T5 LED hybrid setup

spscrackhead · May 2, 2016

Hey guys,
I have been going back and forth and would appreciate some input on the lighting I am considering for my redsea s650.
I have basically narrowed it down to two options. Option one I would consider T5 with LED supplementation and option two being LED with T5 supplementation.
Let it be known off the bat, I am leaning towards option two at this point.

Option one
An ATI 8 bulb fixture and two Reef Brite strips.
There is no denying this is a tried and true, time tested successful lighting setup.

Option two
A Reef Breeders Photon V2 and two T5 retrofit kits for 4 bulbs and mount in a floating hood that will match the stand.
I believe this combo will net a good shimmer/even coverage and saving on bulbs and wattage are very attractive aspects of this combo.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

tomxreef · May 2, 2016

I would go with option 2. Let the leds do most of the heavy par while the t5's fill in the gaps. It saves money (which is always nice), you have much more control with color, and you can pretty much run any led fixture you want. I am looking to do option 2 on my tank. What retro t5s where you looking at?

spscrackhead · May 2, 2016

Right now option 2 would consist of the Photon V2 and two LET 48" T5 retro's. The non dimming model. Maybe cut it in half to only two bulbs instead of four? I was looking at the Ocean Revive but the Photon is more attractive due to its control and gives more room in the hood.

What are you considering for your setup?

tomxreef · May 2, 2016

spscrackhead said:
Right now option 2 would consist of the Photon V2 and two LET 48" T5 retro's. The non dimming model. Maybe cut it in half to only two bulbs instead of four? I was looking at the Ocean Revive but the Photon is more attractive due to its control and gives more room in the hood.

What are you considering for your setup?

I was looking to do a 4 bulb t5 retro with a radion in the center (using ati blue +, euroquatics led retro e5 blue pop, ati coral +, ati blue +) in that order front to back. I am looking at which retro kits are available right now.

nervousmonkey · May 3, 2016

I did the ATI 8 bulb and Photon V2. I have awesome control of whatever light I want to provide. I love the ReefBreeders lights, and the Photons are really powerful lights... With the Photon, I don't ever use the white channel though, as the T5's provide a much nicer looking white spectrum than LED's provide...

JohnnyCheats · May 3, 2016

I replied to your pm. Please get back to me when you can. Thanks.

Scottsquatch · May 4, 2016

Option two all the way. That's what I'm doing with my current build as well.

spscrackhead · May 4, 2016

f.lloyd.taylor said:
I did the ATI 8 bulb and Photon V2. I have awesome control of whatever light I want to provide. I love the ReefBreeders lights, and the Photons are really powerful lights... With the Photon, I don't ever use the white channel though, as the T5's provide a much nicer looking white spectrum than LED's provide...

What size tank do you have this on? Would you mind posting a photo?

Scottsquatch said:
Option two all the way. That's what I'm doing with my current build as well.

Please tell more about your planned setup.

httorihanzo · May 4, 2016

I would suggest contacting Nano Box Reef and letting Dave know what you want. He customized a fixture for me and was very very easy to work with. He is using a common T5 fixture, removing bulbs and retrofitting his LED's into the case. The LED's will be wireless controlled and all the componenets will be contained within the fixture. Will look completely stock and he can make it anything you want. FYI this option came to a little more than half of what a T5/LED combo fixutre costs. I believe he could potentially use any standard T5 fixture you want and takes care of ording that on your behalf. Superb customer service.

Scottsquatch · May 4, 2016

I am building my own canopy to create my own LED/T5 hybrid. As soon as SBreeflights Apex ready 16"s are available (should be in a couple weeks) I will purchase two. They will be the workhorses of my system. Most people that use LED's agree that they are very much a point source light and can cause some shadowing as they don't get the diffusion of light that you can get out of T5's. To counter that effect, I bought an ice cap electronic ballast, a couple of geissman reflectors and a couple ATI T5 bulbs to get the diffusion I want in order to avoid shadowing. I should also point out that there is evidence that a sand bed will reflect light back up toward the undersides of corals much better than a bare bottom tank. I'm not sure which way I plan to go on that yet as I want the cleanliness provided by a BB tank, but also want the additional light diffusion the sand bed can provide. I'll possibly silicone ceramic plates to the bottom to get the best of both worlds. I hope my ramblings helped and didn't just leave you scratching your head. Good luck with your lighting!

nervousmonkey · May 5, 2016

spscrackhead said:
What size tank do you have this on? Would you mind posting a photo?

It's on a 55, a little overkill but I had the lights already. I'm in the middle of a 3 day lights out in a nightmare battle with dinos, so when I'm lights on again, I'll post a photo. I think I may have photos of some of the frags, but no FTS. SPS all love this, was even a little bright for a green slimer though, but all in all, I think I'll always run a T5/LED combo. Ran that on an old tank and everything loved it. This time just increased the number of bulbs. Just be careful with the LED's not to run them too bright along with T5's, it's easy to dial it up too bright...