T5 TRU Actinic Suplimentation at only 48w??

[SnowManSnow]

I'm almost done with the 3 sided hood to go around my pendant that I've been working on. I'm considering attaching 2 24w T5 Actinics on both sides to help with coloration in my tank (can't seem to find a good 20K 400w DE bulb out there). Would these T5s give off enough light at only 48 w to make a noticable difference even with my 400w pendant on? They would be on both sides of my cube around the top of the hood at 10inches over the water surface.

ALSO at this height would I have to encase them in anything to keep them dry???? My tank is open top.

Here is the link to the retro that I was considering.

Thanks for your opinions and comments.

http://www.hellolights.com/24t5horekit.html

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[stubbsz]

I've been thinking the same thing. I've got a couple of corals from a local reefer and the colours of the greens and blues seems muted compared to his tank. He has T5 and I have 2 14K 250 Watt Phoenix bulbs.

I'd love some feedback on this too.

 

[SnowManSnow]

I like the T5 because they require so little room compared to VHO or NO. Its really an important issue for those of us with limited room.

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[SnowManSnow]

NE1 with T5 experiance that can chime in ??????

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[bleedingthought]

(can't seem to find a good 20K 400w DE bulb out there)

A little off topic, but what ballast and bulb combination are you running on 14,000K? You might not be losing that much PAR going from the 14 to the 20. I would consider it worth it for the asthetics you're gaining. Check it out from Sanjay here: http://www.reeflightinginfo.arvixe.com/ ... ortemp.php . I would jump to a 20,000K bulb and use a good reflector (like a mini lumearc or maybe a PFO).

HTH

 

[Anonymous]

Whose T5 bulbs were you thinking of using Snow?

 

[SnowManSnow]

they are called TRU actinic T5s from www.hellolights.com The link is in on of teh previous posts.

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[SnowManSnow]

oh.. and the pendant and ballast are hamilton reefstar. not a pieced togeather deal... the pendant and ballast are both made for each other and run as they should.

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[bleedingthought]

oh.. and the pendant and ballast are hamilton reefstar. not a pieced togeather deal... the pendant and ballast are both made for each other and run as they should.

b

Yeah, you could look into a higher kelvin bulb.

 

[SnowManSnow]

next X up is 20K. and there aren't any reliable 20K 400w DE bulbs out there. I think the key is the DE part. There are a lot of mogul types , but no DEs. Everyone I speak to says that the color fades quickly, and the par is sparatic with the 20ks.

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