Enough lighting?
- Thread starter leon1972
- Start date
little_fish
Moderator
not much, t12 bulbs dont put out the correct wavelength for coral growth
kevdogg
Reefing newb
T8 versus T5 Fluorescent: A Brief Analysis
1. What do the alpha numeric codes T5 and T8 actually mean?
Much has been made of the differences between T5 technology and T8 technology. I think it is wise to begin by discussing what T5 and T8 actually indicate. The letter ‘T’ in the lighting industry stands for “tubular.” This makes sense when one considers that fluorescent tubes are in fact tubular. The number directly following the letter “T” indicates the thickness or diameter of that particular tube in eighths of an inch.
T12 = twelve eighths of an inch in diameter or one and one-half inches thick
T8 = eight eighths of an inch in diameter or one inch thick
T5 = five eighths of an inch in diameter or five eighths of an inch thick
2. What have these alpha numeric codes come to mean?
As interest in energy saving technologies has grown and become popularized, these codes have come to designate levels of energy efficiency, instead of merely indicating lamp tube diameter.
Assumptions of Efficiency:
T12 = old and inefficient
T8 = higher efficiency
T5 = highest efficiency
Although, these assumptions are generally true, it is important to look at the application and determine the cost benefit of T5 over T8 in order to determine if the increased efficiency of T5 justifies the substantial increase in initial and long term maintenance costs.
Ive heard that T3 bulbs are soon to come (at least for standard bulbs), which will be the new thing replacing the T5.
Hope this helps!
1. What do the alpha numeric codes T5 and T8 actually mean?
Much has been made of the differences between T5 technology and T8 technology. I think it is wise to begin by discussing what T5 and T8 actually indicate. The letter ‘T’ in the lighting industry stands for “tubular.” This makes sense when one considers that fluorescent tubes are in fact tubular. The number directly following the letter “T” indicates the thickness or diameter of that particular tube in eighths of an inch.
T12 = twelve eighths of an inch in diameter or one and one-half inches thick
T8 = eight eighths of an inch in diameter or one inch thick
T5 = five eighths of an inch in diameter or five eighths of an inch thick
2. What have these alpha numeric codes come to mean?
As interest in energy saving technologies has grown and become popularized, these codes have come to designate levels of energy efficiency, instead of merely indicating lamp tube diameter.
Assumptions of Efficiency:
T12 = old and inefficient
T8 = higher efficiency
T5 = highest efficiency
Although, these assumptions are generally true, it is important to look at the application and determine the cost benefit of T5 over T8 in order to determine if the increased efficiency of T5 justifies the substantial increase in initial and long term maintenance costs.
Ive heard that T3 bulbs are soon to come (at least for standard bulbs), which will be the new thing replacing the T5.
Hope this helps!
Bifferwine
I am a girl
You can use that light to keep corals if you select the correct bulbs. You will be limited to low and medium light corals, and you will need to upgrade lighting in the future if you want to keep more demanding animals.
Northstar24
The Tang Herder
So i have to ask, have you done any kind of research on lighting? It is hands down the single most important decision regarding a saltwater system where corals and other photosynthetic life will be kept
Lighting will also be your largest investment in the hobby. I spent more on lighting than my 6 foot drilled tank
I've given you my equipment recommendations in some of your other threads only to have you mock them, so I'm not going down that road again.... but a cursory Google search would have told you that T8 and T12 fixtures really aren't a viable option for anyone wanting to keep coral
There are plenty of places in this hobby to cut corners, but lighting is definitely not one of them
Here is some info to get you started (and no, its not all the answers)
A Quick and Dirty introduction to Reef Lighting
Disclaimer: I am merely trying to put everything I learned researching the different types of reef lighting in an attempt to cut down on the ‘How much lighting to I need’ and ‘Can I use these cheap Chinese LED’s for my SPS reef tank’ threads
First, why do we need such an expensive light fixture over our reef tanks? The answer lies here:
http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/li...rtance-Of-The-Par-Pur-Of-Your-Reef-Lights.htm
Basically, corals are like plants, they get their energy from light. In order for this to happen, the light needs to be in the right ‘color’ or specturm. Not only does it need to reside in the right spectrum, but whatever is providing it must penetrate through the water in our tank to get to our corals (it is harder for light to penetrate water then say air)
Types of Lighting:
There are currently three main types of lighting for a reef tank. Metal Halide, T5 Fluorescent, and LED
Metal Halide
These are used primarily by old school hobbyists or those with very large or very deep tanks, as you get more coverage both from a spatial standpoint and a depth penetration stand point. Metal Halide lighting has been used for quite a while in this hobby, and there are a plethora of fixtures and bulbs available. Bulb colors range from 5K (very yellow/white) all the way up to 20K + (very blue).
It should be noted that there are two main drawbacks to this type of lighting:
Bulb replacement/cost: At least once a year these bulbs must be replaced, and depending on the brand of bulb you use, you are looking at anywhere from $50-$100 per bulb
Energy Consumption - Metal Halides will use far more energy both T5’s and LED’s
T5 Fluorescent Lighting
T5 Fluorescent lighting uses bulbs very similar to the ones you see in offfices and workshops. Please note: the bulbs and fixtures used in offices and workshops WILL NOT WORK for our tanks.
T5 lighting can be used on its own, or in conjunction with metal halide lighting. In fact, there are many commercially available lighting fixtures that use both metal halide bulbs and T5 bulbs
T5 bulbs work basically the same way as metal halide as far as spectrum goes. There are various ‘Daylight’ bulbs that are white, and various ‘actinic’ bulbs that are blue. It is the actinic bulbs or the bluer color that causes the colors in coral to ‘pop’. There are also some purple bulbs that are used to increase coral coloration
T5 bulbs need to be replaced every 6-9 months once they have reached the point of ‘phase shift’ where the light put out shifts into the red spectrum. This shift will encourage the growth of nuisance algae.
T5 lighting is more efficient than Metal halide lighting energy wise, but less efficient than LED. A rough approximation of watts needed is 3-5, and a quality fixture will have an individual reflector for each bulb in the fixture
There are also T8 and T12 fixtures that were used in the past. Generally speaking, these fixtures are not capable of supporting corals long term, and are best left to the history books. Bulb choices will be limited, and the fixtures themselves will use quite a bit of power
LED Lighting
LED lighting is the ‘new frontier’ of reef lighting, and it will be the lighting choice of the future once the cost of the fixtures come down. LED fixtures obviously use LED’s to generate light.
There are two main led fixture types, those that use 1 Watt LED’s and those that use 3 Watt LED’s. Fixtures using 1 Watt LED’s are primarily used in smaller, shallower tanks (we’ll say less than 20 inches for the sake of this beginner primer). In any tank deeper than 18 inches, I would only consider fixtures that run 3 Watt LED’s
Again, much like metal halides and T5’s the LED fixtures will have a combination of white and blue LED’s - some of the higher end fixtures have also started incorporating other colors such as violet, green, cyan, red, and orange.
If you are electrically inclined, there are may sites that offer do it yourself kits that will allow you to create a fixture of your own that is cheaper than buying a commercially available fixture
As far as the magic wattage question goes, there is no simple answer, it really depends on ones setup for LED’s. When I started my tank up, I had a combination Metal Halide / T5 fixture that was rated at 1000 watts. I replaced that with 225 watts of 3 Watt LED’s and I cannot run them more than 50% - so I basically replaced 1000 Watts halides and T5’s with ~112 watts of LED. There are also no bulbs to replace, most commercially available LED’s are rated at 50,000 hours of life
Hopefully, this primer has served to answer some of the basic questions about reef lighting. Spend some time over at Advanced Aquarist and read up on lighting, it is probably the most important part of this hobby. Your lighting fixture will also probably be the largest investment in your hobby. I have spend more on lighting than I did for my 6 foot long 180 gallon reef tank. Research, Research, and Research again before making your purchase
Lighting will also be your largest investment in the hobby. I spent more on lighting than my 6 foot drilled tank
I've given you my equipment recommendations in some of your other threads only to have you mock them, so I'm not going down that road again.... but a cursory Google search would have told you that T8 and T12 fixtures really aren't a viable option for anyone wanting to keep coral
There are plenty of places in this hobby to cut corners, but lighting is definitely not one of them
Here is some info to get you started (and no, its not all the answers)
A Quick and Dirty introduction to Reef Lighting
Disclaimer: I am merely trying to put everything I learned researching the different types of reef lighting in an attempt to cut down on the ‘How much lighting to I need’ and ‘Can I use these cheap Chinese LED’s for my SPS reef tank’ threads
First, why do we need such an expensive light fixture over our reef tanks? The answer lies here:
http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/li...rtance-Of-The-Par-Pur-Of-Your-Reef-Lights.htm
Basically, corals are like plants, they get their energy from light. In order for this to happen, the light needs to be in the right ‘color’ or specturm. Not only does it need to reside in the right spectrum, but whatever is providing it must penetrate through the water in our tank to get to our corals (it is harder for light to penetrate water then say air)
Types of Lighting:
There are currently three main types of lighting for a reef tank. Metal Halide, T5 Fluorescent, and LED
Metal Halide
These are used primarily by old school hobbyists or those with very large or very deep tanks, as you get more coverage both from a spatial standpoint and a depth penetration stand point. Metal Halide lighting has been used for quite a while in this hobby, and there are a plethora of fixtures and bulbs available. Bulb colors range from 5K (very yellow/white) all the way up to 20K + (very blue).
It should be noted that there are two main drawbacks to this type of lighting:
Bulb replacement/cost: At least once a year these bulbs must be replaced, and depending on the brand of bulb you use, you are looking at anywhere from $50-$100 per bulb
Energy Consumption - Metal Halides will use far more energy both T5’s and LED’s
T5 Fluorescent Lighting
T5 Fluorescent lighting uses bulbs very similar to the ones you see in offfices and workshops. Please note: the bulbs and fixtures used in offices and workshops WILL NOT WORK for our tanks.
T5 lighting can be used on its own, or in conjunction with metal halide lighting. In fact, there are many commercially available lighting fixtures that use both metal halide bulbs and T5 bulbs
T5 bulbs work basically the same way as metal halide as far as spectrum goes. There are various ‘Daylight’ bulbs that are white, and various ‘actinic’ bulbs that are blue. It is the actinic bulbs or the bluer color that causes the colors in coral to ‘pop’. There are also some purple bulbs that are used to increase coral coloration
T5 bulbs need to be replaced every 6-9 months once they have reached the point of ‘phase shift’ where the light put out shifts into the red spectrum. This shift will encourage the growth of nuisance algae.
T5 lighting is more efficient than Metal halide lighting energy wise, but less efficient than LED. A rough approximation of watts needed is 3-5, and a quality fixture will have an individual reflector for each bulb in the fixture
There are also T8 and T12 fixtures that were used in the past. Generally speaking, these fixtures are not capable of supporting corals long term, and are best left to the history books. Bulb choices will be limited, and the fixtures themselves will use quite a bit of power
LED Lighting
LED lighting is the ‘new frontier’ of reef lighting, and it will be the lighting choice of the future once the cost of the fixtures come down. LED fixtures obviously use LED’s to generate light.
There are two main led fixture types, those that use 1 Watt LED’s and those that use 3 Watt LED’s. Fixtures using 1 Watt LED’s are primarily used in smaller, shallower tanks (we’ll say less than 20 inches for the sake of this beginner primer). In any tank deeper than 18 inches, I would only consider fixtures that run 3 Watt LED’s
Again, much like metal halides and T5’s the LED fixtures will have a combination of white and blue LED’s - some of the higher end fixtures have also started incorporating other colors such as violet, green, cyan, red, and orange.
If you are electrically inclined, there are may sites that offer do it yourself kits that will allow you to create a fixture of your own that is cheaper than buying a commercially available fixture
As far as the magic wattage question goes, there is no simple answer, it really depends on ones setup for LED’s. When I started my tank up, I had a combination Metal Halide / T5 fixture that was rated at 1000 watts. I replaced that with 225 watts of 3 Watt LED’s and I cannot run them more than 50% - so I basically replaced 1000 Watts halides and T5’s with ~112 watts of LED. There are also no bulbs to replace, most commercially available LED’s are rated at 50,000 hours of life
Hopefully, this primer has served to answer some of the basic questions about reef lighting. Spend some time over at Advanced Aquarist and read up on lighting, it is probably the most important part of this hobby. Your lighting fixture will also probably be the largest investment in your hobby. I have spend more on lighting than I did for my 6 foot long 180 gallon reef tank. Research, Research, and Research again before making your purchase
Northstar24
The Tang Herder
What are the dimensions of your 75, is it standard footprint?
If it is, something like this will let you keep anything in the hobby
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3733+13822+18700&pcatid=18700
If it is, something like this will let you keep anything in the hobby
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3733+13822+18700&pcatid=18700
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