T5 Q&A

I thought I would start a thread here locally for anyone that has questions about T5's and what combos to run. There is a HUGE thread on RC about this but I like to hear from local people and keep it here on our site. So if you have experience with T5, share your knowledge here!

Here is a great site for all things T5:

http://home.comcast.net/~stevelarsen00/site/?/home/


Edited by Ryan Thompson - February 01 2010 at 2:04pm

I saw this deal when during my search for t 5

I was wondering if any one heard or used them before.

I hear the ATI are the best and the brightest. I dont even know what to think about the difference compared to my TEK.  I had to reduce the amount of "light" time compaired to my mh's because it was starting to bleach out my corals.  However with the reduced light period, I can still keep my monti plate alive sitting on the sandbed.  If I had the money to get an ATI, I probably would but my TEK seems to be working great for a "decent" light.  I do have mine cooled which helps.

Well with my TEK, I did have to shade a few of my LPS so I can only imagine the power of an ATI.  I had enought reflectors and ballasts to do a full 8 bulb t5 retro but decided to go with the fixture for a cleaner look, eventhough I have a canopy.  I have been happy with the TEK so far, just need to get this Da** redslime under control still

Enough light with the ATI? Yes the ATI will be plenty of light on the sand for SPS. Some people have had to shade low light SPS with the ATI's.

Because I said I would post some pics of my lights, here are some crappy cell phone shots.  I will swap these out with pics from my real camera in a few days.

And here is a "before and after shot" with my mh's.  I shot these with my Canon Rebel but did not use flash or do any after processing so that it was an accurate depiction of the brightness of the lights. 

Edited by chk4tix - April 29 2009 at 9:56pm

Jeff, its good to see your still alive.

I was scared at first thinking about switching from the "old faithful" mh's, but I think I made a great choice.  The colors of my corals are amazing now and the lights really make everything pop.  I was worried about not being able to keep SPS on the sandbed, what I should have wondered about is if I now have to much light. lol 
Also, I am looking forward to seeing how much of a difference the light will make on my power bill.  I went from running 716watts total lights to only 432watts. 
I know I have heard a lot about the "shimmer" effect that mh's give  off as a reason not to switch. I personally love the shimmer effect, however I have seen the same effect achieved with a few white LED's. I may add these to mine but there is no rush, the tank looks great. I just wish my corals would grow quicker. (this tank has only been up for 4 months now)

That's an awesome picture!  I use a pair of the T5s off our 120 to light our garage

LOL  that cracks me up, a discussion on what lights your tank better and you have yours to light your garage.