Strictly T5 thread

[Leah]

I get it. I like what I have in my reef, I am not interested in getting to complicated with
the more light demanding creature's. Love this reference to chick corals thats good I guess that is me too! Thank-you, I can finally expel that breath I took over an hour ago.
Thank-you again Canadian,
Leah

[digital-audiophile]

I love the info on Tek's vs higher end models.

I like my Tek and have a great track run with it. I really would like to see some more technical comparisons on the different fixtuers, much like the Sanjay MH bulb tests before I am convinced however.

[Leah]

digital-audiophile,
How is yours set up? How far off the water, covered tank or light itself?

[digital-audiophile]

I am using the TEK legs with them set on the lowest level, so they are about 8" max off the surface of the water. My tank is open top and I don't have the shield on the lights. I get a bit of splash but I clean the bulbs and the reflectors weekly to keep the corrosion away.

[Leah]

Thanks!

[randallino]

This is the bulb configuration that I am planning on going with for my Sfiligoi T5 8 bulb 54w. The fixture should be here in about a month.

Front
Blue Plus
Super Actinic
Fiji Purple
Blue Plus
GE 6500K Daylight
Blue Plus
Super Actinic
Blue Plus

Does anyone know where I can get a GE T5 6500 bulb in the lower mainland?

[Stones]

Originally Posted by randallino

This is the bulb configuration that I am planning on going with for my Sfiligoi T5 8 bulb 54w. The fixture should be here in about a month.

Front
Blue Plus
Super Actinic
Fiji Purple
Blue Plus
GE 6500K Daylight
Blue Plus
Super Actinic
Blue Plus

Does anyone know where I can get a GE T5 6500 bulb in the lower mainland?

I found that running Super Actinic bulbs in a T5 fixture is a bit futile. Pure actinic bulbs produce very low PAR ratings so the corals don't really benefit from using them. Basically, they are used only to generate a phosfluorescent glow from corals when they are exposed to that particular wavelength of light. If you have the ability to run only the actinic bulbs while no other bulbs are running for a dusk/dawn effect, then I could see them being useful. However, with any other type of bulb running at the same time, the pure actinic bulbs get washed out so that you can't even tell they are on. I've tried running them with Aquascience 22K's, Fiji purples, Kz 14K's, and Aquascience 15K's and all of the above bulbs made it seem like the actinic bulb wasn't even on. If you can't run just the actinics by themselves, I would suggest using 2 differerent bulbs such as the Aquascience 22K's or ATI Blue + bulbs instead. That way you still get the blue spectrum and some phosfluorescence, but you get a moderately high PAR reading as well.

[lastlight]

Originally Posted by randallino

Does anyone know where I can get a GE T5 6500 bulb in the lower mainland?

I ended up ordering from ReefGeek. My bulbs are also 80w and it was proving to be a hassle to source the exact mix of bulbs I wanted locally or semi-locally. They carry this GE bulb as well as many others.