Need help with lighting..T-5's

[acerhigh]

Acer thank you for all the help. You are the one of the only ones that has tried to help and i really appericate it. Thank you dustin and daug also. I asked where could i get the power cord for the icecap 660 ballast on the ice cap forum but havent got an answer yet, probally will try to call icecap on monday.

THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL THE HELP..

is it just the power cord, or is the wiring harness? there is a harness that plugs into the 660 ballast.... then I'm not sure if a power cord comes with that...... it seems to me I just wired a standard 3 wire grounded cord to the harness.... if it is missing a harness..... reefgeek probably sells the harness..... if not www.diyreef.com does....

glad I could help

 

[budbreak96]

Yea its missing everything. Its just the ballast and a heatsink. Ill try to find a wiring harness for it Mon or Tues. and go from there. Thanks

 

[daugherty]

good luck hope you can find what you need

 

[budbreak96]

Got the ballast today and it came with the wiring harness. I need endcaps, reflectors, and bulbs.
What bulbs brand and style should i get for best growth and pop?

 

[dustin_P74]

for a 4 bulb id say 2 ATI aquablue special and 2 ATI blue plus

 

[reeffreak]

Having just 4 bulbs may not give you the ''pop'' you are looking for,definitely not alot of choices.One UV aquasun,one ATI aquablue special and 2 ATI blue plus is what I would recommend.

 

[acerhigh]

I'm running 2 ATI blue plus and 2 ATI aqua blue....... the color is good..... my last tank I ran 250W 14K phoenix with 2 superactinic VHO's..... the color from everything with the T-5's is Very comparable to the phoenix bulb.... I like it alot!

 

[budbreak96]

acer, you are running 4 bulbs also? I take it they are overdriven on a 660 ballast. What size tank are they on? Can you keep anything you want? Also i have 2 48" vho's that i could use with a seperate uv lighting ballast. I was thinking about using them for the sunrise sunset affect, since all 4 t 5's will come on at the same time. What do you think? If you think i should add the vho's what bulbs should i use?
Thanks,

 

[acerhigh]

acer, you are running 4 bulbs also? I take it they are overdriven on a 660 ballast. What size tank are they on? Can you keep anything you want? Also i have 2 48" vho's that i could use with a seperate uv lighting ballast. I was thinking about using them for the sunrise sunset affect, since all 4 t 5's will come on at the same time. What do you think? If you think i should add the vho's what bulbs should i use?
Thanks,

if you want the dawn/dusk effect then yeah, hook up the vho's.... I'd use a couple super actinics if I was to do that......

yes I run the 4 bulbs OD by an icecap 660..... I run a mixed reef in a 120 gallon tank. All of my sps are growing and colors look great.... I might think twice before adding a maxima clam.... but I'd think a crocea would probably do well... If at some point you plan on doing sps, I would put them higher in the tank though...

 

[budbreak96]

So all you have is 4 overdriven t 5's on a 120? If so i should be fine with 4 on a 75.

 

[acerhigh]

yep, I think you'll be just dandy! I run moonlights too, but they don't offer any real benefit to a reef tank.... purely asthetics......

 

[dustin_P74]

moonlights have actually been known to cause acropora's to spawn but those reports are few and far between and usually detrimental to water quality

 

[acerhigh]

moonlights have actually been known to cause acropora's to spawn but those reports are few and far between and usually detrimental to water quality

I stand corrected..... I do remember reading that.... however I think it's still rare enough that my original statement is generally true

 

[dustin_P74]

your correct, but i also think that if it does happen it piss me off more then make me jump for joy that i had something rare happen in my tank

 

[budbreak96]

Why would is piss you off more than make you happy?

 

[dustin_P74]

because corals spawning is usually very very bad on the quality of the water

 

[budbreak96]

OH. Well i think i got the whole light thing figured out. Somewhat. Just wanted to thank everyone for the help and when i get bulbs, endcaps, reflectors ill take some pictures. THANKS again.

 

[BigH55]

Ive heard of using bathroom vent fans to draw out the heat. And they are cheap.