overdrive HO t5's from 54 to 80w; and yes, the t5 would be more light because of the individual reflectors than 520w of pcs. PCs are bulky and difficult to have a parabolic reflector fashioned for them, that's the reason. The reflectors on the t5's direct tons more light toward the tank.
 
hot883

hot883

Active Member
Originally Posted by Matt819
Fanker, the icecap 660 WILL overdrive HO t5's from 54 to 80w; and yes, the t5 would be more light because of the individual reflectors than 520w of pcs. PCs are bulky and difficult to have a parabolic reflector fashioned for them, that's the reason. The reflectors on the t5's direct tons more light toward the tank.
thanks
 
matt819

matt819

Member
Below is a question I asked to a fellow t5er:
So if I run the 660 ballast, I know it has the potential of driving like 4 x 110w lamps. If I run the 4 54w t5's, which normally would be 216w...about how much does it overdrive it?... as far as actual wattage goes?

[hr]
Approximately 80w per lamp.
 
baytran7

baytran7

Member
Originally Posted by oceana
Do you all realize that you are arguing with a guy that clearly has taken a defensive stance? Saying something like the light is the same on the top of the tank as it is on the bottom is simply enough for me to realize he is now using anger to steer his post and not logic. Due to this fact this will go no place and IMO it is time to let this one die. Simply agree to disagree

I'm not arguing, i'm open to anything anyone says, i just want solid data that can steer people in the right direction of understanding Lighting. The one thing I hate most are people who talk and talk and talk, yet have no evidence to support their theories, as a Marine Biologist major I am focused on Hard evidence and not he said/ she said. If it is not backed by any research and have gone through the Observation, Hypothesis, Experiment, Analysis, Theory Stages, I have no use for it. I have said it before and I will say it again, if you don't have any proof to your statement, don't bother posting it because it is a non-educated guess. Why not just come out and say, I am sitting on a high horse and I know everything in the universe so what I say you must believe. From this post you see alot of people wanting good info on which light to use, and you guys are giving your opinions without any proof. In my book, UNPROVEN ADVICE = BAD ADVICE.
 
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