au01st

After a great deal of research, I ordered some new bulbs for the T5 that should light the tank up nicely with a hint more blue than it has now (I know...pics...)

I got 4 bulbs:

1 x UV Lighting 54W 10000K AquaSun
1 x UV Lighting 54W Super Actinic
1 x ATI T5 54 Watt 48" Blue Plus
1 x ATI T5 54 Watt 48" 12000K Aquablue Special

My research showed that those had the highest light outputs when compared against similar wavelength lights from other brands. I got my info from reeflounge.com

ATI
Sun Pro 357
Aquablue 336
Blue Plus 311
Actinic 137

Giesemann
Midday 325
Aquablue 324
Actinic Plus 264
Pure Actinic 157

UVL
Aqua sun 345
Actinic White 293
Super Actinic 210



I knew a salt water tank would cost a lot, but man, I didn't know it would be this much and this addicting...

au01st

Well, got the new bulbs in, and I really don't like the Aquasun, makes everything look too pink. The Super Actinic makes the ricordea and GSP fluoresce really well, much better than the stock actinic bulbs. My lighting now has a hint of blue and much brighter white.

I'm looking at ordering another 4 bulb fixture from eBay if I can find a good deal, which would push me up to 432 watts total. I'm going to try and get some pics tonight, already took pics of the old setup.

I also added some new inhabitants today, a yellow headed jawfish and an orange firefish. I made the jawfish a burrow out of PVC and buried it in the sand on one side of the tank. He went straight in there, turned around, and poked his head out. He's floating just above the hole right now, and he hasn't tried to jump out, yet...

nemo addict

you should ov just bought a metal halide as with all 4 bulbs on you are pulling the same as a 150 and you get beeter results with a halide ,, and on ebay you can pick up a second hand one for less then t5 lighting and a lot have atinics in them to i just bought a arcadia seris 3 single 150 and 2 t5s for £60 gbp x 1.4 i think at moment to $s so prob around $90 as i was running 6 t5s @ 54watts each = 324watts so now looking for another bargain and have 2 costing less well 24 watts less anyway

au01st

Where did you hear this? I've seen plenty of tanks growing SPS out the wazoo using only T5. Also, it gets a little hot and I don't have a chiller. I'm managing to keep the tank at 80 with a totally open top and fans on the sump with an ambient house temp of about 74. Also, the color options are more open with T5 since you use more bulbs. If I want to change something, it's $20, not $50 for a MH bulb.

Also, since my water depth is about 19", the par values of the T5 bulbs hold up fine, it's only with deeper tanks that you need the penetrating power of MH, which is also a more focused light, while the T5 is even throughout the tank.

I did a lot of research and decided on T5s for a number of reasons, heat, cost, availability (the one LFS that has T5 bulbs doesn't have MH products, though he can order them....I can order them myself cheaper and save a trip, whereas if a T5 goes out, I already have 4 spares and can go to the store and get another).

Actually, the 4 bulbs pull 216 watts, while the 150 MH putts out 150 watts, roughly 29% less...I could even overdrive the T5s to put out a total of 260 watts for a 4 lamp setup.

GreenMan13

+1. Very well put overall too.