Question on t5s
- Thread starter dimdim
- Start date
BLADEYAMAHA
Well-Known Member
Yeah, go with 4, heck I use 4 on my 10 gallon tank.
That would be more than OK. Mushrooms don't need much light at all, I only turn on about 150w of lighting in my 108 gallon most days and my anemone is growing out of control and my soft corals are spreading. Having sad that I don't have any hard corals which would probably require a lot more lighting.
a great :read: 
karensroseanemones.net - Before you buy one
karensroseanemones.net - INTRODUCTION
to ReefSanctuary, a real Sanctuary of reef forums, with lots of very nice members
Start a tank thread & share your tank with us so we can follow along, we love pics
karensroseanemones.net - Before you buy one
karensroseanemones.net - INTRODUCTION
to ReefSanctuary, a real Sanctuary of reef forums, with lots of very nice members
Start a tank thread & share your tank with us so we can follow along, we love pics
reefguy
Member
a great :read:
karensroseanemones.net - Before you buy one
karensroseanemones.net - INTRODUCTION
to ReefSanctuary, a real Sanctuary of reef forums, with lots of very nice members
Start a tank thread & share your tank with us so we can follow along, we love pics
+1 that is a good reference. In a but shell why you wait is cause you want to have a stable and mature tank before u introduce a nem to it. They are picky when it comes to water quality.
Newly established aquariums pose a threat to anemone as the biology of the tank in such a new setup is usually never firmly established or balanced yet. Which can cause water quality issues that will quickly effect the anemone. an extract... Sea Anemone
A good :read: Lee suggest not even adding fish for the 1st few months... to a new tank - I have always add 1st fish after my tanks cycled (around 30 days), but the below is a good read on what all is happening in our tanks during the 1st year.
http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/fish-diseases-treatments/29836-mature-aquarium.html
http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/fish-diseases-treatments/45723-lees-bio-k-leebca.html
A good :read: Lee suggest not even adding fish for the 1st few months... to a new tank - I have always add 1st fish after my tanks cycled (around 30 days), but the below is a good read on what all is happening in our tanks during the 1st year.
http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/fish-diseases-treatments/29836-mature-aquarium.html
http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/fish-diseases-treatments/45723-lees-bio-k-leebca.html
Doogle
Well-Known Member
Probably the worst investment you will make. As tempting as it sounds, don't buy cheap odysea crap. Don't buy a fixture that comes with generic bulbs, even current & Aquaticlife bulbs are no good.
A "good" t5 fixture will have(1) good bulbs,(2) @ min 95% reflective reflectors or better.(3) Individual reflectors, not bent around the bulb reflectors like odysea,current,Aquaticlife etc. (4)Active cooling of the ballasts and bulbs' cold spot, its the end where the manufacturers label on the bulb is, you can o this with a small clip on fan. Finally a (5)true T5 HO program start, end of bulb life protection ballast. A 4x24 ATI Sunpower will give you much more intense lighting than a 6x39 odysea, no doubt. The watts don't matter.
Hanging fixtures are a blessing if you can. I would buy a used ATI or TEK if money is a concern. You are going to put $80 into new bulbs in that odysea fixture and potentially ballasts,wiring and fire hazards which they are notorious for.
Do yourself, your family and livestock a favor and buy a quality unit the first time before you end up buying twice.
reefguy
Member
For sure! I have an odysea on my frag tank. It uses to be on my DT but now upgraded it to some LED
just got them. So the way to go.There lights have gotten a lot better then in the past but u will not be able
To keep a nem in there with their lights for sure.. I tried and he died
my new nem tank has a led pendant over it and he is so happy now.Save the money and get a nice fixture or LED.
So if i was to get an led to go over my 35 gallon what under 200 could i get? Its 36"lx18xhx13"deep im on a budget of 200 maximum. I hate how everyone on every forum im part of says LEDS are the way to go, and every single lfs reefer tells me leds are crap. They run more power in the long run, twice expensive to fix.. And are rediculously priced in the first place. I just simply dont thinkni could trust an led, and there is no way for me to have any light fixture hanging over my tank as we have a very low old school ceiling with square soft ceiling tiles that are all joined together i could possibly drill into the wall over my tank if that would help:s. whats the differenct of the odyssea fixture heating up and a metal halide heating up, they both get extremely hot and are both fire hazards then ?
reefguy
Member
Odyssea are crap plan and simple. You get what you pay for. I am going to take a guess and say half of us on here are running LED an they are wonderful. They take less energy to run and provide a great shimmer effect... I ya did I mention u can dim them so u dont freak out your corals or bleach them with too much light. LFS don't know $h!t unless u talk to a owner or someone that really cares about fish most of them are just there or a paycheck an to sell u something. Most LFS don't carry LED cause its expensive for the great ones so they don't carry them and they want u to buy there T5 lights and MH befr they can get the new ones in.
You ask us for advice and that's our advice you don't have to go with LED or a good fixture but understand u are going to be VERY limited on what u can keep in that tank. We just don't want your corals and nem's u spend money on to die.
Odyssea stuff has been known to catch on fire. I have one and it does well for me but the bulbs are crap.. And the reflector is crap. U could reflect more from a black background :/ so I had to spen the money to get ATI bulbs then I placed it on my frag tank and my DT now has LEDs from RapidLeds.com
My two cents
Good luck and Happy Reefing!
Okay so i think ive decided to go with a 6 bulb 24 inch fixture , will this fixture with mounting legs fit on a 36 inch long aquarium? Im confused as to how a 36" light fixture can mount on top of a 36" long aquarium with 2 inch mounting brCkets, this makes the fixture 38"? To me it wouldnt fit, im worried that a 24" fixture wont mount due to the 13" width?
Doogle
Well-Known Member
My LFS tries to sell crap LEDs like marineland and doesnt know what ATI is, another won't even tell you what kind of halides your going to get for your money if you buy from them. LFS is the worst place to get info from.
I'm a halide & T5 guy, but there are good reasons to go LEDs. You need to figure out how your going to mount your lights, if yearly bulb changes are going to be acceptable. 4 T5 bulbs is $80 a year...LEDs don't sound too bad now, do they?
I bought a 150w phoenix 14k halide bulb (normally $40) a reef optix pendant ($100) and bluewave m-81 ballast ($100) for $50 used. Now a $40 bulb change every 12-18 months.
I bought a new 4x24 ATI Sunpower and bulbs for $500 , every year its $80 or new bulbs.
A decent led could be $200-300, but it should save you money in the long run.
Buy used halides or a good T5 like ATI or TEK. Aquaticlife, Catalina, current are okay also but honestly you can do better (see beginning of list) or try LEDs, they are getting much better, I want to try them on a small tank like yours.
T5 bulbs aren't supposed to get hot, metal halides are. Every different kind of lighting takes electricity and makes heat and light energy. Halides are the least efficient at turning electricity into light because they make a lot of heat, t5 is the middle ground and LEDs turn energy into light better without creating wasted heat energy.
I'm a halide & T5 guy, but there are good reasons to go LEDs. You need to figure out how your going to mount your lights, if yearly bulb changes are going to be acceptable. 4 T5 bulbs is $80 a year...LEDs don't sound too bad now, do they?
I bought a 150w phoenix 14k halide bulb (normally $40) a reef optix pendant ($100) and bluewave m-81 ballast ($100) for $50 used. Now a $40 bulb change every 12-18 months.
I bought a new 4x24 ATI Sunpower and bulbs for $500 , every year its $80 or new bulbs.
A decent led could be $200-300, but it should save you money in the long run.
Buy used halides or a good T5 like ATI or TEK. Aquaticlife, Catalina, current are okay also but honestly you can do better (see beginning of list) or try LEDs, they are getting much better, I want to try them on a small tank like yours.
T5 bulbs aren't supposed to get hot, metal halides are. Every different kind of lighting takes electricity and makes heat and light energy. Halides are the least efficient at turning electricity into light because they make a lot of heat, t5 is the middle ground and LEDs turn energy into light better without creating wasted heat energy.