WOW, T5's are bright!

[Skep18]

I'm going through the growing pains of a new tank and have panel LED lights. With my coral woes I'm trying to keep an open mind and consider the possibility that LED lights might not be "good for growing SPS" as they say.

So I've added two 5ft T5 Blue+ bulbs to supplement my LED's. Holy cow! These things are bright! Initially, despite measuring PAR, I thought I might be torching my coral with the LED's so I've gradually turned them down. But I feel like these two T5 bulbs are SO BRIGHT, I'm afraid these might do more damage. I've got a PAR meter but getting the right PAR in the past wasn't my solution so I'm not sure it is now.

But I guess I just didn't realize how bright these would really be.

 

[Dilan Patel]

T-5 appear brighter than LED's but don't be fooled even though they are dimmer looking they are probably still putting out the same if not more par then the t5

 

[Skep18]

T-5 appear brighter than LED's but don't be fooled even though they are dimmer looking they are probably still putting out the same if not more par then the t5

Well that would seem to marry what I've read on this site with what my eye sees. I'll admit too, the fewer shadows might trick my eye as well.

 

[jda]

"bright" to human eyes is a pretty bad measure. If you used a good ballast and good reflector, those two bulbs could add about 100 PAR apiece just under the water (8x T5 is about 800, or so)... so this is not all of the light in the world, but it can help. Depending on your LED fixture, you might have more or less than the T5s.

Also, brightness depends a lot on what is in the tank. A tank with lots of fresh, light purple coralline and white sand will look brighter than a tank with dark purple coralline and brown sand.

 

[McPikie]

With my coral woes I'm trying to keep an open mind and consider the possibility that LED lights might not be "good for growing SPS" as they say.

Who says LED's don't grow SPS? There are plenty of people running LED units, even cheapo chinese black boxes, that have SPS dominated tanks, me being one. Although in the last 3 months I added a coral blue T5 either side of the unit for that little extra, which seems to have paled out some of the higher SPS.

 

[Skep18]

Who says LED's don't grow SPS? There are plenty of people running LED units, even cheapo chinese black boxes, that have SPS dominated tanks, me being one. Although in the last 3 months I added a coral blue T5 either side of the unit for that little extra, which seems to have paled out some of the higher SPS.

I was being a little cheeky but I've certainly read a significant number of posters on here that aren't believers that LED's are an adequate or quality source of light.

That said, I'm trying to figure out why I'm struggling with SPS and figured I'd at least take that contentious topic out of the equation.

 

[ReefInskeep]

Well, describe your tank & filtration, maintenance & husbandry practices, what LEDs you’ve got, how they’re tuned & where they are, what your water testing shows over time (in range & stable or not), etc.

 

[Skep18]

Well, describe your tank & filtration, maintenance & husbandry practices, what LEDs you’ve got, how they’re tuned & where they are, what your water testing shows over time (in range & stable or not), etc.

Yea, I should post a HELP ME thread here soon but in my exhaustive searches it seems advice can be all over the map. I know there's good information out there but it's just sorting through it.

Really I was just pointing out how surprised I was at the T5 intensity, visually. People often advocate adding supplemental T5 bulbs and make it sound like it's just a little light that'll smooth things out. With how low my LED's were turned down in anticipation of these, it was literally like night and day different. I didn't expect them to add so much light.

 

[ATI North America]

Now just imagine what an 8xT5 LED Powermodule looks like over an aquarium

 

[Skep18]

Now just imagine what an 8xT5 LED Powermodule looks like over an aquarium

I'm not gonna lie, if this solves the issues I've been having, I will definitely be wondering why all the LED hype and probably be wishing I got them in the first place.

That said, getting more T5's will be the push I need to install that dedicated circuit. These things pull some amps!

But I am using your @ATI North America Blue+ bulbs. Very impressed!

 

[ATI North America]

2x80w = 160w
160/120v = 1.3amps

Correct thing to say is "These things pull an amp!"

 

[Skep18]

2x80w = 160w
160/120v = 1.3amps

Correct thing to say is "These things pull an amp!"

Touché!

 

[Scorpius]

Hey @ATI North America I'd buy a powermodule if you'd give me a 30% discount. lol

 

[paphater]

I think t5s appear brighter due to the fact that their light is more spread out, where as leds are more directional.

 

[Skep18]

I think t5s appear brighter due to the fact that their light is more spread out, where as leds are more directional.

Yea, for sure. The LED lens is pretty misleading when not in their direct area of effect.

 

[ATI North America]

Hey @ATI North America I'd buy a powermodule if you'd give me a 30% discount. lol

How about 40% off?
https://store.atinorthamerica.com/c...ately-6-months-minor-imperfections-to-housing

 

[Scorpius]

How about 40% off?
https://store.atinorthamerica.com/c...ately-6-months-minor-imperfections-to-housing

I only need 36in length. I'll keep an eye out for one. Thank you.

 

[helljack6]

Gonna chime in on this one, only because I went from dual black box LEDs over my 90g DT to 8xT5 bulbs and have never had better results. Currently growing various corals including SPS on the substrate with no issues as far as light is concerned is seems. No, I don't own high end ATI T5 equipment (wish I could afford to because I would so drop serious money on a nice ATI 8 bulb fixture without question), but what I have works, and is reliable. Am using all ATI bulbs.