T5/SPS LIGHTING

[haanstang]

Hello all you fellow Reef junkies.
I have been in the aquarium hobby off and on for 25 years. All of those years were in the freshwater side of thing until about 2 years ago when I came to the dark side.
I am in the ordering / building stages of my 3rd reef system.
I know what you are thinking ( 3rd reef in 2 years?) but in my defense I started both of the other tanks with aquariums that I already had and went the used route on most of the equipment.
Anyway this build is a 210 gallon peninsula tank that will be plumed into a separate fishroom.
I am going SPS dominant with some euphillia and Zoa's near the bottom and opposite the overflow side.
I have been seriously contemplating ATI's T5 dimmable fixtures but with the size of my tank and the majority of the corals being SPS ( a lot of acro's) I'm not sure on these options
Tank size is 72 x 24 x 31h

-number of fixtures
Two 36"? Or one 60"

- number of bulbs
6?,8?

- wattage of fixture/fixtures?


And I do have the 2016 APEX

Thanks in advance

 

[dragon99]

Definitely go with 1 fixture. The bulbs change cost on 2 fixtures almost doubles.

I'd pick 8 bulb based on the depth of your tank and the color/bulb options it will give you. If it's in your budget, the powermodule LED/T5 hybrid is an awesome light.

 

[andrew james]

If I where to do it again I'd run a 8 bulb fixture with 2 of the bulbs being E5 blue pop and dont bother with a the t5 dimmable fixtures They put out less PAR at max, like 10-15% less.

 

[haanstang]

Definitely go with 1 fixture. The bulbs change cost on 2 fixtures almost doubles.

I'd pick 8 bulb based on the depth of your tank and the color/bulb options it will give you. If it's in your budget, the powermodule LED/T5 hybrid is an awesome light.

Yes. I would like to buy the hybrid if it works out with the cash flow. If not I was thinking of adding two 60" led strips later possibly reef brights. I'm not 100% on that because buy the time I get two reef brights the overall would probably be more.


Also I did forget to ask on my original post
What T5 bulb combs is everyone running and what opinions everyone has on bulb color combinations.

 

[haanstang]

If I where to do it again I'd run a 8 bulb fixture with 2 of the bulbs being E5 blue pop and dont bother with a the t5 dimmable fixtures They put out less PAR at max, like 10-15% less.

Thanks for the tip on the par.
If I really think I need dimming I can use the led strip to accomplish that using the Apex.

What about wattage?

 

[haanstang]

Does anyone have opinions on Giesmann vs ATI

 

[twilliard]

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/g...son-pics-par-and-a-whole-mess-of-data.200357/

 

[andrew james]

Does anyone have opinions on Giesmann vs ATI

I have a Giesemann 6 bulb Matrix 2 and love it. I've added into the fixture 2x ReefBrite XHO strips . It puts out a ton of light. 1500 PAR on the water's surface. That being said I did some comparison PAR readings when I first got it. Comparing a stock 6x39w Matrix 2 non-dimmable to a ATI Sunpower 6x39w. Running 6 ATI Blue Plus bulbs I turned them on and left them on for 1 hour both 10" inches above the water at the surface dead center of the tank the Giesemann made 1050 PAR and the ATI made 1200. I'm not sure exactly why but I suspect it's the Fan cooling in the Matrix is not very good. I still decided to keep the Matrix because it looked best.

 

[haanstang]

I have a Giesemann 6 bulb Matrix 2 and love it. I've added into the fixture 2x ReefBrite XHO strips . It puts out a ton of light. 1500 PAR on the water's surface. That being said I did some comparison PAR readings when I first got it. Comparing a stock 6x39w Matrix 2 non-dimmable to a ATI Sunpower 6x39w. Running 6 ATI Blue Plus bulbs I turned them on and left them on for 1 hour both 10" inches above the water at the surface dead center of the tank the Giesemann made 1050 PAR and the ATI made 1200. I'm not sure exactly why but I suspect it's the Fan cooling in the Matrix is not very good. I still decided to keep the Matrix because it looked best.

Thanks for the post.
I am not worried about looks per-say I'll be hanging the fixture from the ceiling but I'm going to build a wooden wrap around the light with the top of it open. And it will be the same color as the stand when I'm done.
I appreciate everyone's opinions and information
I need to start taking pictures of the build so I can post them

 

[kodo28]

I have a Giesemann 6 bulb Matrix 2 and love it. I've added into the fixture 2x ReefBrite XHO strips . It puts out a ton of light. 1500 PAR on the water's surface. That being said I did some comparison PAR readings when I first got it. Comparing a stock 6x39w Matrix 2 non-dimmable to a ATI Sunpower 6x39w. Running 6 ATI Blue Plus bulbs I turned them on and left them on for 1 hour both 10" inches above the water at the surface dead center of the tank the Giesemann made 1050 PAR and the ATI made 1200. I'm not sure exactly why but I suspect it's the Fan cooling in the Matrix is not very good. I still decided to keep the Matrix because it looked best.

Maybe the ATI reflectors are not made to be bright like the Giesmann and that could be the reason why you got more PAR readings with the ATI

 

[gus6464]

The giesemann is a bad fixture for the price. The reflectors are specular and just don't hold a candle to the ATI. Also the bulbs have no cooling as the fans are just there to cool the ballast so if you are using the splash guard they will overheat and your par along with bulb life will plummet. Giesemann is crazy to charge more than a Sunpower for only better looks with worse performance. If you want to buy a fixture for both looks and performance you might as well just import a T5 only Powermodule from EU from Sewatec. In the end it will cost you the same as the Gies and blow it out of the water in every single aspect.

 

[kodo28]

The giesemann is a bad fixture for the price. The reflectors are specular and just don't hold a candle to the ATI. Also the bulbs have no cooling as the fans are just there to cool the ballast so if you are using the splash guard they will overheat and your par along with bulb life will plummet. Giesemann is crazy to charge more than a Sunpower for only better looks with worse performance. If you want to buy a fixture for both looks and performance you might as well just import a T5 only Powermodule from EU from Sewatec. In the end it will cost you the same as the Gies and blow it out of the water in every single aspect.

Come on Gus...Bad fixture for the price ?
Price is higher because of the Top end used materials and painted fixture.
Like you said the bulbs don't have cooling fan because like you said again the fixture use the specular reflectors instead of parabolic ones like ATI does. Those last ones will push the light back at the tube increasing its working temperature, reason why ATI needs cooling fans for the tubes.
The Matrixx is a hell dam looking fixture that you can have on your living room which will give T5 results like expected.

 

[rtparty]

Test after test has proven the Gmann fixture can't hold a candle to an ATI. How Gmann still thinks you don't need to cool the bulbs specifically is beyond me. There isn't a single piece of evidence that backs that up.

On the other large reef forum there is a great thread comparing the two fixtures. If you're going straight T5, you're nuts to go with the Gmann.

 

[haanstang]

I have pretty much decided that I'm going with the ATI 60x8 and 2 reefbrite 50/50 for the shimmer and dusk till dawn effect that I can control with the apex.
But everybody's opinion is helpful thanks

 

[Denisk]

Ati fixture with two a360 kessils would be pretty nice as well with the ability to fully control them. But good luck!!!

 

[andrew james]

I have pretty much decided that I'm going with the ATI 60x8 and 2 reefbrite 50/50 for the shimmer and dusk till dawn effect that I can control with the apex.
But everybody's opinion is helpful thanks

The 50/50 have a lot of white in them, just so you're aware. I think they do great for adding PAR and may even be superior to the all Blue lights in terms of growing coral, although I can't back that statement up with anything.

I wish that I went with one all Blue and one 50/50 Reefbrite.

 

[gus6464]

Come on Gus...Bad fixture for the price ?
Price is higher because of the Top end used materials and painted fixture.
Like you said the bulbs don't have cooling fan because like you said again the fixture use the specular reflectors instead of parabolic ones like ATI does. Those last ones will push the light back at the tube increasing its working temperature, reason why ATI needs cooling fans for the tubes.
The Matrixx is a hell dam looking fixture that you can have on your living room which will give T5 results like expected.

The type of reflector has no bearing whatsoever on if cooling is needed or not. If you have a splash guard, forced air cooling of the bulbs is required and it's not really debatable.

Higher end materials? The reflectors are both alanod Miro silver. The ballasts are both programmed start with same ballast factor. The only difference is that the Gies has a shinier shell yet it still doesn't hold a candle to an ATI Powermodule which is made of 100% extruded aluminum.

The reflectors on the Gies are 30% weaker than the quasi parabolic of the sunpower and even worse when compared to the full parabolic of the powermodule. Giesemann chose to go the cheap route with it yet charge a premium.

Not only have owners on rc done par tests on the Gies but also temperature tests and bulbs get way too hot past the optimal T5 operating temperature.

 

[rtparty]

I have pretty much decided that I'm going with the ATI 60x8 and 2 reefbrite 50/50 for the shimmer and dusk till dawn effect that I can control with the apex.
But everybody's opinion is helpful thanks

Just so you set your expectations correctly, with all bulbs on you won't see much shimmer, if any. May want to look into the E5X bulbs from Euroquatics as well (I think that's the name at least.)

 

[haanstang]

The 50/50 have a lot of white in them, just so you're aware. I think they do great for adding PAR and may even be superior to the all Blue lights in terms of growing coral, although I can't back that statement up with anything.

I wish that I went with one all Blue and one 50/50 Reefbrite.

Would you do one of each on a peninsula tank too?
Are do you think in that case both blue would be better

 

[haanstang]

Just so you set your expectations correctly, with all bulbs on you won't see much shimmer, if any. May want to look into the E5X bulbs from Euroquatics as well (I think that's the name at least.)

Are those just different t/5 bulbs ?
I haven't heard of them