T5 and sps

[erikharrison]

If I put a six pack of T5s on my 75, would I get ample PAR to grow SPS in comparison to my 250w MH? I have been contemplating my lighting since I began in this hobby, and now that I have stuff setup correctly, I am trying to get focused on my lighting.

[Jeff]

yes it should just make sure you have the best reflectors available which right now are ice cap.

[OceanInMotion]

i heard the determining factor, like jeff said, is the reflector you choose. if you get a good one, ive seem some DAS reefs on RC that are t5 only that would put some mH tanks to shame

[Headless_donkey]

zeovit.com (http://www.zeovit.com)
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1214393
Both proof it will work. Add in some 6500K and 3000K and forget about it. BTW unplug your chiller.

[erikharrison]

Man, that zoevit method sounds like a pain! :) Jeff, thanks for the advice on the reflectors, after reading around it sounds like those SL5s are the only way to go. What would be my best choice for bulbs, brand wise? Also, is there a fixture that has those icecaps built in, or would I have to diy it? I assume I would need the 96 watters on my 75, standard dimensions? I am going to guess that SPS requires more light than an anemone, correct? I really want to do this right since lighting is such a detriment to this hobby. I do have a 250w HQI pendant (mini PFO) on an icecap ballast (I assume a standard one, and not made for HQI specifically) and I wonder If I could just supplement with the T5s? My tank is darker than I would like around the edges, and I really love the look of a intensely lit tank. Thanks for the replies so far, keep em rolling!

[OceanInMotion]

96watt power compacts? you could use 4-6 t5HOs on your 75 (the 4' ones are 54 watts i believe) and that would be more than adequate with good reflectors.

[erikharrison]

Yeah I forgot that 96 is a PC bulb. I will probably go with the auquactinics one. :)

[FireEater]

My system is SPS dominated and I am headed to T5 lights right after the first of the year. I now run 3 250W MH 14k Hamiltons, 4 T5 80W 60" bulbs, two actinic and two daylight, and 2 T5 4 foot actinic bulbs.

I am going mainly to T5's for the energy savings. It will cut down on my chiller time also.

My tanks if 72" long and I will make an assembly that will be concave to hold the maximum bulbs I can get in it, each in their own reflector.

[MissT]

Giesseman bulbs are great "bang for buck"

[Mr_Cool]

Everything you ever wanted to know about t-5's! The thread has been split (a couple of times, I think) so it may be a little hard to follow. Apparently, Grim is the resident t-5 expert on RC, and he's done lots of testing on bulbs and bulb combinations. If you don't get your questions answered here, I don't know where else you could possibly go.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1214393

[lt1z28]

Erik, I'll have my aquactinics 5x54watt fixture for sale sometime next week after I install my lights on my 240 gallon tank. LMK if your interested.