LIGHTING QUESTION

[kabal2]

guys like a lot of you know im starting a 65g and the measurements are 36"x18"x24", and i want to go with t5s i heard they are as good as MH so the high of the tank been 24", you guys think i should go with a set of 4 bulbs or 6 bulbs, any help will be really appreciate, and please no long posting, i get bored reading long posts,
thank you ;D

 

[panmanmatt]

I would go with a 6 x 39w Tek T5 fixture.

For bulbs, I would say 2 Geisman Actinic+. 2 Current USA 10K and 2 GE 65K. That should give you the ability to keep just about anything you want.

I have the 4x39W on my 70 and I am keeping softies and LPS with no trouble. I tried SPS but they don't last long due to all the softies I have but when I kept them up high they colored nicely, just didn't last long.

 

[pmac90]

I run 4, 54 watters overdriven to 80 watts with a icecap 660 on my 90 gallon. I have a hammer at the bottom to give you an idea on how happy things could be at 24" ... of course the icecap makes the big difference there. I have 2 geiseman lamps and 2 URI lamps... each with an aquasun and true actinic.

 

[kabal2]

Matt, thank you, i was thinking about the 6x39w tek, or maybe a retrofit from icecap?, do you guys know if 660 ballast from icecap can light up 6x39w??

 

[panmanmatt]

No problem, Gabe. I'm not sure if you can run 6 bulbs off the 660 ballast, but I would run 2 ballasts. 2 ballasts would allow you to run your actinics seperately from your daylight bulbs. 1 ballast will fire all the bulbs at one time.

 

[pmac90]

I think only 4 39 watters... but be aware, they won't be pushing 39 watts! Will probably be in the 50-55 range. grab a second cheapy ballast and run 2 more lamps if you want the extra wattage.

 

[pmac90]

oh, lamps might need to be cooled on the 660... at least if you want them to last longer.

 

[kabal2]

hey pete thats a good idea, that way i can have sunset, sunrise on my tank, hmmmm thank you for the idea guys

 

[Phyl]

Lamps need to be cooled on the 430 too. At least that's what IceCap told me.

 

[kabal2]

cool, so when i design the canopy, i will put at least 4 fans in front of the lights to push cold air in, do you think that will be enough?

Gabe

 

[Brian]

I think that icecap recommends running the fans the length of the bulb. In a perfect world, I believe they want one fan for each bulb? I may be mistaken though.

I'm running 2 54 watters off of an IceCap 430 and will be adding atleast another 2 on my 90g. I still haven't installed fans and it shows, the ends of the bulbs are looking nice and crispy.

 

[Phyl]

We burned through T5s FAST not fanning them. Yes, one fan per bulb running the length was the recommendation I got as well.

 

[kabal2]

hmm, how big of a fan you guys think i will need??. like 6 3" or 5"

Gabe

 

[Brian]

I would *think* you should be ok with 3" fans

 

[Carlo]

I'm curious, when you guys calculate your lighting "watts" are you counting everything or just the bulbs themselves?

I've been trying to determine the efficiency of several different types of "fixtures" as well as the PAR given off by the lights. I'm trying to determine the PAR given per wattage of electrical usage needed to power the lights.

How many watts or amps do the 3" fans you guys typically install consume if you don't mind me asking?

Carlo

 

[kabal2]

Carlo the fans i was looking at they are 3" and use something between 4 and 5 watts

Gabe