talking about T5 and SPS color !

[andresont]

Originally Posted by Nate

I also wanted to mention I have been trying out as many different bulbs as possible everything from 3000 k to all the different ATI bulbs. So if you have any questions about a bulb in particular, I will be happy to let yyou know iuf I have tried it and noticed abything with it.

.

Can you please tell me what is the best T5 lamps choise for crisp white with lots of blue in it? I just ordered T5 Tek x 6 lamps and Bulbs choice was
4xATI Blue+, 1x Midday and 1x ATI BlueSpecial ?
I did not received my fixture yet , did i make a right chice for 36" long 24" inch deep 60Gal tank with SPS in mind?
Thx.

[andresont]

Originally Posted by michika

Is it just me or does the water at the top of both tanks look hazy? Could it just be the photos, but some of the colors looked washed out, particularly at the top of the tanks.

Delphinius, I must agree with you, I've seen some local tanks that look just as good, if not better. The colors, and clairity of some local tanks are much sharper, giving the viewer a "cleaner" view.

I does look hazy , i think this might be because they use clay to help skim away nutrients that stick to it.

[Chin_Lee]

OK I don't really see the difference in power between these T5 tanks and a MH tank.
The first tank is 350g and tank dims (converted) are 6.5' long x 36 D x 24H.
For lighting its using:
10 x ATI Aquablue special 80 Watt which equals 800 watts
4 x ATI Blue plus 80 Watt which equals 320 watts
6 x ATI Aquablue special 39 Watt which equals 234 watts
2 x ATI Blue plus 39 Watt which equals 78 watts
Thats a grand total of 1432 watts over that tank.

Second tank is 250g and tank dims are 6.5" L x 36 D x 28 H.
12 x 80 Watt ATI Powermodul which is a total of 960 watts.

I think the main advantage the T5s have over MH is the even distribution of light throughout the tank.

[honkey sauce]

in germany, t5 and Zeovit is well practied combonation

[Veng68]

What's the consensus on when to change T-5's?

Cheers,
Vic [veng68]

[LostMind]

Hey Chin,

On a 3' wide tank, you can't get really good coverage via MH ime. You'd have to put up two mh's back to back or use a light mover (light movers rule, btw). So in the first tank you listed out up there, to get adequate mh coverage without a light mover you'd need 6 mh lamps.. 6 x 400w = 2400w + actinics. Or you could probably get away with a couple of actinics and 2? mh's on a light mover, which imo would be pretty cool, although it would make the display look kinda funky (and would be tough for taking pics) but would probably be awesome for all around coral growth due to light coverage? Would be a fun experiment, too bad the wife won't let me have more then one tank.

In any event, I think the original post was to validate the use of T5 lighting to grow SPS coral. I think T5's have been proven worthy of SPS so many times over it's a not a question of if you can run a successful SPS tank with them, but it's now become a just a matter of preference.

[andresont]

Originally Posted by Veng68

What's the consensus on when to change T-5's?

Cheers,
Vic [veng68]

24 Month for Midday and Blue plus
18 month for actinics

[StirCrazy]

another thing to remember is a lot of these photos are staged for photo shoots and posted to hype a type of light. I find it strange that most of the "WOW" T5 photos are from europe, and that everyone has seen the pics but no one seams to have seen the tank in person.

Also if you look at that pic it is only an 87 pixel shot so itis very grainey to start so you can realy get a good look at the edges of the corals when you zoom in, and when viewing normaly you can just make out a "green" tint to things that shouldent be grren, like the shadows. these are some tricks that used to be used for "adding colour" or "oversaturation" I beleive a few of us posted pics a few years back that were doctered to hell, but we stated they were. If I would have reduced the pixels from 300 to 80 and reduced the size you would have never knowen.

for all we know this tank coul dhave been set up just for the phot shoot, or could have been run with MH or what ever.

Steve

[Der_Iron_Chef]

Originally Posted by andresont

Can you please tell me what is the best T5 lamps choise for crisp white with lots of blue in it? I just ordered T5 Tek x 6 lamps and Bulbs choice was
4xATI Blue+, 1x Midday and 1x ATI BlueSpecial ?
I did not received my fixture yet , did i make a right chice for 36" long 24" inch deep 60Gal tank with SPS in mind?
Thx.

andresont....did you end up getting this fixture? If so, which bulbs did you decide on, and do you like the colour combination? Any recommendations for me (I just ordered a T5 Tek fixture).

Nate....any recommendations for bulb combinations? I prefer a crisp white with slightly blue look. In other words, no yellow

[SuperFudge]

Originally Posted by Delphinus

There's something subjective that makes the presentation almost overwhelming. but it seems to have something to do with the density, and the placement of each coral so as to maximize the contrast between each piece, which gives the tank a much better "Oohhh wow" factor.

Without a doubt, In my opinion 100% accurate Tony.
When one breaks down each piece in comparison, there is no difference from one to the next.
But noone ever does that.
When it all boils down to it, selection and placment are what truly makes for a eye popping tank, because there is no question anymore that we all can maintain the required parameters given the dedication and devotion to it.
This holds true in Gardening and landscaping....its just Aquascaping.

Not to detract from the real topic of the viablility of t-5`s, I dont believe there should be any debate.. they all work pretty good when done right... but, there will always be some brownies in the bunch that wont color up under the best or under any of circumstances, that is their natural potential...why should we expect more than that ?

There is no question in my mind that we do infact recieve the same corals as anyone else, but we have to remember the size of the markets and hobbiest communities here, if we are at 10% of the size of the rest of the worlds hobbiest communities...well, that`ll be reflected in availability, as thats what our market supports.
Sure, Vendors/Retailers who buy more will get first dibs on premium grades and possibly exclusivity, but they are generally available to all...sad, but whoever spends the most money wins in this instance.

This attention payed to coral placement for contrast is huge...thats why youll see the mixed overlapping capricornus displays aswell as the mingled stag type garden looks so beautiful.
This remains equally important in selection of individual corals and pictures of them, many of the most sought after pieces are ones that contast greatly on a single coral, in polyp to base color differences...supermans, ultramans, hulks...... Most of the LE`s are included in this group.
Possibly those with some more experience with zoo`s, blasto`s, chalice`s,and shrooms could chime in here with thier thoughts.

The trick is to look at a coral thats been sitting in someones tank or store and see this potential...its hit and miss, and forsure youll hit a dud once and a while...but its part of the hobby for me, and i love it.



Marc.