t5 light results

[Gseclipse02]

both set ups are on work horse ballast

my tank is a 180g 6*2*2 i run 8 4 ft t5's and 2 4 foot vho's (which are in the center ) the lights are staggered one bulb goes fully left and the other goes fully right and that’s with all 10 bulbs.

You can see the light difference on the sides with par meter but its not visible with the naked eye IMO.

The light numbers on the very top were with the light meter being directly on the bulb.

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j11/gseclipse02/tankparIMG_2245.jpg


vics tank is only 12 inch’s deep but i ran SPS bulbs on hers because they were cheap and you can really tell a difference with the numbers. another variable is that i run tek 2 reflectors and she runs glo reflectors

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j11/gseclipse02/IMG_2257.jpg

sorry it took me a while to post these results just have not had time to do it

[Gseclipse02]

just realized how small the numbers are but its to late im not making them bigger ....

over all i was a little disappointed with the numbers after seeing some people posting 900+ under water and i was only able to get 2-300 but than i took the meter to work and tried it under are clam tanks and they were only getting 300 also ( might be an old bulb didnt have much time to play with it ) one of the fixtures has a new bulb if i get some time ill try it out


im not able to post in the thread but im still waiting for the meter to get picked up by some one ...

[Europhyllia]

cool. makes me want to get back in line for testing. :)
Surprised at the numbers!
I jsut had to lift my ATI fixture a few inches up because the LPS were getting sunburned

[Gseclipse02]

those ATI fixtures do they over drive the bulbs?

[phippsj]

I am using workhorse ballast with Geismann bulbs. I have used only 4 and supplemented with 250w MH. However, if I can get the color spectrums adjusted, I plan on replacing the MH with LED (cool white, warm white, red, and royal blue crees). I would be interested in seeing the 'before' and 'after' PAR ratings. I love the look of T5 and MH, but I do not like the PAR inconsistency and the burn out over the course of a year. If coloration can be improved, perha[s LED will offer more stability.

[Europhyllia]

those ATI fixtures do they over drive the bulbs?
I don't think so. They do have active cooling though. I noticed the same bulb will wear out faster in a fixture without cooling and an aged/older bulb may have less umph.

[Gseclipse02]

what ballast runs them ?

[Europhyllia]

here:
http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5_Fluorescent/ATI/SunPower_Fixtures/60_inch__6x80W_SunPower_T5_High-Output_Fixture_w!_Bulbs_by_ATI
(that's all I know)

[Gseclipse02]

i was talking with vic tonight and she also reminded me that her bulbs are 4 or 5 months newer than mine