T5 questions

[RyanW]

I have a few questions about T5 lighting, that I couldn;t find answers to.

Firstly, will the brighter lights of the T5s have any effect on the fish themselves?

Secondly, What are the pros and cons of T5 lighting, compared to std T8 bulbs. Im thinking of changing my 2 24" T8s (40w total) to two 48" T5s (108w total).

Hopefully that makes enough sense, thanks!

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

1. Depends, if your fish are deeper water fish or fish that are used to low light conditions, studies indicate that the high lighting in our aquariums may lead to cataracts.
2. Pros, more light, cons, more light. You have to get the light that is appropriate for what you want to do. It depends on your situation. There is no one right answer for this question.

[RyanW]

The taks is a 55g deep.
I'm aiming to plant it pretty heavilly, but I'm not sure with what yet, maybe some amazon swords, but mostly low light plants if I have to.
Would it be possibble to get away with the 40w from the T8s? I mean, Im still going to be putting in the flourite and tabs and everything to give the plants the best chance, im jsut starting at this though, so its a learning curve.
thanks so much for your help

[TorqueWorks]

With your current lighting situation that only gives you 0.7272 watts per gallon. Switching to the T5's will only give you 1.963 per gallon. The first light on the tank gave me 0.53 watts per gallon. Then to 2.88 Watts per gallon once I switched to a new light. I combined both to give me my 3.413 watts per gallon. For plants to grow correctly you need a minimum of 3+ watts per gallon. If I were you I would save up and get a little more wattage. We purchased ours from Pet Mountain for $216.00 shipped. The light is a Current Nova Extreme with 4 x 54 T5 bulbs. We love it!! Just my 2 cents.:c2:

[Holyvision]

Another thing to consider is heat, especially if your tank has a canopy! Before I custom-built and installed a fan cooling system in my canopy, my compact fluorescent lighting units had my water at 91.2 degrees (before stocking, of course). Just something else to think about.

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

First thing, change how you think about the Watts per gallon scale when you start dealing with High Intensity lighting, it changes quite a bit. If you don't you could easily find yourself with far more light than you need or even want, and you will get yourself in a spiral that will land you in an expensive setup that you didn't want from the beginning.

Check this out, it may help answer some questions for you.
[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

[TorqueWorks]

First thing, change how you think about the Watts per gallon scale when you start dealing with High Intensity lighting, it changes quite a bit. If you don't you could easily find yourself with far more light than you need or even want, and you will get yourself in a spiral that will land you in an expensive setup that you didn't want from the beginning.

Check this out, it may help answer some questions for you.
[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

Could you please explain. I am a little confused.

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

3 watts per gallon of T5 light is not the same amount of light as 3 watts per gallon of T8 or T12 light. T5 light is far more intense than those and thus puts out more light. Wattage is not the measure of how much light a bulb puts out but rather how much energy it uses. There are 2 things that you have to consider when choosing lighting: Output strength and color. Those 2 things combine to give you a PAR (Photosynthetic Available Radiation) reading. The watts per gallon scale was designed for Normal Output Fluorescent tubes (T12s) and as such needs to be adjusted as the lighting becomes more intense. 108 watts of T5 HO lighting is roughly 2wpg but with that kind of lighting, that is medium light, not low light.

[TorqueWorks]

ILuvMyGoldBarb ([Only Registered Users Can See Links.])

Thank you for explaining. Is there a formula to know how to figure out your lighting? I am currently running 4x54 T5 (10,000 k) with one 40 T12.

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

Not that I know of. Generally for PC I slide the scale down 1 so that 3.5+ is considered high light. For T5 I typically slide it another .5 from PC so that 3+ is high light. When you throw Metal Halides in the mix, 2wpg becomes high light. There's really no such thing as low light with halides. LOL

[TorqueWorks]

Gotcha!! Thanks

[Fishguy2727]

Could you provide more information about high light causing cataracts in the fish please.

Yes, a balance of all the needs for plants is more important than providing tons of light. My tanks are far from high light yet they are balanced, so they plants do really well.

Bright light and a dark background and substrate will help the colors on the fish intensify.

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

Fishguy, I believe the article was in either AFI or TFH, I can't remember which. The study wasn't conclusive. The basic premise of the theory was that certain fish, like Discus, have eyes that are well adapted to the conditions they live in. When they are subjected to the much higher light condiditons that we sometimes provide for them, there is a dramatic effect on their light-sensitive eyes. The effect is apparently greater in reef tanks and reef fish where high wattage Metal Halides are sometimes used. Think of it like this; when you stand in a completely dark room, and someone suddenly turns on the lights, your first reaction is to close your eyes until they adjust. Now take that effect and apply it to eyes that are developed for low-light conditions.
This article on the anatomy of Fish Eyes may help shed some light (pardon the pun) on the issue.
[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

While the article doesn't deal directly with the the cataract issue it does explain why this may be the case. Since the Iris of a fish is rigid, it doesn't open and close to change the amount of light being allowed in, their eyes adjust in different ways, if you notice, it sometimes can take certain fish 10-20 minutes to adjust to having the light come on in their tank. For certain fish dwelling in low light areas, the difference between what they are adapted to and what they are sometimes subjected to is quite sizable gap and as such there may well be some effect on their eyes. I should add, the indications were that this is a problem that is more prevelant in wild caught fish. It would seem that captive bred fish have adapted to the light levels we subject them to.
Again, it is important to note, the study was not conclusive but it did indicate that the extreme lighting in some of our tanks may be to blame for some fish developing cataracts.

[RyanW]

Okay, so with my current set up only giving 0.7watts per gallon, would hat be adequate enough to grow some low light level plants? I mean, Ill be keeping up with an amazon theme as far as the fish go, so i dont want it to be too bright,
I'm also using aqua glo/power glo bulbs by hagen, they seem to give out the best colours and intensity that I could find,
or, would it really be worth the $100+ for the new light fixture, canopy and everything else?

[RyanW]

Also, would these be of any use? I'm really not looking to spend so much money on a new fixture and everything, I'm a college student, and every penny counts.

[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

[Fishguy2727]

VHO T12s require a retrofit kit and new ballast, they can't just go into a standard fixture and they do not make a fixture for them (how stupid is that).

I just have a double fluorescent fixture on my tanks. They are doing great. I have 64 watts on my 75 and the plants are doing really well, especially the cabomba, it grows like a weed in there. I use Reef Suns by Zoo Med which are 50/50 bulbs (half 6500K and half actinic). This way it is visually balanced and white, but still with the 6500K the plants like. I would say get good bulbs for your fixture. If they are inadequate then add more lighting later.

Do you have a glass canopy? If so then I usually double up on light strips when I need to. For example my reef tank has a T5 fixture from Coralife and an incandescent fixture with screw-in compact fluorescent bulbs. You may just need a little more light in which case adding one reasonably priced Coralife normal output T5 fixture in addition to your current light may be all that is needed.

[PUNISHER VETTE]

are you just planning on switching light bulbs in your current canopy?

If your current canopy/hood can only support 40w then you can't just throw in 54w bulbs and expect to get that much.

You would need a canopy rated at or above your 108w goal for those lights to work...unless you already have that then don't listen to me.

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

VHO T12s require a retrofit kit and new ballast, they can't just go into a standard fixture and they do not make a fixture for them (how stupid is that).

Actually they do. My LFS has 4 of them over their 8' Reef tank. I couldn't tell you the brand but I do know they have fixtures and have them hooked up to Icecap Ballasts.

[RyanW]

If your tank is doing good with 64w in a 75g aquarium, ( i think thats close to right) Then ill feel a little better about my current set up. I will be getting an all glass canopy, and i was thinking of the T5 Aquablast strips from [Only Registered Users Can See Links.], theyre about $30 for a T5 bulbb and all its connections. Anyone ever done something like that?
I dont have another hood to shield the light, but if that would help matters at all, i could find something.

[Fishguy2727]

Those are for reptiles, you will want different colored light and do not need the UV (which you will be paying for with reptile lights).

ILMGB:
Are you sure the fixture was manufactured to take VHO T12s and it is not a retrofit kit? With a separate ballast it sounds like it is a retro. If it is a manufactured fixture PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! find out who makes it. I think it is absolutely rediculous that in this country of commercialism no one makes a fixture that as manufactured can handle VHO T12s. One of the guys at one of the LFSs swears they are better than metal halides for his reef. I am still trying to figure out how exactly I want to improve the lighting on my reef.

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

I'll try to get there this week sometime. My new work schedule makes it a bit difficult. I'll PM you as soon as I find out.

[RyanW]

I think those sun blasters can be used for both, like ive seen people retro fitting them to aquarium hoods, for the same reasons as i would want to. Im thinking of going for a cheap T5 kit by current, once i get enough spair money gathered up, itll probably be the safest bet. For now, ill jsut follow advice and get another 48" T8 fixture, so ill have 80w instead of 40w.

[Fishguy2727]

If you get normal fluorescent you might as well get a double bright. I would just use the money to buy another fixture as a start to saving for the Coralife freshwater double T5.

[RyanW]

Okay. I have found a 2x54w T5 fixture at a reasonable price, so I think I'm going to go for that. Hopefully it'll give me the best results.