Hey Reef2Reef!
So I am at a dilemma and can't decide on what direction to go.
So it's getting to the point where t12's are getting harder and harder to get. And at $30 a bulb and rising I am not sure the route to go. I can get 3 years worth of bulbs for $360 or I can shift to a t5 retro for about $400-$560 depending if I need new ballasts.
I absolutely love the color combination of UVL 454 and UVL Super actinics. I am currently running 2x 454's and 2x Super actinics to accent my 250w 20k radiums and reefbrites. I have been playing with the idea of swapping the t12's to T5's but not sure if I want to make the jump. I am worried about the par drop of swapping to the t5's due to my tank being 28" tall. Can 4x t5's make up for the par output of 2x t12's?
If I make the swap I will be driving the t5's with Icecap 660's. I was wondering if anyone else is running t5's on these ballasts? I calculated it out and it comes out to driving t5's at 110 watts. Or if I ran 8 bulbs in 2 bulbs per channel at 55w each. Has anyone tried this?
Also considering bulb options. Since I will have 2x as many bulbs to have and tons of more options in bulb choices, what would people recomend for 4 bulb combos that I can run on each side of my halides?
So I am at a dilemma and can't decide on what direction to go.
So it's getting to the point where t12's are getting harder and harder to get. And at $30 a bulb and rising I am not sure the route to go. I can get 3 years worth of bulbs for $360 or I can shift to a t5 retro for about $400-$560 depending if I need new ballasts.
I absolutely love the color combination of UVL 454 and UVL Super actinics. I am currently running 2x 454's and 2x Super actinics to accent my 250w 20k radiums and reefbrites. I have been playing with the idea of swapping the t12's to T5's but not sure if I want to make the jump. I am worried about the par drop of swapping to the t5's due to my tank being 28" tall. Can 4x t5's make up for the par output of 2x t12's?
If I make the swap I will be driving the t5's with Icecap 660's. I was wondering if anyone else is running t5's on these ballasts? I calculated it out and it comes out to driving t5's at 110 watts. Or if I ran 8 bulbs in 2 bulbs per channel at 55w each. Has anyone tried this?
Also considering bulb options. Since I will have 2x as many bulbs to have and tons of more options in bulb choices, what would people recomend for 4 bulb combos that I can run on each side of my halides?