t5 or not
- Thread starter TangMang232
- Start date
tbittner
Well-Known Member
Jeez! For the price of those you could buy a Solaris! Are they that much better than a Solaris?
NATIVEVAMAN
Member
I dont know what to tell you JoJo.I have heard rumblings in the rumor mill that the Germans were planning on there first assault on american soil lol. I developed a good jolt of skeptisism when I read in booze's thread that they are going to use american made ballasts.Not that using American made parts is a bad thing.But if I am going to buy German lights,shouldnt it have german ballasts?It begs the question "is there something wrong with German ballasts"?If the germans dont have a good ballast maybe they dont have a good light either.Its all about excess scrutiny which I am sure many have noticed I am capable of lol.
Well I wish my bulbs would last forever but that's not reality
You think that T5 bulbs don't lose any PAR in a year ? Why do you think the guy I posted the pic of his tank replaces his every six months ?
The aquaconnect 14k bulb I was using was putting out a PAR of 441 so even losing 20% in a year I'm still getting more PAR out of that bulb than any of the T5's available in the hobby !
So in conclusion I like T5's and it's obvious you can keep just about anything if you place enough bulbs in your hood but I prefer my MH's until I can afford LED's which are the future !
Hey a friend of mine bought one that looks just like that one !
The problem is it's from Germany and since the dollar is so weak against the Euro everything from Europe will be very expensive to us.
JoJo
Active Member
TangMang232
Member
That might be another good reason for me doing DIY, build it myself and make it as efficient as possible without jacking up the cost lol. Saves me money for stock!!
TangMang232
Member
native. Is there way with the bulb set to control what bulb comes on with a switch. I should be able to run power to the switch form the ballast and then run each switch to a bulb right. Would there be a way that i can run each light from a time with about having a separate ballast for each bulb???
I don't believe so. You'd need a timer to control each ballast but not each bulb individually.
NATIVEVAMAN
Member
You will have to control the lights on each ballast,there is no way to control individual bulbs.If you get a 660 ballast it will have 1 wire bringing in the power and 4 pairs of 18 guage wire going to the 4 bulbs and each color coded pair is for one bulb.(if you get the 430 you will have 3 pair of 18 guage wire).There are a numer of dual and tripple outlet timers that will work as switching and the ballast will plug directly into the timer.You can also use the old reliable 24 hour rotary timer with the pull out stops from lowes or home depot.
TangMang232
Member
yeah i have a single timer power strip and a dual timer power strip that i would have liked to use. The problem that im encountering is that im going to be unable to have the sun rise and set effect that i like. I have a small t-5 strip that i could use and have just actinic in it but i feel as this would not work very well at all. Let me know your thoughts.
NATIVEVAMAN
Member
What was your final decision on ballasts and bulbs.which did you choose?
TangMang232
Member
i got a 4 bulb set with 2 actinic. my guess is there in the 420 spectrum but did not specify and 2 10,000K bulbs. This is the exact setup my PC's are on. The kit was the one that i showed you in the previous page. Im excited to see how this goes.
I am also still in the process of getting pictures on this site. I am not a big fan of photobucket lol. Doesnt seem to be user friendly for me. Im hopeing i can get a before and after picture up to see the difference made
I am also still in the process of getting pictures on this site. I am not a big fan of photobucket lol. Doesnt seem to be user friendly for me. Im hopeing i can get a before and after picture up to see the difference made
NATIVEVAMAN
Member
I am ohoto bucket chalenged myself.If you are going to use one ballast you get only one switch.
TangMang232
Member
my plan is to just deal with this and use the other t-5 that i have in the method that i mentioned. The way im looking at it, is coral will adjust. Ill start with 2 bulbs, then add another 1-2 weeks later, and then the last one another 1-2 weeks after the first addition.
Sound like a plan??
Sound like a plan??
What I usually do is start out with a reduced photoperiod and depending on how the corals react I'll gradually increase it but that method should work fine.
NATIVEVAMAN
Member
I think the way that ballast works you might have to start with three bulbs.I know one pair is labeled so that if you want to use three bulbs you can leave it out,purple I think.The best way I have ever seen to light acclimate coral is to use 4 layers of screen wire supported by dowl rods and remove 1 layer a week.If it were under metal halide lights I would use aluminum screening.