T5 for 200 gallon.

vincel892

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Jun 18, 2014
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Hi,


I am thinking of switching from MH to T5 lighting for my 200 gallon with dimensions ~ 7' x 2' x 2'. The only reason I am currently on MH is because my dad used these for his saltwater set up (my freshwater tank is very new). I was thinking of getting this home depot T5 fixture https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.4-ft-4l-t5-high-output-high-bay.1000732913.html which fits 4 bulbs. However, I am unsure whether a 4 foot fixture is sufficient for a 7 foot tank. I'm also unsure of how many, and what watt T5 bulbs i would need. I am looking to grow high light plants as I am currently fert dosing and injecting CO2. Any help would be appreciated.
 
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UDGags

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You want to have two fixtures so you can cover the entire length of the tank OR if you get one you will need to put lower light plants on the ends of the tank/scape appropriately.


To get high light directly under the fixture, I would guess that fixture needs to be ~6-12" from the surface of the water. You just need to take into account maintenance, splash hazards, etc.


You should read this is if you haven't. It explains why not to use Watts and some ballpark PAR numbers for various fixtures
 

vincel892

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Jun 18, 2014
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UDGags said:
You want to have two fixtures so you can cover the entire length of the tank OR if you get one you will need to put lower light plants on the ends of the tank/scape appropriately.

To get high light directly under the fixture, I would guess that fixture needs to be ~6-12" from the surface of the water. You just need to take into account maintenance, splash hazards, etc.


You should read this is if you haven't. It explains why not to use Watts and some ballpark PAR numbers for various fixtures
UDGags Thanks for the reply. I think I will end up using two 4' fixtures as I can get them pretty cheap used. Ive been trying to use the PAR values but just a little confused. Does PAR values change with wattage? for ex, for a 48" T5HO 6500K bulb, does it come in different wattages? And if so, do PAR values increase for higher wattages?
 

UDGags

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You can't correlate watts to PAR. This is why using watts is frowned upon. Each fixture is going to be slightly different because of reflectors, wiring, etc when talking about T5. If you move to LED's watts are way different than T5, etc.


The bulbs won't come in different wattage's for the same length. All 48" long bulbs will have the same 54W rating. The difference in the bulbs will be the spectrum they are made for....6500k is a good starting point for beginners. As you get the basics down you can look for other bulbs specifically for plants.


For example I use a combination of these bulbs in my setup


Giesemann PowerChrome Aqua Flora T5 Lamp


Giesemann PowerChrome Midday T5 Lamps


ATI Blue Plus + T5 HO Aquarium Lamps


ATI Purple Plus T5 HO Aquarium Lamps


GE Starcoat 6,500K/10K T5 High Output HO Aquarium Bulbs


Red Sun Bulbs


Edit: If you're trying for red high light plants it would be good to get at least one bulb in the red spectrum for each fixture
 
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vincel892

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Jun 18, 2014
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UDGags said:
You can't correlate watts to PAR. This is why using watts is frowned upon. Each fixture is going to be slightly different because of reflectors, wiring, etc when talking about T5. If you move to LED's watts are way different than T5, etc.

The bulbs won't come in different wattage's for the same length. All 48" long bulbs will have the same 54W rating. The difference in the bulbs will be the spectrum they are made for....6500k is a good starting point for beginners. As you get the basics down you can look for other bulbs specifically for plants.


For example I use a combination of these bulbs in my setup


Giesemann PowerChrome Aqua Flora T5 Lamp


Giesemann PowerChrome Midday T5 Lamps


ATI Blue Plus + T5 HO Aquarium Lamps


ATI Purple Plus T5 HO Aquarium Lamps


GE Starcoat 6,500K/10K T5 High Output HO Aquarium Bulbs


Red Sun Bulbs


Edit: If you're trying for red high light plants it would be good to get at least one bulb in the red spectrum for each fixture
u

UDGags Oh I understand now. I guess Ill go with two 4' fixtures with eight 6500K bulbs for now. May get some bulbs in the red spectrum later on. Would red spectrum be greater or less than 6500K?


Also, would 8 bulbs at 6" from surface be enough light or way too much?
 
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UDGags

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6500K refers to the color temperature and spectrum is the wavelength


So if you are looking for a "redder" bulb you want to look for one that has more of a peak around 620-750nm. Most higher end bulb manufactures publishes the spectrum...here are the UVL ones. You can see the red sun one at the bottom has a higher peak in the red spectrum so it is delivering more "red" light to plant. Red light promotes anthocyanin, which is what gives plants their red color. Red light is the first essential step for really popping red plants.


If you want to kind of get a grasp on light specs, you could play around with BML custom setup. It's for their LED's but you can see what happens to the various values as you add different color lights. Kind of advanced but its a good learning tool.
 
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vincel892

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Jun 18, 2014
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UDGags said:
6500K refers to the color temperature and spectrum is the wavelength

So if you are looking for a "redder" bulb you want to look for one that has more of a peak around 620-750nm. Most higher end bulb manufactures publishes the spectrum...here are the UVL ones. You can see the red sun one at the bottom has a higher peak in the red spectrum so it is delivering more "red" light to plant. Red light promotes anthocyanin, which is what gives plants their red color. Red light is the first essential step for really popping red plants.


If you want to kind of get a grasp on light specs, you could play around with BML custom setup. It's for their LED's but you can see what happens to the various values as you add different color lights. Kind of advanced but its a good learning tool.
I will have a look at that BML link. I'll get the hang of it eventually. Thanks for all your help. Not sure if you could answer this, but do you think 8 x 48" 6500K would be good for high light or would it be way too much?
 

islanddave

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vincel892 said:
I will have a look at that BML link. I'll get the hang of it eventually. Thanks for all your help. Not sure if you could answer this, but do you think 8 x 48" 6500K would be good for high light or would it be way too much?

Should be good look at ati power modules..very good fixtures I think they are the best
 

vincel892

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Jun 18, 2014
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Decided to go with a 4' and 2' sun blaze t5ho fixture used for hydroponics. Will have 4x 54w and 4x 24W (?) bulbs total. Will cost me ~$400 total. Hope this works out. Thanks everyone for the advice
 

vincel892

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Jun 18, 2014
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Before I completely settle for T5's, Does anyone know if there is any LED set up that would cost me under $500 for medium to high lighting?
 

vincel892

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Jun 18, 2014
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I'm just worried about the cost to replace the bulbs. If i just stick with regular grow light bulbs for hydroponics, it would be pretty affordable. But purchasing some high end bulbs, Id probably need 8 bulbs. And im guessing it would be ~200 per year?
 

vincel892

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burr740 said:
You could run half of some standard hydroponic brand ~6500Ks, something like this http://www.amazon.com/Apollo-Horticulture-6400K-Fluorescent-Light/dp/B00K327EPO/

Then sprinkle in some Wavepoint or Zoo-med specialty bulbs at roughly $10 each. http://www.amazon.com/Wavepoint-Universal-Replacement-Aquarium-54-watt/dp/B00FQ87DOC/
If only I was from the states or the canadian dollar didnt suck haha. How often is it recommended to change t5ho bulbs? every 1? 2 years?
 

burr740

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I think every year is a bit soon, but it can also depend on the brand. I have a Zoo-med Ultra Sun that is 15 months old and has lost less than 5% of it's original PAR (tested with a Hoppy meter)


Have seen True-lumen Floras drop about 20% after 1 year. Got a Plantmax 65000K that's dropped about 10% going on 11 months.


Those are just the brands Ive personally tested.


But....PAR by itself may not be the whole picture. Whether or not the spectrum has degraded, I cannot say.
 

UDGags

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I've had my bulbs running for 2+ years without issues. You run them until they burn out. The spectrum will shift (to the red) some over time but for our purposes it won't really make a huge difference. So plan on $100-$200 every 2-4 years for new bulbs.


I've had to replace a ballast once over the 3yrs on my two ATI units. It cost I think $50-$75 (with shipping).
 

vincel892

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Jun 18, 2014
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UDGags said:
I've had my bulbs running for 2+ years without issues. You run them until they burn out. The spectrum will shift (to the red) some over time but for our purposes it won't really make a huge difference. So plan on $100-$200 every 2-4 years for new bulbs.

I've had to replace a ballast once over the 3yrs on my two ATI units. It cost I think $50-$75 (with shipping).

100-200 years for new bulbs doesnt sound too bad. The fixtures i am looking at right now are the sun blaze brand used for horticulture. they come with 6500k tubes so I probably wont be able to assess accurately the PAR data on them. will probably be a trial and error type of thing for quite a while