T5's & PC's together?

roushracer

roushracer

Member
I ended up picking up a T5 HO fixture on the net, it is a 39w x4 unit w/ 2 10k and 2 actinic bulbs.
Measurements say it will fit on there with my existing PC (2x 65w) fixture, but would that just be overkill?
It would be roughly 290w total.
Oh, and this is on a 29 gal tank so it'd be 10w per gal.
 
bojik

bojik

Member
Whats per gallon is an iffy way to figure things when used by itself. Because different types of light put out different amounts of lumens and such per wattage. But i'd think with that much you might beable to keep clams.
 
michaeltx

michaeltx

Moderator
clams need more INTENSE a light than those can proved for the most part.
But if both will fit I dont see a problem with useing both fixtures on the tank. since are boosting you lighting though acclimate the corals to the new lighting or they might bleach out. thats a big jump...
mike
 
roushracer

roushracer

Member
Cool.
Yeah, I plan on getting a 250w single halide pendant eventually so I guess using both will prep them for the huge jump in light later on.
I guess I should use my PC like usual, but limit the t5's at first, right?
 
michaeltx

michaeltx

Moderator
right and gradually add the time they are on every couple of days till you have them on the full time you want them on. once you get the halide youll have to do it all over again even slower though.
Mike
 
fanker

fanker

Active Member
imo no need for the pc's the t-5s are powerfull enough to keep what u want and yes i mean clams and sps
 
roushracer

roushracer

Member
Really? So the 4x 39w bulbs should be ok on a 29g for SPS and clams? This is the main reason I wanted to get a halide fixture in the future.
 
michaeltx

michaeltx

Moderator
No offense to fanker but I would get more than one responce on it before deciding on wether or not they will work.
I will be the first to say that I dont know much about the t5 lighting. but I am not to sure about keeping items that need intense light under a light thats not as intense as halides.
I may be wrong but this is what I see might be wrong correct me if I am please.
t-8 normal out put
t-5 High output
and then VHO's
So what makes the t-5 stronger than the VHO's if the t-5's are HO lights and VHO is less than MH right. so what makes the t-5's a replacement for corals that need MH lighting??
just my way of thinking of it anyway. if anyone has a different view of this I am open to be proven wrong on it. LOL
mike
 
fanker

fanker

Active Member
Originally Posted by MichaelTX
No offense to fanker but I would get more than one responce on it before deciding on wether or not they will work.
I will be the first to say that I dont know much about the t5 lighting. but I am not to sure about keeping items that need intense light under a light thats not as intense as halides.
I may be wrong but this is what I see might be wrong correct me if I am please.
t-8 normal out put
t-5 High output
and then VHO's
So what makes the t-5 stronger than the VHO's if the t-5's are HO lights and VHO is less than MH right. so what makes the t-5's a replacement for corals that need MH lighting??
just my way of thinking of it anyway. if anyone has a different view of this I am open to be proven wrong on it. LOL
mike
theya are better because since they are smaller diameter than more light is able to get out so it has alot more par, and a big part is the reflectors bet without them they are still more powerful thatn vho and pc hands down
 
michaeltx

michaeltx

Moderator
but what makes you say
imo no need for the pc's the t-5s are powerfull enough to keep what u want and yes i mean clams and sps
I understand the par value I havent seen anything on what the actual par is on them but I still dont understand how you say that it will keep clams and SPS's under those lights. Do you know of a site that has a par value breakdown of the lights? I mean I still dont get how a HO light can equal a MH in intensity?
and on reflectors I understand the better the reflector with the right angles mean there will be more light going into the tank but are they really that much more intense. The reason I say that is this lets say I use the same type of parabolic reflector on a HO and a VHO light wouldnt the higher output light have more light coming off of it?
I am glad you didnt take my post the wrong way I really want to understand the logic behind the T-5's and why they are SAID to be better and like I said I dont know much about them just a street type look at them.
Mike
 
fanker

fanker

Active Member
well there is a thread that is like 120 pages long that is all about t-5s and what people think of them and results they have and there par measurments, but its on a different forum site but ill try and copyys and past some major points
 
chilwil84

chilwil84

Active Member
the t5s will be enough on a 29 clams no problem the only thing that might happen with sps is if you have some super high color acros you may lose some color if they are not up real high in the tank i user t5s with acros, montipora, and a crocea clam that is on the bottom of a 90 gallon and have good growth on all types,. i have not ponied up the money for some of the rare acros with the super intense color so i dont feel i am qualified to give a definite on them but you wont kill them with the t5s as long as your water is pristine
 
bonebrake

bonebrake

Active Member
I'm no physicist, but in addition to the high par rating of T5's, they compare to metal halides in what they are capable of supporting (especially in small, shallow tanks of 18 inches or less in height) because metal halide is a "point source" light for the most part and T5's are tubes and radiate light across the entire distance of the bulb and surround the corals with light. When you only have one metal halide bulb, as you likely would in a 29 gal., the light does not encompass the corals and some areas on the coral will actually receive no direct light because it is on the "shady side".
:joy:
 
bojik

bojik

Member
And cheaper to run.
The bulbs keep spectrum about twice as long as VHO and PC's (if i remember correctly) so they need changed less often. Run cooler too.
 
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