# The T5 Experiement



## WiseGuyPhil (Jun 15, 2011)

Well I am calling this The T5 Experiement as I want to tinker around with T5s. In order to do this and make it fun everyone... I am looking for your opinion on the following items:

1. Brand of bulb
2. Colour spec or bulb name
3. Types of corals you are growing.
4. Your success
5. Pics would be great if possible

Please post the following and as I am trying to find a combo that is both successful in colour up corals (SPS more specifically).

The Why

I have had some success on my current system with SPS corals (Digi's, Lokani's, Acros, Monti, green/red) under my AI SOLs with no loss of colour or growth. However, other SPS corals that are primarily blue, purple or yellow (with the exception of a few rainbow monti's and chalices) fade in colour. So in an attempt to restore/grow corals... this will be the experiement. One thing to note is I never had any issues keeping SPS under halides so I am confident in saying that it is a lightning issue. Additionally I will not be posting on parameters (at least for now) as all the water will be coming from my DT which currently has no issues.

Here is how the setup is going to work:

I will be setting up a 10 gal prob tank attached to my DT (thanks Duckham!) that will be running 4xT5HO 24" bulbs. The tank will have plenty of flow with a white painted bottom to encourage light to reflect. I will be fragging from my existing tank which will be a mix of everything and I will be purchasing some corals in the near future that browned out on me under the sols. My plan is to run the combination for a month or two and assess the quality, colour, and overall health of the coral.


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## explor3r (Mar 14, 2010)

Very very interesting, I will be tagging along


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## WiseGuyPhil (Jun 15, 2011)

Hey Alex! Thanks for tagging along. It was our conversation that really sparked this experiment. I know you love your AI Sols too so until they do the upgrade kit for the AI SOL we are S.O.L!!! HAHA


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## WiseGuyPhil (Jun 15, 2011)

Just remembered, how is the T5 fixture working for you so far?

What bulbs are you currently using and do you have a pic


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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

you and Alex on the same "sorry" boat with AI. Looks like I joined this club with the Razor..
Alex was lucky to get my T5 with the new ATI +KZ bulbs and I was stupid to sell it to him and go to LEDs.

LED is really nice, but not for me

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## thmh (Mar 17, 2011)

Lol that's because you guys never got full spectrum! 

PEWPEW!


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## WiseGuyPhil (Jun 15, 2011)

sig said:


> you and Alex on the same "sorry" boat with AI. Looks like I joined this club with the Razor..
> Alex was lucky to get my T5 with the new ATI +KZ bulbs and I was stupid to sell it to him and go to LEDs.
> 
> LED is really nice, but not for me


I think LEDs are all about how you adjust them.

To be honest 90/10 in favour of these AI Sols. When I look at my tank today, I am extremely happy with all my current livestock as all my corals overall are doing much better than under the halides. Number one reason is I can run them as long as I want without heating up the water so they get more light.

Having said that, it sucks not being able to put all the SPS I want into my tank. Maybe that is a good thing because it saves me money not only in electricity but in corals too HAHAHHA.



thmh said:


> Lol that's because you guys never got full spectrum!
> PEWPEW!


This is sooo true. I wish my SOLs were full spec however the minute they come out with the new power pucks for the SOLs, I will have a big smile ear to ear.

I had PAR38 full spec LEDtric bulbs which are fantastic but I would need 12 of them to do what I can do with my SOLs.


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## WiseGuyPhil (Jun 15, 2011)

I also considering trying something like this with other LEDs (Green, UV and RED).

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/3023...-sol-blue-to-use-neutral-white-leds-and-more/


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## thmh (Mar 17, 2011)

I made a DIY full spectrum bar and it works great on my ai sol, I've been testing them for a few month now over my 90g sps dominant tank and the only sps colour I have problem with is bright pink and yellow. 

Here is a picture
The bar consist of pink,red,green,cyan,true uv and violet. 
gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=42917

PEWPEW!


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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

wiseguyphil said:


> I think LEDs are all about how you adjust them.
> s.


What is the point of the adjustment if it will be OK for corals, but all my fishes are in black

LPS (hammer, elegance) in my tank really like the schedule and intensity, but I already killed one favia coral and another acro does not looks good despite I got it from LED tank.

I found one ratio of 60 White and 80 Blue, which is not bad for me, but I am not sure that I will be able to run it for at least 5 hours without killing everything in the tank and getting algae

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## WiseGuyPhil (Jun 15, 2011)

The funny thing is at peak times I run my fixture at 100% everything and have no issues.












sig said:


> What is the point of the adjustment if it will be OK for corals, but all my fishes are in black
> 
> LPS (hammer, elegance) in my tank really like the schedule and intensity, but I already killed one favia coral and another acro does not looks good despite I got it from LED tank.
> 
> I found one ratio of 60 White and 80 Blue, which is not bad for me, but I am not sure that I will be able to run it for at least 5 hours without killing everything in the tank and getting algae


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## WiseGuyPhil (Jun 15, 2011)

Well, tank is setup and running. Everything so far is fine. My only regret is I didn't no 'T' the drain as I forgot to buy it when I was at Loews today. I will pick one up tomorrow and fix it.




























Still looking for your bulb combinations so I can decide which bulbs to pick up. Right now I have 2 Actinics and 2 10K Bulbs.


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

Id say the tried and true 4-bulb combo is probably:
ATI Blue plue
ATI Aquablue special
KZ Fiji Purple
ATI Blue plus

Then again, that was the combo 3 years ago - dunno what folks are all for in the T5 game as everybody seems to be up in arms about LEDs.

I'll be following this closely too. I've thought about switching, but I think I'll try LEDs over a frag tank first. Seems like now that fixtures are going full spectrum there might be more success, but from what I have seen it seems most LED tanks have pretty good colours and growth, but they're never quite what MH or T5HO tanks have had.


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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

ameekplec. said:


> Id say the tried and true 4-bulb combo is probably:
> ATI Blue plue
> ATI Aquablue special
> KZ Fiji Purple
> ...


The best imaginable combo. favorite of many forums (until you fun of LED)

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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

I really like your tank. very nice

can you clarify pick times - how long in total you can run 100%

I am switching tomorrow to 60/80 for 5 hours for the beginning

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## rburns24 (Jan 31, 2011)

Switch out the blue special for either a KZ Coral Light(10K) or a KZ New Gen(14K). The 10K will give you way better growth and the colors will look better and the New Gen(14K) will give you decent growth and colors will look a lot better. That's been my experience so far.

Great experiment, by the way. Will be following, for sure.



ameekplec. said:


> Id say the tried and true 4-bulb combo is probably:
> ATI Blue plue
> ATI Aquablue special
> KZ Fiji Purple
> ...


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## WiseGuyPhil (Jun 15, 2011)

Thanks Greg! The pick was taken around 6:00 today at full intensity.

I run it at 100% roughly 6 hours (there is some ramp up and ramp down)

Here is my timers(all with 30 min ramp):
W B RB
T1 12:00 0 25 40
T2 12:30 5 40 45
T3 1:00 15 75 75
T4 1:30 20 85 85
T5 2:00 100 100 100
T6 9:00 20 75 75
T7 10:00 0 0 0 (Nightmode)



sig said:


> I really like your tank. very nice
> 
> can you clarify pick times - how long in total you can run 100%
> 
> I am switching tomorrow to 60/80 for 5 hours for the beginning


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## WiseGuyPhil (Jun 15, 2011)

Thanks Burns, going to have to try that. I really want to play around with all types of bulbs.



rburns24 said:


> Switch out the blue special for either a KZ Coral Light(10K) or a KZ New Gen(14K). The 10K will give you way better growth and the colors will look better and the New Gen(14K) will give you decent growth and colors will look a lot better. That's been my experience so far.
> 
> Great experiment, by the way. Will be following, for sure.


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## WiseGuyPhil (Jun 15, 2011)

Thanks Ameekplec, this will probably be my starter. I love the colour of Fiji purple.



ameekplec. said:


> Id say the tried and true 4-bulb combo is probably:
> ATI Blue plue
> ATI Aquablue special
> KZ Fiji Purple
> ...


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## explor3r (Mar 14, 2010)

You know I was very sucessfull with my 105 old reef running very low whites, the colour and growth of the sps was very good and all the corals in general.
Now with my new system is not that good for sps regarding the light so thats why I decided to mix my SOLs with T5s that I will set up once I come back..
I love my SOLs but honestly I think T5 has the best growth of them all..


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## WiseGuyPhil (Jun 15, 2011)

Thanks Alex for the reply. This is what I want to test/prove. What is the "best". I have made some frag racks for my display and will be placing 1 or 2 of each coral on the rack in both the DT and the frag tank.

So far I have various different species fragged but I will look at getting some other ZOAs, SPS and other LPS corals for the experiment.



explor3r said:


> You know I was very sucessfull with my 105 old reef running very low whites, the colour and growth of the sps was very good and all the corals in general.
> Now with my new system is not that good for spa regarding the light so thats why I decided to mix my SOLs with T5s that I will set up once I come back..
> I love my SOLs but honestly I think T5 has the best growth of them all..


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## JayPetro (Feb 8, 2012)

Ever since supplementing my Sol with 4x T5 ( new gen, coral light 10k, Fiji purple,aqua blue) I have noticed much improvement in growth of sps. I'll post pics tonight. Zoas are doing great also. And when I want to see the amazing colour from the led I just wait til the t5's turn off then ramp up the blue/royal blue and let my jaw drop.
I also have some donations that you can have Phil. You can try them in your t5 setup (sps/lps/zoa). Let me know we, can work something out.
Jay


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## WiseGuyPhil (Jun 15, 2011)

Thanks Jay! Pics would be great as I want to see how the colour looks. I may supplement with T5s after the experiement but I want to be as accurate as possible without changing anything in my DT.



JayPetro said:


> Ever since supplementing my Sol with 4x T5 ( new gen, coral light 10k, Fiji purple,aqua blue) I have noticed much improvement in growth of sps. I'll post pics tonight. Zoas are doing great also. And when I want to see the amazing colour from the led I just wait til the t5's turn off then ramp up the blue/royal blue and let my jaw drop.


Awesome! Come on by anytime  Plenty of brew in the fridge 



JayPetro said:


> I also have some donations that you can have Phil. You can try them in your t5 setup (sps/lps/zoa). Let me know we, can work something out.
> Jay


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## WiseGuyPhil (Jun 15, 2011)

Quick update. I had cut some frags a few days a go and a few last night.

Some of the frags I will be using for this test are:

Ora Green Monti
Ora Birds of Paradise birdnest
Red Birdnest
Bright Red Monti
Limey Mushrooms
Green Lokani
RPE Paly
Teal/Red Acan

More pics and corals to come.


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## TankCla (Dec 31, 2010)

In my 10G, corals are growing very good under T5HO Odyseea 4x18w (white and actinic)

- Torch , hammer, GSP, zoas, ricordea
- Garf purple bonsai, birdsnest (in one month these guys grew 1/4 from the original size)


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## JayPetro (Feb 8, 2012)

That new growth started just after adding the t5 to the led.
The other pic is just a teaser


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## Flexin5 (Nov 12, 2011)

wow that's nuts.


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## WiseGuyPhil (Jun 15, 2011)

Thanks some nice grow! May have to by some 60" T5 for the DT.



JayPetro said:


> That new growth started just after adding the t5 to the led.
> The other pic is just a teaser


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## WiseGuyPhil (Jun 15, 2011)

Its a very similar light that I am using on my prop tank. Currently it has 2 10k and 2 actinic and so far I am happy with the light. I am going to pick up my bulbs shortly (just been avoiding heading up to SUM because of the weather.)



TankCla said:


> In my 10G, corals are growing very good under T5HO Odyseea 4x18w (white and actinic)
> 
> - Torch , hammer, GSP, zoas, ricordea
> - Garf purple bonsai, birdsnest (in one month these guys grew 1/4 from the original size)


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## WiseGuyPhil (Jun 15, 2011)

Here are some pics of the frags in both the prop tank and my DT. Sorry for some of the crappy picks as the fish kept coming close to the camera.

DT Tank Rack (Lighting was peak hour):


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## WiseGuyPhil (Jun 15, 2011)

Now the Prop tank (Shot with both 10k and Actinic bulbs)


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## WiseGuyPhil (Jun 15, 2011)

Quick update. I noticed that mushrooms seem to opening up much better in the T5s so far. I have fragged some leathers last night to put in the prop tank so as soon as they attach I will take some more picks. Couple of notes:

1. Still running the 10k and Actinic as I have not had a chance to make it up to Ken's.
2. Sktles came by and noticed that the T5s seem to be creating more algae than the LEDs.

I will keep an eye on this but I think its because of the 2 10Ks Bulbs.


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## TankCla (Dec 31, 2010)

I keep my 2x10k on for just 4h. Anything above this will make algae grow like crazy. 2x actinic for 12h. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## WiseGuyPhil (Jun 15, 2011)

I completely agree with you.

Came home from a 2 day trip and wow. Lots of algae! On the other hand, none in my DT however I do have some bad news....

My sedra pump on my ASM is toast. 

I knew it was going on the fritz as the magnet was pretty warned down but I was hoping to wait till I upgrade my skimmer in the summer  So I will be off to Ken's to pick up the bulbs and the impellar.

Thought Greg might like this shot... He gave me this frag roughly a month ago and it has shown amazing growth under the LEDs.












TankCla said:


> I keep my 2x10k on for just 4h. Anything above this will make algae grow like crazy. 2x actinic for 12h.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

wiseguyphil;312941
Thought Greg might like this shot... He gave me this frag roughly a month ago and it has shown amazing growth under the LEDs.
[IMG said:


> http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s382/wiseguyphil/Frags/photo_zpsfedde4e5.jpg[/IMG]


I like the shot, but now I left without frag (my is dead in somebody's house)

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## WiseGuyPhil (Jun 15, 2011)

Come take this one back! Its such a nice piece and deserves to be in your tank.



sig said:


> I like the shot, but now I left without frag (my is dead in somebody's house)


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## WiseGuyPhil (Jun 15, 2011)

Heading to Ken's today. Time to get my bulbs and pump. I will take pics tonight after its all changed over.


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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

wiseguyphil said:


> Come take this one back! Its such a nice piece and deserves to be in your tank.


Thanks. One day when it will grow enough, you will give me a free frag 

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## WiseGuyPhil (Jun 15, 2011)

For sure or if you would like it back now, frag it for me later 

Either way I am happy!


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## explor3r (Mar 14, 2010)

Tagging along..so far what u think..t5s or Leds


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## cablemike (Jan 7, 2009)

well adding leds to my t5s led to several corals bleaching out and some died. I have killed the leds and my corals are colouring back up and extension is awsome. Colours look like crap after getting used to leds though. I may have the leds go on for a couple hours in the evening when I'm around just so I get the pop bit not long enough to bleach again. Will be like a mid day sun.


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## WiseGuyPhil (Jun 15, 2011)

I like them a lot better since adding the KZ Fiji Purple however I hate the amount of algae I am getting on this tank. Here is the latest shot. Aside from the algae... I like the growth. I can't say as of yet which is better but so far both the LEDs and the T5s are doing the job.










The SPS especially the monti's seem to be encrusting fast under the T5s but the colour is not as vibrant as the LEDs are showing.



explor3r said:


> Tagging along..so far what u think..t5s or Leds


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## WiseGuyPhil (Jun 15, 2011)

Hey Mike, long time buddy!

That sucks to hear about the LEDs. What typ/brand of chip were you using?



cablemike said:


> well adding leds to my t5s led to several corals bleaching out and some died. I have killed the leds and my corals are colouring back up and extension is awsome. Colours look like crap after getting used to leds though. I may have the leds go on for a couple hours in the evening when I'm around just so I get the pop bit not long enough to bleach again. Will be like a mid day sun.


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## WiseGuyPhil (Jun 15, 2011)

Ok, here is an update on the progress.










One pain point that really bothers me about T5s is the amount of algae in the tank. I am constantly cleaning it where as my DT I may clean every 3-5 days.

To make the cleaning easier, I have taken out the frag rack and change where the power heads are facing. Other than that, here are my observations.

*Note:* All the pictures below were shot in the frag tank and because I took them too late last night and my DT was already ramping down so I didn't want to take a pic when my tank was all blue. The right side is the coral under T5s the left is the LED.

1. The colours look much darker in the T5s. With growth being equal right now I find that the LEDs make the coral more vibrant especially on the red and green montipora.










2. T5s seem to be the solution when keeping corals that have yellow/purple/blue. If I compare the ORA Bird of Paradise coral, the coral on the right has been under the T5s. WOW!!! I know the picture doesn't do it any justice but the colours look awesome.


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## WiseGuyPhil (Jun 15, 2011)

Quick update. I discovered a recent issue with my tank; specifically my xenia colony and elegant coral. The xenia was not extending well and my elegant does have its normal extension. The reason for this as since I add the prop tank to the system I decided to increased amount of water changed during my weekly water changes to help reduce the algae build up in the prop tank. 

However, I really think this did more harm than good. I have been successful in keeping elegants for a number of years and the one in this tank has been happy for almost 1.5 years. I think the success has been because I do my water changes every week but only 5%.

So, in others if it ain't broke, don't fix it.


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## TankCla (Dec 31, 2010)

Look here a beautiful tank under T5s: 400G reef tank


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## TankCla (Dec 31, 2010)

How's the experiment going?


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## WiseGuyPhil (Jun 15, 2011)

Sorry, I guess I never really had a closing to this.

Bottom line you can't go wrong with either. I think the one flaw to this experiment was that I was comparing grow with a DT and frag tank.

I think I will do this again in the new year with a variety of different corals and in the same size tanks with the same equipment.


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