jcasisa Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 Oh wise forum, I am looking to add a second light to my existing LED system and want to go with a dual bulb T5 fixture. My plan is to have the T5s come on around 10am and stay on to about 6pm. This is when the LEDs will be the brightest and when the T5s turn off the LEDs will also start the night cycle. Any opinions or recommendations on the Coralife Aqualight T5 fixture? I also see that Odyssea makes a similar fixture. Any thought are appreciated, John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juiceman Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 What type of LED and how are they setup? Maybe a Retro fit would be good depending on what you're doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcasisa Posted February 2, 2016 Author Share Posted February 2, 2016 I have a 48" Orbit Marine Current running the preset M1 mode. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 It looks as if you have the 36 watt lighting fixture. What problems are you having and what are you trying to achieve? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcasisa Posted February 2, 2016 Author Share Posted February 2, 2016 I notice that I am getting shadows in the tank so I wanted to add a 2 bulb T5 fixture to give me an additional light source for corals. The LEDs are on a 24 hour cycle and the T5s would come on for about 6 to 8 hours a day from about 10 to 6 or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 Are you having trouble keeping the corals that you want to keep? Are any corals browned out? Are the polyps near the sand stretching? Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcasisa Posted February 3, 2016 Author Share Posted February 3, 2016 I don't have any corals yet but I plan on adding them this weekend. Just trying to be prepared. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 I was looking into this fixture when I was planning on doing the same thing. http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/hamilton-aruba-sun-v-series-t5-ho-fluorescent-retrofit.html You could always order one of their retrofit T5 setups if you have a canopy and looks aren't important. It'll save you money. Also, Marine Depot finally started carrying the Euroaquatics T5 retrofit LED bulbs. They are LED strips lights that fit into existing T5 fixtures. Similar par they are claiming but with a 6-7 year bulb life. I ended up finding a cheap LED bar (reefbrite) that did the same function so I aborted my T5 plans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 The reason that I asked is because the answer will give us an idea of what kind of light you need. For example, if you want to brighten the tank but the corals are doing fine then you can get a simple stunner strip. It sounds like you don't think you're producing enough light to keep the corals that you want. That really depends what kind of corals you want to keep and how deep your tanks is. Are you using that 36-48" light that I had linked on a 75g? The example given shows that it will give 120-150 PAR in the top 4" of water, 50-70 PAR in the middle and 5-20 PAR at the bottom of a 24" tall tank. I believe that this light will limit your coral selection without supplementation. You might be able to keep birdsnest, pocillopora or digitata in the top where the PAR is around 100. Euphyllia will do okay in the middle 70ish PAR. Leathers could live in the bottom. Do you have some sort of canopy to put the lights into or are you hanging them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcasisa Posted February 3, 2016 Author Share Posted February 3, 2016 There is no canopy but I do have the skills to build one, but I don't mind seeing the fixtures. The tank is a standard dimension 75g tank. Sascha .. you are correct .. I do not think the LED alone will provide enough life to support corals so that's why I would just like to add the t5s. I am leaning towards this but think 4 bulbs may be overkill http://www.ebay.com/itm/Odyssea-PS-Quad-T5-Aquarium-Light-Marine-Reef-Cichlid-LED-20-24-30-36-48-60-72-/111872524531?var=&hash=item1a0c1f40f3:m:mKHhtyXS93kBJgaEgMUgUBA As usual I really appreciate the conversation and opinions!! John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 You'll really want to get a fixture with individual reflectors for each T5 bulb. Without them, you're losing a ton of par. With that Orbit Marine light, I'd say a 4-bulb fixture is actually what you need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcasisa Posted February 3, 2016 Author Share Posted February 3, 2016 The 4 bulb fixture has been ordered! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 The reason that I asked is because Juiceman had a good suggestion adding the retrofit. I think you need a canopy or something to attach a retro to though. I see that you have already got an answer and ordered a fixture. Good luck!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 The 4 bulb fixture has been ordered! Not sure if you caught where I mentioned getting one with individual reflectors. The unit you linked does not have individual reflectors. You'll lose out on some good par but if you want to save money, the fixture you linked should work just fine for your needs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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