T5 Lighting

[GMan]

I'm in the market to upgrade my lighting to T5's. I have a custom hood, so I need to go with a packaged retrofit or DIY it.

Curious as to peoples current options on brands for T5 ...
- Ballasts
- Reflectors
- Lamps
- Endcaps

Thanks, Greg

[GMan]

Bump

I can't believe there aren't any opinions on this subject ...

[PLNelson]

From what I've heard, as far as reflectors go, Icecape makes the most efficient ones.

There is a lot of good info about T5s here.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1032804

Once I have the money to, I'm going to buy a 5 bulb setup from aquatinics (sp?), best value for the money.

[David Grigor]

www.diyreef.com get the retro kit and upgrade to Icecap reflectors for $4.

You will want some type of fans on them not becuase of heat to the tank but because the cooler the bulb the brighter and longer they last. Best to mount no higher than 3-4" from the water surface.


As far as bulb brands, this is mostly personal prefrence. I have found that UVL Actinic/whites and super actinics seem to be very LPS/Softy friendly yet still get excellent coloration from SPS/Acros. So they are very good compromise for a community tank.

[Dirk Griffin]

I have 4' UV bulbs, icecap reflectors, icecap 660 & A-4+ ballasts, endcaps and standoff's available. Same as mail order prices plus tax.

[zryder]

icecap ballasts is the way to go, and you can never beat dirk's price and service.
I have heard good things about the icecap reflectors, however I don't have a whole lot of experience with them.

[jquigley78]

David, could you remind me what your bulbs are and the ratio of actinics to whites and how many of each you have. I am thinking about swapping some of mine out after seeing the colors in your tank, which was quite impressive.

[sea monkey]

keep in mind that bulbs over driven with ice caps can be too much light for many LPS or softies.

I like the TEK hoods.

[hypoxia]

Dirk, I'd like to talk to you about pricing a hood with T5s for my tank. If you're there Sunday I'll look for you. :)