Interested In T-5's. Amount Needed For LPS/SPS Reef ?

[427HISS]

I have a few tanks with LED's and other than my Kessil's, I'm just not happy with them, so I'm looking into T-5's.

I had reef tanks back in the 90's and had VHO's and later added halides just as a trial, and liked them. I never needed a chiller. I sold out in 2000, but I'm back. I do not like the uneven colors in the water, fish and corals with the LED's and the disco effect. The Kessils's are fine.

For the most part, I don't think the LED lighting is up to par yet. I don't beleive,...... I'll go the halide, unless I go for the 72" Coralife hybrid with the three 175 watt with either T'5's or LED's to add more blue.

So, I've never used the T-5's or small compact tubes, just the VHO's.

I have seen many SPS tanks, small and very large, that people have either stayed with this lighting and/or went back, to T-5's after trying LED's. And not only the average reefer, a lot of the well noted and professional aquarists use T-5's, even many in Germany.

I'm setting up a 125g in wall right now, and have Maxspect lights for it. I like them better than most companys and not way,....too expensive Ecotechs.

I'm still shocked on how expensive the Giesmann and ATI systems are. The are a beautiful system, but wow, a 36" fixture from $750 to $1,050 ? !!!

But so far with the cheaper company's, I see prices from $200 (+)

Other than a high quality fixture, name factor and electronic time settings etc, what are the differences in the performance, par, color mixing etc ?

How many watts would I need for a mixed reef over my 6' 125g ?

Being in the wall, no one will see the fixture, so that's not real important.
I can fab-up a metal fixture/canopy if I go a DIY route, if needed, but don't know if I want to make one this time. I did back in the 90's and looked & worked great.

Other than the big named manufactures that are very high dollar, what are some very nice company's ?

Who's do you like the best and why ?

Do you have a ranking ?

Regards,
Kevin

 

[Sabellafella]

I have a few tanks with LED's and other than my Kessil's, I'm just not happy with them, so I'm looking into T-5's.

I had reef tanks back in the 90's and had VHO's and later added halides just as a trial, and liked them. I never needed a chiller. I sold out in 2000, but I'm back. I do not like the uneven colors in the water, fish and corals with the LED's and the disco effect. The Kessils's are fine.

For the most part, I don't think the LED lighting is up to par yet. I don't beleive,...... I'll go the halide, unless I go for the 72" Coralife hybrid with the three 175 watt with either T'5's or LED's to add more blue.

So, I've never used the T-5's or small compact tubes, just the VHO's.

I have seen many SPS tanks, small and very large, that people have either stayed with this lighting and/or went back, to T-5's after trying LED's. And not only the average reefer, a lot of the well noted and professional aquarists use T-5's, even many in Germany.

I'm setting up a 125g in wall right now, and have Maxspect lights for it. I like them better than most companys and not way,....too expensive Ecotechs.

I'm still shocked on how expensive the Giesmann and ATI systems are. The are a beautiful system, but wow, a 36" fixture from $750 to $1,050 ? !!!

But so far with the cheaper company's, I see prices from $200 (+)

Other than a high quality fixture, name factor and electronic time settings etc, what are the differences in the performance, par, color mixing etc ?

How many watts would I need for a mixed reef over my 6' 125g ?

Being in the wall, no one will see the fixture, so that's not real important.
I can fab-up a metal fixture/canopy if I go a DIY route, if needed, but don't know if I want to make one this time. I did back in the 90's and looked & worked great.

Other than the big named manufactures that are very high dollar, what are some very nice company's ?

Who's do you like the best and why ?

Do you have a ranking ?

Regards,
Kevin

Ive ran t5s for a few years without a chiller, but i live in newyork so the temperature is a little wacky. Other then going diy on a t5 fixture, the ati or guismen hybrid are quite expensive but they are absolutely beautiful in appearance. Whats the dimensions of your tank? I payed around 600 for my ati dimmable 6 bulb, i believe 54watt 48 inches total. I wouldnt go by watts per gallon, imo you want your fixture atleast 5 inches shy on the corners(or better, full length) and 3 bulbs for every 10 inches front to back. With the expensive t5 fixtures, youll get the luxury of having the bulbs auto cooled, on and off control stuff like that. So ask your self is it worth it =) guismen fixtures are unbelievably beautiful, and after seeing one for the first time i may consider switching. For ranking heres my tank, i use an ati dimmable with a reef brite led strip. Ill usually help new t5 users to try and get a better understanding of them. Always any questions, feel free to ask.

 

[Sabellafella]

If the fixture is going to be hidden maybe go ahead with a diy. You also have some leds, you can just make a nice little mix of them.

 

[luke33]

Go with a nice 6x80 retro, will work great for sps and lps on a standard 125g. Just get nice reflectors and bulbs and your set.

 

[mcarroll]

I'm just not happy with them,

Why? Please be as specific as possible and name fixtures and describe installation details whenever possible.

Kessils are nice, but so are some other lights....but it's often hard to figure out the right way to deploy them. (Some aren't so nice, too.)

If you like the consistent light from fluorescents, then consider a real LED strip solution...it will be better than any of the spotlight or strip-of-spotlight fixtures.

Current's TruLumen Pro strips (eight 36" strips @ $640) or their Orbit Pro (single $500; dual $1000) would be good economy options. A dual Orbit IC setup would be nice (if not cheap) too.

GHL's Lightbar2 system would be nice on the higher end.

It's popular to discount these types of lights without consideration since spotlights are so popular, but strips can be just the right thing!

 

[427HISS]

Ive ran t5s for a few years without a chiller, but i live in newyork so the temperature is a little wacky. Other then going diy on a t5 fixture, the ati or guismen hybrid are quite expensive but they are absolutely beautiful in appearance. Whats the dimensions of your tank? I payed around 600 for my ati dimmable 6 bulb, i believe 54watt 48 inches total. I wouldnt go by watts per gallon, imo you want your fixture atleast 5 inches shy on the corners(or better, full length) and 3 bulbs for every 10 inches front to back. With the expensive t5 fixtures, youll get the luxury of having the bulbs auto cooled, on and off control stuff like that. So ask your self is it worth it =) guismen fixtures are unbelievably beautiful, and after seeing one for the first time i may consider switching. For ranking heres my tank, i use an ati dimmable with a reef brite led strip. Ill usually help new t5 users to try and get a better understanding of them. Always any questions, feel free to ask.[/QU


I agree, them two are the tops with T-5 lighting, and Giesmann has other great products, but also have very high prices.

 

[gus6464]

ATI Sunpower has better reflectors than the Giesemann Matrixx II. As for the pricing a 36" Sunpower is less than $500 for non-dim.