T5 lighting

[ratboy]

I was wondering how the T5 setup is doing for whoever bought the setup from Vinh. I am considering moving to T5's from VHO in my 90 and wanted to hear the verdict from someone local. I'd like to see some pictures if possible and what type of bulbs you are running.

-Erik

[TexasState]

The guy in SA said that he doens't like to open his canopy to work on the reef b/c it blind him. :lol:

Can you buy 65K T5 bulbs from that lightning store close to Fuzz's house? I'm looking for one 34.5 inch 65K T5 bulb.

[TexasState]

I have this lighting combination right now on my 92 gallons bowfront if you want to come by and take a look:
*One 46.5" T5 Actinic Blue(look violet/bluish mix) HO
*One 34.5" T5 GE 65K HO
*One 24" T12 URI Superactinic VHO
*One 18" PC Smartlight (Half Daylight/Half Blue Actinic.)

The T5 look very bright, but I only have one t5 daylight bulb for the whole tank, so there's not enough coverage. It still looks pretty good over all w/ the above combination. I would like to add some more 34.5 inches 65K T5 if I can afford to.

[Hammer]

I now have three of the 6.5k GE HO bulbs from Vinh over my 115 tank. And the fourth bulb is an Osram T8 Blue.
This is for a freshwater planted tank, but has a very nive look to it, and the bulbs are definitely BRIGHT. Not sure on life span yet though. I got the first one from Vinh at the meeting at Jim Norris's house. And I see some discoloration at the ends of that bulb. The other two bulbs don't show this, but it might have something to do with me running other T12 NO's with that one for a while.
All this is on the Hellolights ARO VHO ballast.

[TexasState]

I'ts been a long time since I have T8 actinic. But my new ATI T5 actinic HO doesn't look as bright T8 actinic. I could be wrong though. My bulb are used for two days, and the end is dim too. The rest of the bulb is blinding to look at. These bulb are red hot to touch, so you'll want to blow some fans on it to keep it cool. My bulb itself red hot, but the surrounding areas is not hot b/c of the the fan blowing over the bulb.

[TexasState]

Somebody is selling T5 equipment out of Austin:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...;category=3212

They said the stuff is custom build. One downside is that they're not using individual curved reflector like what Sunlight offered. I wonder what kind of ballast is being used inside these unit?