Would T5 lights be the way to go for 34" deep tank?

karak40

Member
I read that T5's dont penetrate too deep. I have a few soft corals and anenomies in the tank. I will also post some pictures so u can see again. I was thinking of getting a T5 retro from icecap 60" 4x80 2 10k and 2 atinic bulbs. would that be enough or should i go with a 60 6x80w SLR or TEK 2 retros from reefgeek?

 

stanlalee

Active Member
well its been disproven that T5 dont penetrate well (at least down to 24") however looking at your set up, dimensions and aquascaping halides would be the way to go.
 
C

cmaxwell39

Guest
+1 My understanding is that you still need to go with halides if a tank is over 30" deep. Especially with trying to support anemones I would go with metal halides.
 

karak40

Member
halides are not gonna work with my tank due to the canopy. Also with the canopy down it will boil my tank and my fish. I only have about 6 inches under the canopy. I have PC orbit now and wanted to switch to T5's. even with 6x80w T5's will not be enough? maybe I should stay with the orbit 60" PC.
 

05xrunner

Active Member
6x80w and overdrive them should be plenty if your using PC now..it would be a big step up from that..Might not be able to keep SPS at the bottom or anything but it should be good
 
J

jojo727

Guest
i'm converting from PC to T5 now but havent tested them yet. i think you'll be ok with the t-5 but you'll have folks on both sides of the fence strongly voicing their opinions.
 

reefraff

Active Member
Reefgeek has 60" reflectors for T5's that are 2 1/2" wide. They are the best reflectors available in the North American market that I know of.
If you only have room for 4 what I would do is contact Reefgeek and tell them you want a 4x60 watt T5 retro kit with the Reefgeek/Aqua Illumination brand reflectors and 2 Ice Cap 660 ballasts. Normally they would give you 2 430 ballasts but as it turns oput the 660 do provide higher output for T5 lamps.
You need to have a fan at each end of the canopy tat will blow air down the row of endcaps from front to back. You want to keep the ends of the lamps cool, about 115 degrees.
For lamps do this
ATI Blue Plus
KZ Fiji Purple
ATI Aquablue
ATI Blue Plus
That wont look as bright as you might think by the names of the lamps.
As long as you are talking Carpet anemone that should be enough light for most any anemone that can get on the rocks.
A guy tested PAR on a 6x80 Tek II reflected retro on a 24" tall tank and had sand bed PAR in the 340's. The Reefgeek reflectors are better than the Tek (and Ice Cap for that matter) so on a 34" tall tank you should still be better than 100 at the sand at least. With about 200 at the sand my lights were too much for a RTBA, it hung out behind the rocks.
 

karak40

Member
Thanks alot for all the info. I have 2 3" fans on the top rear of my canopy. 1 is blowing in the canopy and the other I reversed so it can exhaust some heat outside the canopy. Should I have both facing in or keep it the way it is? I was thinking of 1 cooling and the other blowing heat out.
 

reefraff

Active Member
Originally Posted by karak40
http:///forum/post/2940877
Thanks alot for all the info. I have 2 3" fans on the top rear of my canopy. 1 is blowing in the canopy and the other I reversed so it can exhaust some heat outside the canopy. Should I have both facing in or keep it the way it is? I was thinking of 1 cooling and the other blowing heat out.
Have them both blow in. You don't want them blowing directly on the center part of the lamps. Either hitting the ends of the lamps or just blowing in the area of the lamps to cause air movement. If possible having vents in the top so you can take advantage of the natural convection effect (hot air rises) of the air will help a lot.
 
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