Going for T5+LED. Best combo?

[Duglis]

I want to light my 4×2×2 with T5 and LED, and to mitigate cost I want to do a little DIY. I have three ideas and am looking for advice or reviews.

My three plans are to either:
Retrofit an ATI fixture with reefbrites

Retrofit an ATI with Euroqatics E5 bulbs (link no longer available)

Buy 2 kessil A360 and build a canopy with 4 T5 Retrofit kits around them

I am trying to keep a mixed SPS/LPS tank and of course am trying to keep cost to a minimum, especially since I know I'll need a PAR sensor down the road.

Any advice or experience is greatly appreciated!

 

[ReeferMaddness843]

On my old 90 gal, I ran dual kessil 160 and 4 bulb t5 on Home Depot fixtures. (Was on a budget and had the kessils lying around so that's what I went with) would not have been enough light to really sustain sps, but definitely possible with the 360s. My setup did great for lps and softies. Don't have experience in the other options though to offer counter advice. For what it is worth, when I changed tanks, I ditched my kessils and went SB Reef Light and never looked back. Better color and growth and sps looks great. Here's a pic of the old tank:

 

[Duglis]

On my old 90 gal, I ran dual kessil 160 and 4 bulb t5 on Home Depot fixtures. (Was on a budget and had the kessils lying around so that's what I went with) would not have been enough light to really sustain sps, but definitely possible with the 360s. My setup did great for lps and softies. Don't have experience in the other options though to offer counter advice. For what it is worth, when I changed tanks, I ditched my kessils and went SB Reef Light and never looked back. Better color and growth and sps looks great. Here's a pic of the old tank:

Man, I already HAVE an SB on my 56 column. It looks pretty good, should u just pick up a second?

 

[ReeferMaddness843]

What size sb? I run a 32" timer on my 80 shallow (4x2x16") Slightly dimmer on edge at 13" above tank, but works for my coral placement. I think with 2 of the 16" you'd be getting a better spread. Here's a pic of it over my tank now. (Older pic, but ya get the gist)

 

[ReeferMaddness843]

Blues at 70 Whites at 22.5

 

[ReeferMaddness843]

And a moonlight shot of some of my sticks

 

[Duglis]

I have a 16" WiFi over mine, so sincing another to it would be a breeze

* pic is a few months old

 

[mtraylor]

My advice would be to go with whats tried and true. Get a good fixture or pendant system you can expand. Pendants are nice because you can just add a new one if your are not getting the color growth you are looking for. Also I wouldn't bother with a PAR meter. You don't need one to grow sps and lps. I have never had one nor used one and I have never had a problem growing anything. If you get good lighting source, then you will be ok. Save the money on the meter for something else. Borrow one from fellow reefer if you really want to know what you have.

 

[Tori]

I want to light my 4×2×2 with T5 and LED, and to mitigate cost I want to do a little DIY. I have three ideas and am looking for advice or reviews.

My three plans are to either:
Retrofit an ATI fixture with reefbrites

Retrofit an ATI with Euroqatics E5 bulbs (link no longer available)

Buy 2 kessil A360 and build a canopy with 4 T5 Retrofit kits around them

I am trying to keep a mixed SPS/LPS tank and of course am trying to keep cost to a minimum, especially since I know I'll need a PAR sensor down the road.

Any advice or experience is greatly appreciated!

That's awesome! I'm thinking doing the same thing one day but I'm only in the research phase now. For about the same tank size probably too. I'm considering 4 T5 bulbs, same as you but a full LED fixture in the middle. For the LEDs in the middle, I'm thinking either a Kessil AP700, 3 AI Prime HDs or two AI Hydra 26 HDs would be nice. I was originally considering just getting a Giesseman Aura but they are hard to find in white and all the combinations I mentioned are around half the price anyway.

 

[minus9]

It's hard to beat the Kessil/T5 combo for coverage and shimmer.

 

[ifarmer]

I want to light my 4×2×2 with T5 and LED, and to mitigate cost I want to do a little DIY. I have three ideas and am looking for advice or reviews.

My three plans are to either:
Retrofit an ATI fixture with reefbrites

Retrofit an ATI with Euroqatics E5 bulbs (link no longer available)

Buy 2 kessil A360 and build a canopy with 4 T5 Retrofit kits around them

I am trying to keep a mixed SPS/LPS tank and of course am trying to keep cost to a minimum, especially since I know I'll need a PAR sensor down the road.

Any advice or experience is greatly appreciated!

Your 4th plan is to sell your current ati t5 only light. And look for a used ati t5/led on the forum.
I see people selling the ati t5/led hybrid almost every forum at a decent price.


Also. In case you still go with one of your routes. I would not recommend a kessil. I think either a few radion or hydra 26hd would be a better choice. Better color too.
Hec, people are selling kessil left and right.

Good luck.

 

[iemsparticus]

I currently use 2 Kessil A360s and 4 T5s over my 120 gallon mixed reef. Provides plenty of PAR for my SPS, while also giving me the ability to have lower spots where my LPS/softies can thrive. I would certainly say I am happy with the combo.

 

[Carl-K]

I have a question about this light setup???If I was to retrofit 2 t5 ho bulbs to my 2 AI 26 hd's, with the idea being to get more growth from acro's, what bulbs would be best and how long should they run?

 

[iemsparticus]

I have a question about this light setup???If I was to retrofit 2 t5 ho bulbs to my 2 AI 26 hd's, with the idea being to get more growth from acro's, what bulbs would be best and how long should they run?

ATI Blue Plus x2 & ATI Aqua Blue Special x2 would be a pretty safe bet.

I have my T5s on for my entire peak intensity period. My LEDs ramp up for 2 hours, then the T5s come on once the LEDs are at their peak output, then the T5s turn off when it's time for the LEDs 2 hour ramp down.

 

[bblumberg]

I want to light my 4×2×2 with T5 and LED, and to mitigate cost I want to do a little DIY. I have three ideas and am looking for advice or reviews.

My three plans are to either:
Retrofit an ATI fixture with reefbrites

Retrofit an ATI with Euroqatics E5 bulbs (link no longer available)

Buy 2 kessil A360 and build a canopy with 4 T5 Retrofit kits around them

I am trying to keep a mixed SPS/LPS tank and of course am trying to keep cost to a minimum, especially since I know I'll need a PAR sensor down the road.

Any advice or experience is greatly appreciated!

On my 5x2x2 I have two 2x80w T5 retrofits and a 4' Makers heat sink down the middle, currently with 3x BlueAcro Acrostar 20k pro pucks with reflector/diffuser. I am happy with this, but bought 3 more pucks to even the led light out a bit more. Led are controlled by bluefish mini.

Bruce