T5 questions

[Sea~Horse~Whisperer]

I'm very confused by the T5 lights. I need to order new lights for the 75G and I'm not sure what / how many to order.( right now I have a spare 192w PC fixture on it) I believe the 48" fixture has 2- 54w T5's in it. Do I need a 2-54w lamp fixture or a 4-54w lamp fixture? Should I do the standard 1/2 10000k and 1/2 actinic or should I mix them differently if I go with the 4 lamp fixture?

The depth from the top of the tank to the top of the sandbed is only 18-19".

This is my new Seahorse tank so there won't be any coral in here, just macros and sea grasses. The macros do not require intense light, but some of the sea grasses need more light. Even if I decide later to add some corals, they will all softies like zoanthids and leathers.

Thank you for any help.

I need to order them asap, before my hubby finds out I have $$$ stashed away, lol. The good thing is that I have so much / many spare parts and pieces laying around, he will never know they are new! He doesn't know the difference between T5 and PC.

Angie

[perpetual98]

Hi Angie. Are the inhabitants suffering from having the 192W PC light on it? Why not stick with that?

That being said, T5 are great. If you can swing a 4x54W setup, go that route. A 2x54W should be fine for lighting things up, more like a FO tank, but it may also be adequate for macro, but I don't have much experience in growing plants.

If you narrow your search down a bit, I can maybe get you a good deal through my store.

Later!
Eric

[Sea~Horse~Whisperer]

The 192w fixture is only 36" long. I have it sitting on 2 pieces of tempered glass and I hate the "rigged" look of it, lol. I want a 48" fixture that fits on the tank correctly. I will look up the prices on both units and get back to you.

Thank you.
angie

[Sea~Horse~Whisperer]

Ok I looked up the prices

48" 4 x 54w T5 fixture with lamps 159.95+13.10 shipping = $173.05

48" 2 x 54w T5 fixture with lamps 139.95+ 14.25 shipping = 154.20

For the extra $18.85 I would buy the 4 lamp fixture.

[Whoyah]

I would go with 4 bulb fixture. You will get better growth in your macros and corals. On bulbs, a 1/2 and 1/2 will give a pretty intense blue light. You might consider a mix like one actinic, one 12k, one 10k and a 6500. Just depend on what your looking for. The nice thing is at $15-20 buck a bulb you can kind of mix and match pretty easy. Dr Foster carries T5s along with http://www.innovativelights.com/. I have bought T5s from bought places with no problems

[perpetual98]

Are those retros or fixtures Angie? What was the brand on them?

Eric

[iVgOnMaD]

Well, if you want the Grassto grow fast, give plenty of 6500k (3 or 4 watts/g), if you want Inverts to grow at their best ability, give them more blue, like 14000k/actinic blue). Plants in the Northern hemisphere grow best at a light around 6500k to 7500k, Souther hemisphere plants like 5500k to 6500k light spectrum. Corals are not my expertise but I have had many planted FW tanks.

Hope this helps some way.

[Sea~Horse~Whisperer]

I believe the fixture is a Finnex? I would have to go look it up again, lol. It is the entire fixture, not a retro. I'm going to buy a 4 bulb fixture. I'd rather have toomuch light then not enough. I can always turn off some of the lamps I'm going with 1-10k 1-65k 1 actinic+ and 1 actinic blue for the lamps in the fixture. Does that sound ok? Or should I just go with the standard 2-10k and 2-actinic blues?

Angie

[Sea~Horse~Whisperer]

I bought the 4 lamp fixture. I just have to choose the lamps. I was thinking
2-65k, 1- 10k and 1- actinic. I only need the lighting that is best for the plants. My seahorses don't care what lights they have, lol. I just don't like the "yellow" look. Will it be too yellow with the 2 - 65k's 1-10k and 1 actinic?

Does this sound ok for the lamp choices?

Thank you, Angie

[Whoyah]

You might just want to buy an extra actinic if you can. That way you can mix a match until you get it the way you want it. An extra bulb will only run about $20 but if you order it seperately it will cost you shipping and handling too.