LED to t5 on 24”x24” tank

[reef’r]

Thinking about taking off my xr15 and going with a t5 setup on my tank. I’m actually in the opposite end of the spectrum of most, as with all the controllability of my xr15 I find myself always wanting something different out of the light and would like to go to a more “set it and forget it” lighting setup. I’m interested in t5, tank is 24x20 because it’s an AIO and the rear section is about 4-5” deep what kind of bulb configuration should I be looking for? 4,6,8 bulb? I’m assuming a 24” fixture to cover entirety of tank? Sounds like I total newb here which I am. The radion has been fine but with the single light we all know I’m missing a lot due to shadowing and think a t5 fixture would definitely help me out with that

 

[PharmrJohn]

Tank is 24x20? Forgive me, please, but I'd like to know what the LxWxH is.......

 

[SaltyWalty]

What kind of corals are you trying to grow? I’m a big fan of t5s corals seem to love them.

 

[reef’r]

Tank is 24x20? Forgive me, please, but I'd like to know what the LxWxH is.......

Tank is 24x24x20, but since it’s an all in one the compartment in the rear takes up about 4 inches of tank depth

 

[SaltyWalty]

Sun power makes a 24” model they have 4/6/8 bulb fixtures they are pretty solid lights and the number of bulbs would really depend on the type of coral you wanted to grow. More bulbs for higher demanding corals

 

[reef’r]

What kind of corals are you trying to grow? I’m a big fan of t5s corals seem to love them.

I have all the usual suspects. Not crazy into sticks but do like sylophora,montipora, stuff like that

 

[exnisstech]

I ran an xr15 with an aquatic life 4 bulb t5 hybrid over a similar sized tank. It worked out pretty well. I used the led to get the colors to pop in the evening. Best of both worlds kind of.

 

[SaltyWalty]

I have all the usual suspects. Not crazy into sticks but do like sylophora,montipora, stuff like that

If you wanted to do just t5 I’d got with a 6 bulb. Shouldn’t leak over into your filtration chamber.

 

[reef’r]

I ran an xr15 with an aquatic life 4 bulb t5 hybrid over a similar sized tank. It worked out pretty well. I used the led to get the colors to pop in the evening. Best of both worlds kind of.

Do you happen to remember the spectrum you were using with the xr15 with this setup?

 

[reef’r]

If you wanted to do just t5 I’d got with a 6 bulb. Shouldn’t leak over into your filtration chamber.

I am leaning more towards just t5, but since I already have the xr15 maybe a hybrid setup like @exnisstech mentioned would be the route to go? T5 just sounds so easy and effective

 

[ingchr1]

I have a 40 gallon AIO, with display dimensions of 18" x 24". I think a 6 bulb will be too wide and you will get light spill. I would go with a four bulb or LED strip lights (5 max) or a combination of both.

I currently run two T5s with two LED strip lights attached to it. At one point I had a four bulb ATI with an LED strip light attached on each side, it was too wide for my tank.

 

[PharmrJohn]

Back with my old 90g, fifteen years back, (48x18x24) I ran an old Tek 8x54W 48" fixture. My tank had softies and LPS and they did great. I love T5s. And there's no reason that SPS would not do well. Especially at a 20" depth. With my upcoming 197g, I'm gonna use the old Tek fixture for the 12 to 18 months, until I run out of bulbs (I have two rounds). But then it'll have to be LEDs. T5 bulbs tend to last only 9 to 12 months at the outside. And that's where the real cost comes into play. That and the steady decline in PAR over months of use. A PAR meter would be a necessity IMO with using T5s to determine when it's time to change out the bulbs. With LEDs, there is decline to deal with, but they last SO MUCH LONGER! And when the decline actually happens, all ya really have to do is turn up the intensity (as few actually run their LEDs at full throttle).

 

[Solo McReefer]

If I switched back to T5

I would buy an inventory of tubes that would last the life of the tank, or me. Stock up

But I'm not switching back, all of my tubes and fixtures went into the landfill 8 months ago

I was sad, when I did that

 

[PharmrJohn]

If I switched back to T5

I would buy an inventory of tubes that would last the life of the tank, or me. Stock up

But I'm not switching back, all of my tubes and fixtures went into the landfill 8 months ago

I was sad, when I did that

That's pretty much what I did. I got a GREAT deal on some Giesemann bulbs (basically 50% off) and topped off with some ATI bulbs to cover what i couldnt get with the Giesemann haul. So I got the two rounds to decrease some of the upfront costs of putting this tank together. I'll end up, eventually, with 2x Photon V2 Pro 48" fixtures side by side over a 48x38x25. I think I'll NOT tell the wife about THAT outlay of cash! It'll just disappear from the account......Think that'll work, lol??!! Fine....I'll tell her.....

 

[ingchr1]

...T5 bulbs tend to last only 9 to 12 months at the outside. And that's where the real cost comes into play. That and the steady decline in PAR over months of use. A PAR meter would be a necessity IMO with using T5s to determine when it's time to change out the bulbs. With LEDs, there is decline to deal with, but they last SO MUCH LONGER! And when the decline actually happens, all ya really have to do is turn up the intensity (as few actually run their LEDs at full throttle).

This BRS video shows that T5s, in general, last longer than that. Typically 15 to 18 months. I change mine on an 18 month frequency and probably could go longer as I only run them for 5 hrs a day.

As for LEDs, I'm not sure that thier output does actually decline over time. At least that's what I recall reading in other threads on the subject. It's other components in the lights or a design issue (like heat management) that end up causing them to fail prematurely. As for the average design life of the average LED fixture in the hobby, I have no idea. But the last LED bars I had started to brown out thier lenses after a few years.

At some point in the future, I will switch my lighting over to all LED bars.

 

[SaltyWalty]

I am leaning more towards just t5, but since I already have the xr15 maybe a hybrid setup like @exnisstech mentioned would be the route to go? T5 just sounds so easy and effective

I personally use a t5 hybrid system but I have also had very happy corals with just t5s

 

[PharmrJohn]

This BRS video shows that T5s, in general, last longer than that. Typically 15 to 18 months. I change mine on an 18 month frequency and probably could go longer as I only run them for 5 hrs a day.

As for LEDs, I'm not sure that thier output does actually decline over time. At least that's what I recall reading in other threads on the subject. It's other components in the lights or a design issue (like heat management) that end up causing them to fail prematurely. As for the average design life of the average LED fixture in the hobby, I have no idea. But the last LED bars I had started to brown out thier lenses after a few years.

At some point in the future, I will switch my lighting over to all LED bars.

Yeah, I ran mine for 12 hours a day. It definitely affects the lifespan lol!

 

[exnisstech]

Do you happen to remember the spectrum you were using with the xr15 with this setup?

I ran a gen 4 xr15 but I don't remember what I had the light set to. I know I had 2 B+ and 2 C+ t5s in the fixture

 

[reef’r]

Lots of good info and that is one thing I often forget about is the maintenance required with running T5. It does seem the good out ways the bad though as most seem to agree it does wonders for coral…. I still have some deciding to do I suppose. Just feel like the xr15 isn’t as good of a light at 24x24 as I previously thought

 

[exnisstech]

Just feel like the xr15 isn’t as good of a light at 24x24 as I previously thought

I have 3 sitting on the shelf.