d.french
Reef enthusiast
well one tank has nova pro with 12 39 watt bulbs and other tank has 5 54watt bulbs and all together 394.00 for all geisemann bulbs.
replacing t5's can be costly
- Thread starter d.french
- Start date
d.french
Reef enthusiast
should of got a retro kit with 80watt bulbs instead of having 12 39watt bulbs, only bad about 72" fixtures cause 36" bulbs arent much cheaper than 48" or 60" bulbs.
yote
In Memoriam
Yeah,its expensive to replace all the bulbs at once.When I replaced my T-5 bulbs,it was 8 54 watters.If I remember right,it was close to 400 bucks for all 8.
d.french
Reef enthusiast
i was gonna do one tank at a time but one tank is past due for new bulbs(18 months) and the nova extreme pro has stock bulbs in it for one year now and i don't like current usa brand bulbs.
d.french
Reef enthusiast
what light did you use on your 125 yote from what i've seen in your pics your tank is looking great. I'm afraid to do sps cause few people i know that have them have had amazing growth to the point they all end up struggling to keep calcium and everything in check and than all the sudden they lose most of sps.
yote
In Memoriam
http://www.championlighting.com/product.php?productid=80159&cat=721&page=1
This is the fixture I'm running now D.
I did get awesome growth with T-5s.And I had a hard time keeping up with the calcium and alkalinity,but it wasnt that bad.I just had to make sure they got dosed every evening.
This is the fixture I'm running now D.
I did get awesome growth with T-5s.And I had a hard time keeping up with the calcium and alkalinity,but it wasnt that bad.I just had to make sure they got dosed every evening.
ndepratt
Equipment Junkie
I just priced a T5 retrofit kit for a 72" tank.... it was insane.... but there's no way around having to do tons of 36" bulbs because retailers would charge you an arm and a leg for 72" bulbs because of shipping and breaking....
lightcs4
Loving to learn
It is a major expense, regardless of what light you have. I have a MH light and it isn't bad to replace the bulbs but is more expensive to run.
BigH55
I'm that guy
You should put away $40 a month and save all year. Don't you hate when people say stuff like that.
ndepratt
Equipment Junkie
I just quoted a T5 setup for a 6' tank, using six 60" bulbs staggered using individual reflectors and an IceCap 660 ballast. The price on all 6 giesemann bulbs would $175. Pretty sweet, the setup is putting down 660W of T5 in the center, and 330 on the outside 8 or so inches of tank :D
Rcpilot
Reef enthusiast
I paid $150+tax for (6) HO 24w bulbs at a local retailer last month.
I guess thats about 40-50 cents a day for bulbs if I replace them every year.
I guess thats about 40-50 cents a day for bulbs if I replace them every year.
daugherty
part time reefer
mine were 175 plus shipping for 8 bulbs from reefgeek
dcantucson
Reef pro
I've got you all beat, unfortunately. About 1 1/2 years ago I purchase a Solaris 60" for my aquarium and about 4 months ago I had a transformer go out as well as several individual lights. The light was still under warranty so I was excited about that. However when trying to contact the company I found that they had gone out of business. What! I paid around $3500 for that light. It's now sitting in the closet. I now have a new 60" Current outer orbit that does a much better job!
Rcpilot
Reef enthusiast
OUCH!! :shock:
yote
In Memoriam
Double OUCH.
Thats a tough lick right there.
Thats a tough lick right there.
lightcs4
Loving to learn
I think that would put me out of the reefing hobby ... Good to know you were able to get past it.
ndepratt
Equipment Junkie
what kind of bulbs?
Rcpilot
Reef enthusiast
These are all 24w HO T5 on my 30g tall/high display tank.
(1) X Current 460 Actinic:
http://www.current-usa.com/slimpaqt5ho.html
(1) Giesemann Pure Actinic 420:
http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5...ure_Actinic_03_T5_HO_Fluorescent_by_Giesemann
(2) UV Lighting Aquasun 10K:
http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/Replacement_Bulbs/T5_Fluorescent/UV_Lighting_(UVL)/24W_10000K_AquaSun_T5_HO_Fluorescent_by_UV_Lighting
(1) UV Lighting Super Actinic 420:
http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/Replacement_Bulbs/T5_Fluorescent/UV_Lighting_(UVL)/24W_Super_Actinic_T5_HO_Fluorescent_by_UV_Lighting
(1) UV Lighting Actinic White 12K:
http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/Replacement_Bulbs/T5_Fluorescent/UV_Lighting_(UVL)/24W_12000K_Actinic_White_(50!50)_T5_HO_Fluorescent_by_UV_Lighting
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d.french
Reef enthusiast
i stick with geisemann or ATI just because we have one those meters for taking measurements of lights in our club and even seen it in rc t5 thread that ATI and geisemann got higher readings than current and uvl, but i also like kz fiji purple bulb also.
Rcpilot
Reef enthusiast
I bought the only lights available at the LFS at the time I needed them. These were the ONLY 24W HO T5 bulbs in town. I would have preferred all Giesemann but they only had the one bulb in stock. As it were, took me an hour of rummaging through their back room to come up with the bulbs I got.
Pretty pathetic when you consider how big Denver is and how many people here are into reefing........... and I had to scratch and claw to get (6) T5 bulbs that would work on my tank.
I'm happy with the color. I used to only have (3) 10K and (3) Actinic 420.
With (2) 420, (1) 460, (1) 12k and (2) 10K my tank has turned a shade more blue. It's nothing drastic, but I can see the color change compared to the old bulbs.
Pretty pathetic when you consider how big Denver is and how many people here are into reefing........... and I had to scratch and claw to get (6) T5 bulbs that would work on my tank.
I'm happy with the color. I used to only have (3) 10K and (3) Actinic 420.
With (2) 420, (1) 460, (1) 12k and (2) 10K my tank has turned a shade more blue. It's nothing drastic, but I can see the color change compared to the old bulbs.
