Christyef Posted April 8, 2016 Share Posted April 8, 2016 I have questions (still) about placement, time on, and depth the bulbs will reach. Like, my sps seem to fail. Is it bc the t5's can't reach through 19" of water? The fixture is 7" above the tank. I have a 2 piece plexiglass lid from petco.... It seems to cast shadows. So, I plugged in the MH bulbs abt an hour ago. SO bright!! Definitely no more shadows! Lol. But will they melt my lids over time? How 'bout if I put them on a timer for only like 4-5 hrs a day? Wld that be enough to help w/ sps growth or jst be a waste of time and a lot of other things like $ and elec... Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christyef Posted April 8, 2016 Author Share Posted April 8, 2016 When I plugged them in my temp was 80°. I'll check every hour to see how it changes (if at all) Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnM Posted April 8, 2016 Share Posted April 8, 2016 Your tank is 55 gal? 4 bulb t5? 4 bulb t5 on a 55 should be enough light to grow most sps. Little more specs on light would be helpful And the mh might warp the lids if they get hot enough Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted April 8, 2016 Share Posted April 8, 2016 I still love MH, especially after adding a few actinic LED strips for bit more of a crisp look. If they didn't produce so much heat, I would still use them over LEDs. My main problem was that running 500W of MH on my 50 and now 90 gallon, my chiller would be running several hours per day in the summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10gReef Posted April 8, 2016 Share Posted April 8, 2016 I use t5 and two 250w MH, They sit about 10" above the water. I tend to keep my sps higher in the tank for light but more specific better flow (for my tank) I'm in a standard 90gallon. The plexy glass lids will likely warp, bow, or sag towards the water over time. Do you have to have them? I use and ATO that I have to top off about once a week. My chiller does kick on throughout the day but only a few times and maybe 15-30 minutes each time. I also staggered the light cycle of my tank. The T5s turn on first at 8 am, then the left MH at 10am, then the right MH on at 12pm, then the right off at 2pm and the left off at 4pm, and the T5 off at 6pm. I think this helps with heat and some power consumption. Just guessing, no data to back it up but seems logical. My down fall for sps is water parameters with nutrient loads and forgetting to top off the ATO when needed. I also have fans in my hood to vent heat and co2 off the surface. Best of luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reburn Posted April 8, 2016 Share Posted April 8, 2016 My honest opinion. The plexi covers are blocking quite a bit of light probably 50%. You shouldn't be using them. Yes they will warp with the heat. If your worried about fish jumping you should be using screen tops. Ditch the plexi and the t5s should be enough light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corsair66 Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 About those screen tops... In the reptile world they are reported to cut light by at least a third. I use MH and T5 on my reptile tank. When the lizard was a baby I ran screens over the MH to keep the heat and dull the light. A frequently cleaned piece of glass is about as good as it gets. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reburn Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 About those screen tops... In the reptile world they are reported to cut light by at least a third. I use MH and T5 on my reptile tank. When the lizard was a baby I ran screens over the MH to keep the heat and dull the light. A frequently cleaned piece of glass is about as good as it gets. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Unless you were using 1/8" clear poly netting it was different netting. Also depending on the screen you can be correct but the light spectrum that is most filtered out by the netting in the reptile world is the uva/uvb light then depending on the density of the screen then it will filter out usable par. In the reef world application the glass will block more par then a screen sue to condensation and deposits on the lid. It is nearly impossible to keep a glass or plexi lid clean over a reef tank. That's while many people use 1/8 to 1/4 uv stabile clear netting. The impact on par is negligible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christyef Posted April 9, 2016 Author Share Posted April 9, 2016 It is very difficult to keep it clean. Salt/dust/ condensation. Shawn, I have a 4 48" t5 fixture w/ 2 MH. 3 actinic and one white. The fixture sits abt 7" above my tank. I have the lid bc of rapid evaporation. I do have a tunze, but it's not hooked up. Was hoping to bring it to the mtg and get some guidance (I've never used a ATO and don't want to flood my house again) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christyef Posted April 9, 2016 Author Share Posted April 9, 2016 Oh, and I left the MH on for 4 hrs yesterday and the temp rose 2°. The lids were VERY hot to the touch! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 Ditch the lids Christy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christyef Posted April 9, 2016 Author Share Posted April 9, 2016 Ditch the lids Christy!ok, will do when I get my ATO set up. I'm a plumber! I shld be able to figure it out! [emoji123][emoji6] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 I agree with Jestep. I think MH is still the preferred lighting for most serious coral keepers around the world. LED has taken a good portion of the market share over the last few years. T-5 has declined as the dominate lighting, but many people still use it as supplemental. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 From what I see on the national forums, it's LEDs with the lion's share of the lighting market (beginners to advanced setups), T5s on a majority of the high-end setups alone or combined with LEDs, and MHs coming in last, not so unlike our own community. Personally, I prefer T5 coloration the best for SPS, MHs 2nd, and LEDs last. That being said, the combo of LEDs and T5s is my ultimate goal but I can't drop $1500 on a fixture so I'm making my own. Aesthetics isn't a concern because it'll be enclosed in a canopy anyways. I think it's the best of both worlds, cheap, energy efficient lighting with the LEDs but with the addition of better coverage from the T5s to remove shadowing and the disco ball effect as well as covering certain peaks in lighting that aren't as really covered with most LED fixtures. I will say just me switching out a majority of the cool white LED diodes in my fixture for warm white could almost convince me to run my LEDs by themselves as the coloration is spectacular and corrects the one thing I disliked about LEDs the most was that overly blue look but I still think having a couple of T5s in there will be helpful, mainly for coverage and tweaking color. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 The DIY screen kit is easy and will prevent trapping heat or blocking UV like the acrylic does. They're also very cheap to make. I just saw these if you're looking for something fancier/more expensive, but probably overkill for you right now. Artfully Acrylic ClearView lids Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renman303 Posted April 15, 2016 Share Posted April 15, 2016 Sorry for the delay in posting...I have done T5's, then MH, then to LED's, now back to T5's. My tank is 30" deep and everything is growing great! T5's have the best overall coverage of lighting. They are the only lights that will reflect up off of the sand illuminating the undersides of the corals as well. I would advise checking out BRS.com They have video's on nearly everything and these guys know what they are doing! I may...in the future add some LED's again just for the shimmer. However, even Bulk Reef Supply (BRS) states the most tried and true method for consistent growth of corals is T5. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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