Thinking of ditching led in favor of t5...

[A. grandis]

I made the switch back to T5 after having Radians for years and I (and my tank) am glad I did. Sure with LED, I could mess with the color/brightness easily but no matter what I did, I just couldn’t make everything happy. In my mixed reef, either my SPS loved it and my acans/zaos suffered or vise-versa. Since I had a light in my garage, I switch back to an 8-bulb T5 and within a week that everything in my tank looked happy. I couldn’t believe it. The down side is, it doesn’t have the “shimmer” look to it but the tank overall looks better.

I know I like the shimmer too. That's why also have tanks with halides/T5s.
But now you believe it. It's so easy and gratifying having T5s! Love it!

 

[RazorRamon]

I am in the process of going to t5 from led's. I am making a canopy and adding 2 duals reefbrite retrofit t5 kits. Along with two orphek Blue Plus (actinic) bars. My tank is mostly sps and not super deep

 

[LadyTang2]

T5 with lumilite pro 5050 strip on sides, boom.

 

[ATI North America]

I know I like the shimmer too. That's why also have tanks with halides/T5s.
But now you believe it. It's so easy and gratifying having T5s! Love it!

IMO there is no shimmer like halide shimmer, it still takes the cake for best look. I am not a fan of LED shimmer, its too busy, not calming like halide shimmer.

 

[infinite0180]

So here is my nano before i moved into my new house

Here is right when i moved everything to the lagoon, things went down hill slowly from here

Here is now, slowly starting to rebuild

 

[A. grandis]

I am in the process of going to t5 from led's. I am making a canopy and adding 2 duals reefbrite retrofit t5 kits. Along with two orphek Blue Plus (actinic) bars. My tank is mostly sps and not super deep

Get an ATI. The colling system is what makes the difference and it is already looking good from the box. No need canopy at all.

 

[Radicalrob1982]

Ok friends,

I recently moved and set up a IM 50 gal Lagoon EXT, its 30x24x16. I went with a single xr30 pro with diffuser and the Reefbrite kit for it. Well this summer things got out of hand with trying to dial in the new tank and recently had basically all my coral die. Its been very upsetting because some of those coral were approaching mini colonies and before the move were doing great. Anyways, im starting over and want to restock the tank. I figure now is a good time to reconsider lighting. Part of the reason i lost my coral is because i was messing with lighting too much. I think i need a fool proof lighting option and t5 seems like the right choice. Im looking at the ATI Sunpowers. I have to stick with a 24” fixture but cant decide between the 6 or 8 bulb. My goal is SPS dominant but i do enjoy Torch, Acan, and Gonis as well. What would you guys do in my shoes? I just want to be successful again and need some advice.

Thanks!

Almost sounds kike

Ok friends,

I recently moved and set up a IM 50 gal Lagoon EXT, its 30x24x16. I went with a single xr30 pro with diffuser and the Reefbrite kit for it. Well this summer things got out of hand with trying to dial in the new tank and recently had basically all my coral die. Its been very upsetting because some of those coral were approaching mini colonies and before the move were doing great. Anyways, im starting over and want to restock the tank. I figure now is a good time to reconsider lighting. Part of the reason i lost my coral is because i was messing with lighting too much. I think i need a fool proof lighting option and t5 seems like the right choice. Im looking at the ATI Sunpowers. I have to stick with a 24” fixture but cant decide between the 6 or 8 bulb. My goal is SPS dominant but i do enjoy Torch, Acan, and Gonis as well. What would you guys do in my shoes? I just want to be successful again and need some advice.

Thanks!

Any lighting will do as long as you have the right intensity, regardless if it's led or t5. It all boils down to what you want your tank to look like. I recently went back to a 4 bulb t5 because I like how it fills the tank with light and has minimal shadowing. If you like your LEDs then I'd keep them. I just like the look of t5s better myself.

 

[infinite0180]

Just wanted to let everyone know the tank is really turning a page! All my algae is getting under control, coral are starting to grow, and coralline is starting to recover from the change! Very happy with my decision!

 

[Midrats]

Glad to hear it!

 

[chk4tix]

Just wanted to let everyone know the tank is really turning a page! All my algae is getting under control, coral are starting to grow, and coralline is starting to recover from the change! Very happy with my decision!

Maybe I missed it, what did you end up going with?

 

[infinite0180]

Maybe I missed it, what did you end up going with?

ATI Sunpower 6 bulb T5

 

[infinite0180]

Hey everybody, im back for more advice! When i switched to the T5 fixture i hung it 9.5” off the water. I have not touched it for over 3 months. Sps are all looking nice and slowly growing. I cant help but to think i can go lower with this light. How should i go about lowering this thing without killing anything? Half inch at a time and see how it goes after a month?

 

[Bpb]

Measure par. If you’re in the 200-400 range for most sps, leave it. If you’re too low, drop the fixture till you’re there

 

[ScottB]

Hey everybody, im back for more advice! When i switched to the T5 fixture i hung it 9.5” off the water. I have not touched it for over 3 months. Sps are all looking nice and slowly growing. I cant help but to think i can go lower with this light. How should i go about lowering this thing without killing anything? Half inch at a time and see how it goes after a month?

T5 is a very forgiving light source. The most forgiving there is IMO. You could quickly get to your preferred height within a week or so.

 

[A. grandis]

Hey everybody, im back for more advice! When i switched to the T5 fixture i hung it 9.5” off the water. I have not touched it for over 3 months. Sps are all looking nice and slowly growing. I cant help but to think i can go lower with this light. How should i go about lowering this thing without killing anything? Half inch at a time and see how it goes after a month?

No need to worry too much in regards to lower your lights using T5s. Keep in mind that "growth rate" is a very relative term in the hobby. Just make sure your water parameters are stable and perform the balance of nutrients in the system. When you have ATI Blue Plus and couple "white" bulbs you already have what you need with T5s. You just need to concentrate on water quality. The height of your fixture won't dictate too much how fast they will grow. Lower the fixture to 4 inches and that should be more than enough in terms of growth for a relatively shallow tank! My tank had the fixture about 10" off the water surface and growth was too much!! Water quality, my friend.