Anyone tried lighting with t-5's?

[RamPuppy]

has anyone tried lighting their terrariums with T-5's? The come in color spectrums ranging from 6500K to 20K (and beyond but I expect your probably out of the useful wavelengths after you pass 10K)

T-5's are more powerful than VHO's and Power Compacts, on the order of delivering about 300% more PAR, they are energy efficient, and the bulbs have a useable SPECTRUM life of 2 YEARS!

These are the hot new bulbs in reefkeeping, replacing in many cases the venerated metal halides, they have that much punch.

Plants are pretty easy (for the most part) to grow under NO flourescents, but I wonder if there is a cost savings in only having half the bulbs, and only having to replace them every couple years.

And please don't get confused, I am not talking about a 2 year bulb life here, I am talking USEFUL spectrum, reefkeepers are even more concerned about spectral shift than CP growers, a shift lower than around 8K (6.5K being the color temp of the sun) causes horrendous algae problems in a delicately balanced reef tank that can take a year to clear up, so we tend to investigate these things with a very critical eye.)

So, anyone tried them on their plants?

a dual tube 24" fixture can go for about 140.00 (obviously much more expensive than a NO from home depot) and bulbs range between 15 and 25 dollars.

 

[D muscipula]

Hi RamPuppy.  It's nice to see some promotion of better fluorescent technologies.  I have been using T8s for two years now, which are an improvement over the typical T12s in every way, but not quite as good as T5s.  Their big redeeming advantage right now is their cost (being the same as decent T12 lamps and fixtures).  I considered T5s, but they are still out of my range.  I do drool on the aquarium hobbyist catalogs i get quarterly, though: right there on the page with the 48", four tube T5 fixtures with specular parabolic reflectors.  A thing of beauty!  The Germans seem to be manufacturing and using them a lot more than people here in the states, so maybe one of the European forum members will chime in.

Incidentally, power compact fluorescents (as i'm sure you know, but others may not) are simply T5s bent into awkward shapes so they have a single endpoint.  It's too bad they've caught on so much, because that's really parasitizing the market for the superior T5s themselves.  Hopefully critical mass will be reached soon and we can buy T5s at HD (dreaming).  I've noticed the aquarium hoods coming out of the realm of the fanciful into something reasonable, so we're getting there.

I do have two 55W PCs on my freshwater planted aquarium, which i bought because they were cheaper than T5s at the time, but i have regretted that decision since then (wishing i had T5s).  They do work well, though.

 

[kirkwmartin]

Hi Guys,

Just picked up a fluorex 65 watt outdoor fixture at home depot for $18.00 and wired a cord on. Question? The bulb is a 6500k what is the ideal wavelength for terrestrial photosynthesis? Can I expect decent growth from a 6500k bulb? The fixture seems to have decent intensity but wish I could find some parabolic reflectors to put inside.

Thanks,
Kirk
Fitchburg, Mass.

 

[D muscipula]

Hi Kirk!

The plants aren't so particular to color temperature, in fact the way that fluorescents work it really just comes out to be relative ratios of a few relatively narrow peaks to give an overall balance that is of a desired color temperature.  5000k is the color temperature at sea level at the equator, while it gets higher with increasing latitude.  6500K is definitely within the realm of terrestrial.

And actually, most people using fluorescents are erring on the other side of the ideal, since most fluoreescent tubes are lower than 5000K (for example, cool and warm whites).  The best setup would be to mix and match, since that will increase the spectrum distribution that the plants get.

I think Dave uses the fluorex for his highland terrarium, and it works well for him.

 

[RamPuppy]

well, for my terrarium I am soon to tear down (hopefully) I am using a mixture of cool white, warm, sun, and plant bulbs, I have no idea what is color temp is being generated overall, but the plants seem to like it.

T-5's I think are really coming down quite a bit, I am planning on buying some fixtures soon, 24" double tubes with parabolic reflectors.

I am not willing to put money on it, but I think there is a difference between T-5's and power compacts, From what I have read, there is simply to much of a PAR increase for it to just be the straight bulbs and awesome reflectors.. I could be, and have been wrong many times before though.

 

[JanW]

Hi, T5 rocks!

Since some days I have a new terrarium which gets no natural light. I bought a lighting system from Dupla, one of the specialists in aquarium lighting systems. Their webpage has an english section, too: http://www.dupla.com/

The system I bought has 4 bulbs with 24W each, its 60 cm long and over a 60 cm x 30 cm terrarium. I think the light is brighter than needed for any cp (even heliamphora).

Jan

 

[D muscipula]

See, here come our European brothers to make us green with envy.  Dupla.  Wow.  That must have cost a pretty penny... er.. Deutschmark.

I agree RamPuppy, the PCs just don't quite measure up.  Part of it depends on how overdriven the lamps are, and how good the phosphors are.  The bends in the PCs (power compacts) also dictate they can never be as bright, because some percentage of the light (a high percentage in the case of coiled ones like the infamous Fluorex) is guaranteed to "restrike" the bulb.  In the case of the single bent CFs like on my aquarium, i would estimate that 5-10% of the light (that which comes from the area facing the opposing tube) is lost to heat as it is absorbed as it strikes the other tube.  It explains to some extent why Fluorexes run so hot (mine burnt the plastic bulb support!):  it's probably reabsorbing 10W or so of energy due to restrike. A good reflector can reduce restrike (and almost eliminate it with linear T5s, even more so than T8s because they're closer to a line source) but no reflector can stop restrike within a folded bulb.

I've examined a lot of product data, and the strange thing is that a lot of T5s aren't more efficient (lumens/Watt) than good T8s.  That's because most T5s that are sold right now are specialty High Output lamps (55W ~4' ones, for example), which operate somewhat less efficiently than normal output lamps.  Of course, for someone looking to put the most light possible over a small terrarium, they're MUCH better than HO T12s, and possibly superior (speaking purely efficiency-wise) to smaller MHs.  But for optimizing lumens (or PAR)/Watt, you have to get the normal output kind, which are very rare here.

That remind me.  The other big selling point for me is that the nominally 4' kind of T5 is actually somewhat shorter (T5s are specified in metric lengths) so that it fits within 4', which is awesome when using metro shelving for grow shelves or making a hood for a terrarium.  That way it fits inside the frame of the shelf above.

 

[JanW]

Quote[/b] (D muscipula @ Jan. 28 2005,11:36)]That must have cost a pretty penny... er.. Deutschmark.

We left the DM in 2001, since 1 January 2002 we pay everything in EURO.

Jan

 

[D muscipula]

I know.  Such a shame, taking all of the confusion out of European touring.

 

Are T5s there used in industrial and commercial lighting, or are they mostly used in aquarium setups?

 

[seedjar]

I'd love to get some T-5s or T-8s for my setup... Presently I have 4' T-12s on a metro rack; it would be great to get a "4' fixture" that actually fits within 4'. What's the price difference between T-5s and T-8s? When I looked into buying lights earlier this season, everything but the T-12s were going for far more than I can (or want to) pay...
Thanks
~Joe

 

[superimposedhope]

T5s are the shiznit (

)

They are worth the $$$ if you are interested in quality lighting but can be very costly. I don't have any but have seen many a setup using them. LEDs are making the market as well with very narrow wavelengths for very specific applications. I suspect they would be extremely usefull in marine setup. Since you could come up with a perfect spectrum for your reef and algaes as well as cutting out the useless wavelengths which waste watts. Watts = $$$

Joe

 

[D muscipula]

Are there actually UV spectrum LEDs? It's not impossible, but doesn't seem very likely. UV is what a lot of reef tanks need, isn't it?

 

[Flip_Side_the_Pint]

t5's are cool, I set up a friends reef tank using them. what makes them so great is thier compactness, even more so then the so ironicly names power compacts.

Quote[/b] ]These are the hot new bulbs in reefkeeping, replacing in many cases the venerated metal halides, they have that much punch.

I wouldn't go as far as saying replacing MH's. Maybe for plants but not for reefs. I'd like to see ones results trying to grow tridacnids and SPS with t5s, ain't going to happen. And lets not talk about montis and deresas, squamosas, I'm talking about the real tridacnids and SPS's, LOL

but overall they are impressive for small terrarium applications but you still can't beat point source lighting when it comes to illuminating large spaces....

 

[RamPuppy]

I will definately go so far to say "replacing metal halides" IN SOME APPLICATIONS in the reef.

Case in point, the following link is PICTURE INTENSIVE so dial up beware. This tank is completely lit with T-5's. While they don't have the ability to punch through to the depth of a halide, in shallow tanks, they are becoming widely accepted economical replacements.

Note, LPS, SPS, and T. Maxima's (deeper you go in the thread, the more pics you will see.)

Reef Central thread, Tanks lit with ONLY T-5's.

 

[JanW]

Quote[/b] (superimposedhope @ Jan. 30 2005,4:34)]T5s are the shiznit (

)

They are worth the $$$ if you are interested in quality lighting but can be very costly. I don't have any but have seen many a setup using them. LEDs are making the market as well with very narrow wavelengths for very specific applications. I suspect they would be extremely usefull in marine setup. Since you could come up with a perfect spectrum for your reef and algaes as well as cutting out the useless wavelengths which waste watts. Watts = $$$

Joe

If you think about your electricity bill and think about buying a new fluorescent lighting system you should buy the new technology. It has a much higher effiency than the old T8 or even more than T12. It will be 2 years and every company will put T5 in new built buildings.

In Germany many aquarium fans think about T5 or MH, it depends on your needs. You get many light colours for both technologies.

Cheers,
Jan

 

[SarraceniaScott]

I just set up a lighting shelf with 40 watt T-12 lamps (GE Residential 40) with a color temp of 4100K, and 3150 lumen output.

Should these be sufficient for my plants?

 

[SarraceniaScott]

Quote[/b] (D muscipula @ Jan. 31 2005,2:41)]Are there actually UV spectrum LEDs?  It's not impossible, but doesn't seem very likely.  UV is what a lot of reef tanks need, isn't it?

Yes, in fact, there ARE near-UV spectrum LEDs, with 395 nm output.

 

[Tony Paroubek]

Nothing wrong with the old 2tube t12 shoplights. They are not very bright though and most CPs need lots of bright light. So you need to have them a few inches above the plants and for a standard depth shelf at least 2 -2tube fixtures.

Tony

 

[The Griffin]

You can also use reflective stuff, like Mylar or even aluminum foil to help out.
The aquarium buffs probably don't do this(picturing blind fish tapping around the tanks with canes...) .

Cheers,

Joe

 

[superimposedhope]

I don't know about emitting actual UV (A,B,or C) but I do know that there are setups popping up in intensive hobbyist collections for very specific applications. You're talking about 500-1000 lights pushing 5-10 lumens each of very efficient PAR light. For example Marijuana growers are beginning to use them (a few here and there) BUT if an annual can be grown indoor with them then anything can with a tailored spectrum. Annuals require extreme amounts of light to grow healthy (direct sun usually). I beleive trials are still being done, but so far it looking like a possible equivalent to 1000wtt MH at only 300wtts or so.

Joe