More hand holding needed

BEELZEBOB

BEELZEBOB

Well-Known Member
soo im about to buy a 24" Current USA Sundial T5HO fixture.
http://www.current-usa.com/sundial_t5ho

im all new to this, so i need a lil reassurence.

the lady at Current usa need a smack up side the head.

her reply to "What size Bulb does that fixture take?" is i dunno.

"sooo you dont know what size bulbs work in the fixture your company manufactures?"

no....


sooo i look up the Current usa slimpaqs that it comes with.
Current only makes 10k daylights.... but the bulbs are supposedly 22"


soooo after a few minutes i came up with this....
http://www.petstore.com/ps_viewitem...base-tab-2.html

anybody know if that'll work?

yaknow, so i can get above 10K?
 
BEELZEBOB

BEELZEBOB

Well-Known Member
see thats the issue right there.

the total fixture width is 24 inches....

so the bulbs are only 22" long, which doesnt seem to be a "Norm" for T5's?
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
BEELZEBOB said:
see thats the issue right there.

the total fixture width is 24 inches....

so the bulbs are only 22" long, which doesnt seem to be a "Norm" for T5's?
Click to expand...


I think it's still a "Standard" size 24" bulb. This is taken from their "SlimPaq" page
2139


24watt T5HO 420nm Actinic SlimPaq


24"

In my Current Outer Orbit Pro (Extreme or something) fixture... the whole unit is 48" long but the actual bulbs are slightly shorter. This is an industry standard. I think anyway :)
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
Ok for Real World comparison..

a Standard T12 Bulb (like is in many of our offices) is labeled

48" HO
physical measurments 47" of GLASS but add contacts and it's 47.75"

Hope this sheds some light :)
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
Ok what exactly are you trying to accomplish? Are you looking for some replacement bulbs in the 24" classification? I mean even the SlimPaq Bulbs (those that come IN your fixture) are classified at 24" even though we BOTH know they can't be 24" physically because according to their own spec sheet the unit is only 24.125" (24 1/8th") long.

1150 24" SunDial T5HO 4x24watt 2-10k/2-460nm actinics 2 1 2-Rotary 24.125" x 9.5" x 3.75
 
BEELZEBOB

BEELZEBOB

Well-Known Member
BigAl07 said:
Ok what exactly are you trying to accomplish? Are you looking for some replacement bulbs in the 24" classification? I mean even the SlimPaq Bulbs (those that come IN your fixture) are classified at 24" even though we BOTH know they can't be 24" physically because according to their own spec sheet the unit is only 24.125" (24 1/8th") long.

1150 24" SunDial T5HO 4x24watt 2-10k/2-460nm actinics 2 1 2-Rotary 24.125" x 9.5" x 3.75
Click to expand...


soo my goal here is to get a better light fixture than my 96w Coralife PC:laughroll

and that being said, i WOULD PREFER a fixture that i can play with spectrum wise.

soo i started lookin around. see my tanks top is 20''X10"

the pro is the right length (20") but too wide (12.5") and there are no other 18" t5 bulbs other than Currents 10k and actinic.



the SunDial is a little too long (24") but a perfect width for my top (9.5")
99% sure im buying this light, but got real frustrated while lookin for bulb options

i was thinkin of runnin the stock 10k w/ a new 14k for the daylights...

but dont even know if thats possible?

and the whole 24" bulbs for a 24" fixture is driving me nutz.

plus, the lady @ Current was such a spiteful, unhelpful badword, i almost dont want to buy that company's fixture.
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
I hear ya bro! Sorry about the "lady" but don't let one bad apple spoil your basket :) We all have bad days *I have more than most*.

Sure you can have those options with your unit. Maybe not exactly what you're looking for but you DO have options in the 24" arena!

take for instance...
24W UVL Actinic White 12,000k
https://diyreef.authsecure.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=55_59_86&products_id=389

if you want to really add some POP you can go with an Actinic bulb

https://diyreef.authsecure.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=55_59_88&products_id=606
or
https://diyreef.authsecure.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=55_59_86&products_id=392

You can make your tank look how YOU want it to and still have QUALITY lighting!!!

hope this helps :)
 
BEELZEBOB

BEELZEBOB

Well-Known Member
whew.

i found a site that has the 24" Nova extreme 96watter, and lists 24" standard bulbs as the reccomended replacements.

so all i need to be comfortable is to ask that lady weather or not the Extreme and Sundial use the same bulbs.

sorry. my head is very polarized, sooo something like this can make me a lil crazy....

it comes down to just tell me or show me, or i wont believe you :lol:
 
BEELZEBOB

BEELZEBOB

Well-Known Member
oo ooo, here a good one!

can i get a lil baby clam with these new lights?

i got a great lil rock shelf about 6-8" from the top of my tank. whadda yall think?
 
lcstorc

lcstorc

Well-Known Member
Yes I would acclimate the corals. Upgrading from PCs to T5s is an significant upgrade.
I would wait for the experts to show up but IMO a Crocea or Maxima should be fine that high up with those lights.
 
BEELZEBOB

BEELZEBOB

Well-Known Member
i just figured a lil tiny blue, or green one should be okay in my teeny tiny tank for a minute

and as far as acclimation goes,

do you think i should cut the light cycle down to like 4 hrs, and gradually lengthen it,

or should i keep the lights on full cycle, and use like 3-4 layers of vinal screen?
 
BigJay

BigJay

Well-Known Member
Bob I'm not measuring PAR values under my T5's so take this information for what its worth.
My tank is very deep 30" 's , I have an SPS bleaching almost 18" 's below the new T5. Total wattage per gallon in my tank is less then 5. I wouldn't hesitate to say that I believe I could grow anything under this light. I have no intention of buying nems , but thats not because I don't think the light is sufficient. I am going to get some clams and plan to place them around 12-15"'s under the light and expect them to do well. I would think in your shallower tank you could have anything you wanted.
The penetration of these individual reflected T5's is far beyond anything I could have imagined. Given that you maintain all parts of the tank to the best of your ability a clam will be just fine.
 
lcstorc

lcstorc

Well-Known Member
Personally the reduced time thing has never made sense to me. A lot of people do it but I much prefer the screening. It is a bit tough to get enough screen but not too much. You want to put enough screen so the tank is lit the same as it was before and gradually remove layers to increase the light. I only used I think 3 layers since the tank got very dark if I used more.
Be a bit careful with the clams. The babies are actually the hardest to keep. Some people say you have to feed the small ones but others say no. Everybody seems to agree they are difficult.
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
Reduced time is a bit "off" in theory. I may be wrong here but you're still hitting the corals with more intensity which in turn should still shock them. You're just hitting them for less time.

I screen there fore I am :)
 
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