Going back to t5

[Tommyboynj]

I'm just not happy with led. I've been tinker for a few years and always seem to have issues. Color shifts, weird growth patterns etc. I'm really thinking about going back. Do you think an 8*39 still dimmable will be enough for my tank. 40*30*24. Ati spec sheet seem to say so.

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[kschweer]

I would say the 8 bulb will do for the tank. I love my t5 and it would take a lot for me to get rid of them.

 

[Raffle King]

What kind of Leds u have if you get rid of them I am interested

 

[saltkreep88]

8 bulb would be great. I have a 6 bulb on 18 wide tank and if anything the spread is too wide.

 

[art13]

I have an 8 bulb over a 27 inch deep tank, works great, I have 150 par on the sand bed, 350 on the top rocks that are halfway up the tank, it hangs about 14 inches above the tank.

 

[Edwardw771]

There is a guy selling a 4 foot 8 bulb Ati on Facebook

 

[Tommyboynj]

What kind of Leds u have if you get rid of them I am interested

AI Hydras. 4 units. Ill keep you posted tony. I love the control and shimmer of LED but im feed up with the shading and inconsistent par numbers. I think id need 6 units over my tank to really fill in the light evenly. Bulb and power cost dont really bother me so much considering all the money we send on this hobby. I just want to do the best for my corals and when i look at t5 and i look at some of the people in the club that made the switch back they did it for the same reason i want to and got the results im looking for.

 

[art13]

Reefabout uses three hydra's over his tank, at least i think it's 3, might be 4, i think its around 6 feet long and 2 wide, not sure the depth, but his coloring and growth are amazing, maybe he could give you the numbers he uses on his programming to try out before you give it up?

 

[Mark_C]

I use them myself and have 2 of the 26 units about 7" above the waterline on a 90. Im getting great growth and good color. I rented a par meter a few months back and made some extremely detailed diagrams of par levels at different settings. If you like , I can post the charts along with my settings when I get back from work this evening.

 

[NyteGTI]

Mark, i don't know if he wants to see them, but I'd love to as I might be moving to a 90 here in a month or 2 & was thinking about 26's

 

[art13]

Mark, i don't know if he wants to see them, but I'd love to as I might be moving to a 90 here in a month or 2 & was thinking about 26's

Are you going mostly lps or sps? if sps i would go with two hydra 52's instead. my tank has the same 4 foot length but its a 135, if i went led i'd go with 4 hydra 52 hd's to get the spread my t5's are currently giving me.

 

[horseplay]

When you consider the $ involved to light a tank properly the ATI T5 fixtures are really a good deal. Get the dimmable one and you will need only one cable. So it looks slick with no wire galore, especially when hung from the ceiling.

 

[art13]

theres only one wire from the non dimmable as well, thats what i have.

 

[horseplay]

I see. Everything going thru that one wire? That's nice.

 

[Mark_C]

Art, the 2 26s on my 90 are growing sps quite well, though the sps is 2/3 up the tank height and above, with softies and some lps below that level.

 

[art13]

At the top level you would be fine, if it's sps dominant though usually you have some near the bottom as well, at least i do, and hydra 52's would probably be needed in that case.

 

[Mark_C]

Here's some solid info on PAR levels as well as specs I'm currently using. Tommy, don't mean to hijack, just hoping to provide some helpful info that you guys might be able to use.

Actually going to post the info in the equipment forum:
AI Hydra 26 PAR specs & settings | NJ Reef Club