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New Member
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Last Login: 8/7/2008 9:45:14 PM
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| what are the diffrences between T-5 and T-6 lights? im searching E-bay for a good T-5 and see a whole lot of T-6 offers. aside from the MH lights, can anyone offer advice or experiences with other lighting units for a beginner reef tank? i have a standard 55g. also interested in PC lights. i've read a lot of articles trying to understand the benefits but it's all so confusing!
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Senior Member
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| t-6 and t-8's are interchangable they run on the same ballasts and have the same wattage/output ratings. The main difference is that the t-6 bulbs have a smaller Diameter then t-8's. T5's are different altogetherand they are not interchangeable with T5's A PC light is basically a VHO (very high output) T5 bulb that is curved. Because the bulb is curved on itself it heats up more than a standard VHO T5 bulb. Because of that, it's suggested that the bulb should be replaced more frequently. The bulbs are also more expensive then T5's. The main advantage to a PC unit is that you can squeeze a more power with less space then T5's. I have a 46 gallon tall planted tank that is only 22" long and I have a 130W PC unit powered by to 22" bubls. to have the same output of power in standard t5's I would need around 9 t5 bulbs I can't really help you with lighting for a reef I have no idea what you would need. I've only kept freshwater tanks. But if the tank is 48" long T5's type bulb might be the way to go. Someone else will have to help you with that though I really don't know what a saltwater/reef tank requires in terms of lighting.
__________________________________________ 46 Gallon Tank Planted-1 Female German Ram-5 Gymnogeophagus Sp. Norte-6 Class N Endlers Black Bars (Pure Strain)-4 Otto Cats 25 Gallon Planted (High tech)- Two Bolivian Rams- 10 endlers/guppy cross 10 Gallon Tank Planted. (At the office)-6 Class N Endlers Black Bars (Pure Strain)
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New Member
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| thanks for the clarification. i've heard that the T-5's are the best way to go for my tank but a lot of the local shops around here on Long Island swear by the PC systems and only use them for there corals except of course for the hard corals where, from what i understand require MH. im just trying to make the best decision possible. To some degree, i have to wonder if they prefer the PC due to the short amount of time these corals are in the store and whether that type of lighting is really meant for long term care.
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Fishkeeping GURU
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PCs are a bit higher wattage, and so they could be argued to be better for corals, but I prefer T5 because of the ridiculous cost of PC bulbs and how often they need to be changed. They also put out quite a bit of heat and can heat up small tanks more than I would like, so T5 is better in that respect too.
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New Member
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| im pretty sure i have my mind set on t-5's, i only found one fixture so far on e-bay and it only housed 2 bulbs. im holding out for a fixture with a min 4 bulbs. the only other fixtures listed were the total extreme with 12 bulbs and with a really high price tag.
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Fishkeeping GURU
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If you're going to have a wood canopy, I would go DIY and buy a retrofit kit. Then you can put in as many bulbs as you can fit, a fan or two to cool them, and a good reflector (which makes a huge difference).
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Starting Member
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| T_ bulbs are flourescent lights. The T=1/8" diameter of the buld. Therefore a residential flourescent bulb (T-12) is 1 1/2" in diameter. T-6s are 3/4" and T-5s are 5/8". Where the biggest difference comes in is the output. There are standard output, high output (HO) and very high output (VHO). What this means to us is more wattage/lumens per inch of bulb. T-12s are available in all three types. All of the T-5's I've seen for the hobby are HO. My prefference in this type of lighting are T-12 VHOs lit with electronic ballasts. More bang for the buck. I've grown SPS corals under VHOs in a shallow tank with no problem. I've used compact flourescents or power compacts (PCs) but never got the results I wanted. As stated already, the bulbs don't last and they're expensive. If you're keeping light loving corals in a deep tank metal halide id the way to go. Metal halide (high intensity) bulbs have the abbility to drive more lumens deeper into the tank. Since water filters light quickly the deeper you go, the deeper the tank the more intensity/wattage you need to get to the bottom. Lighting is very confusing. Terms such as lumens or photosynthetically available radiation (PAR) or degrees kelvin don't mean much to most people but have a huge bearing on what light is best for what application. The hobby accepted practice of gaging amount and quallity of light by watts per gallon is really a very inaccurate means. I don't know if this will better explain or further confuse the matter but check out this site ,www.reeflightinginfo.arvixe.com, there's a wealth of good info to be had.
So many species, so little money!
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Fishkeeping GURU
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I get the different sizes and how that affects light output, but I am still confused on what makes a fluorescent tube/fixture NO, HO, or VHO. Do you have a simplified explanation of that for me? You seem to grasp this technical stuff much better than I do.
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| My response is based on T-12s since that's where most of my personal experience lies. The same should be true of all flourscents but the wattages will differ. The wattage/output obviously increases with the length of the bulb. Basic Knowledge. What changes for NO, HO and VHO is the wattage used to drive the lamp. So really, as much of a ballast issue as a lamp issue. It's possible to drive NO bulbs with a VHO ballast but since the lamps weren't made to handle the higher wattage, they deteriorate more quickly. They won't necessarily burn out in a years time, but the color spectrum will quickly start to shift towards red. This benefits corals less and nuisance algaes more. Just as a for instance: 24" Lamp NO-20 watts VHO-75 watts 36" Lamp NO-30 watts VHO-95 watts 48" Lamp No-40 watts VHO-110 watts I used to have a 125g tank (72 x 18 x 24) that I ran six 72" VHO lamps over (6 x 160 watts=960 watts or 7.68 watts per gallon). I was able to keep SPS corals in the top 1/3 (8") but any lower than that and they didn't grow/were unhealthy. I now have a 230 gallon tank (48 x 36 x 31) that I run two 400 watt MH over (2 x 400=800 or 3.48 watts per gallon). I am currently growing acropora about half way down (15"-16"). This is intended to show that wattage as an overall unit of lighting measurement for reef aquaria can be deceiving. It's important to know the lumens produced, color spectrum (as opposed to degrees kelvin) light pattern (point use or wide spread) and photosynthetically available radiation (PAR) in order to accurately select lighting for a given application. The articles I referenced above by Sanjay Joshi explain far better than I ever could. Sanjay has written an article that is kind of a "quantum physics for dummys" (which I needed) that I believe can be found at www.reeflightinginfo.arvixe.com. I don't claim to have understood all of it, but did get enough to have a far better understanding of aquarium lighting. If you really want to get into it, I wou | | | |