T5 lighting for 90 gallon reef retrofit vs fixture

Zeppelinator · 07/10/2014, 11:53 PM

Hey all, I've just put a 90 gallon standard 48x18x24 in the house and need to decide on lighting. I'm hoping to keep it sps dominated, but halides will be too hot. I'm thinking t5 ho. Whatever I get has to fit inside a canopy. Im not sure whether I should get a fixture like an ATI or retrofit some t5s inside the canopy. Suggestions?

sneeyatch · 07/11/2014, 08:10 AM

I had an old 6 bulb tek fixture over my old 90 and it was plenty of light. Depends on how handy you are IMO. fixtures are plug and play but you may have a problem fitting them in a canopy. I didn't have one / don't like the looks of a canopy so it was an easy decision for me. If you go retrofit, there's wiring involved. Some folks don't like to deal with stuff like that.

My 90 I have now is LED lit with black box fixtures. The fixtures are small and can usually fit in a canopy.

Bpb · 07/11/2014, 09:24 AM

Don't write metal halides off so soon. I'm running 2x250 watt halides over my 90 gallon and only keep a clip on fan inside the canopy. Temperature stays between 79.5-80.0 when the lights are on. At any rate. If you're dead set on t5 I'd go 6 bulb minimum for color combination reasons. Coming from a 4 bulb fixture myself previously, I hated how limited I was on bulb choices. You could save money and have a lot of light if you went DIY, but I've personally got a phobia of my own electrical work skills and get freaked out over exposed wires so I'd vote prefab fixture for the extra couple hundred bucks personally. If nothing else for the peace of mind that it was assembled by a professional, not a google searcher

Zacktosterone · 07/11/2014, 10:55 AM

why not go without a canopy and use a sweet 4-6 bulb Ati 54 watt dimmable fixture?

toomany · 07/11/2014, 11:48 AM

I'm kind of in the same boat, except with a 120. Are there any major downsides to running a full fixture inside of a canopy? I'm set up with two fans on each end....so air flow shouldn't be a problem.

d2mini · 07/11/2014, 12:09 PM

If you are looking at fixtures for a canopy, find out what's needed for bulb changes.
Some fixtures require you to remove a single sheet of glass from the side of the fixture, meaning you would have to remove the fixture from the canopy in order to do any bulb changes. And with T5, you will probably spend some time messing with different bulb combos in the beginning.

toomany · 07/11/2014, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by d2mini

If you are looking at fixtures for a canopy, find out what's needed for bulb changes.
Some fixtures require you to remove a single sheet of glass from the side of the fixture, meaning you would have to remove the fixture from the canopy in order to do any bulb changes. And with T5, you will probably spend some time messing with different bulb combos in the beginning.

I never even considered bulb maintenance. Guess I just assumed they came out the bottom. Think I'm leaning more toward the retrofits now.

Bpb · 07/11/2014, 11:34 PM

I like canopies because if you're tank is in a living area it'll shield the glare you get whenever you find yourself below eye level with the lights.

Zeppelinator · 07/12/2014, 09:26 PM

How huge would the difference be between using 6 t5's vs using 8 t5's? Can I keep sps with either?

d2mini · 07/13/2014, 06:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zeppelinator

How huge would the difference be between using 6 t5's vs using 8 t5's? Can I keep sps with either?

Yes, sps no problem.
I don't run just T5's so I'd check with others who do, but 8 seems like a lot for your size tank.

jdraider75 · 07/13/2014, 11:45 AM

I run 8 bulbs on a 120 and it's more than enough light. For a 90 I would do a 6 bulb for sure.

07/10/2014, 11:53 PM	#1
Zeppelinator Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2014 Posts: 7	T5 lighting for 90 gallon reef retrofit vs fixture Hey all, I've just put a 90 gallon standard 48x18x24 in the house and need to decide on lighting. I'm hoping to keep it sps dominated, but halides will be too hot. I'm thinking t5 ho. Whatever I get has to fit inside a canopy. Im not sure whether I should get a fixture like an ATI or retrofit some t5s inside the canopy. Suggestions?

07/11/2014, 08:10 AM	#2
sneeyatch Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Virginia Beach, VA Posts: 1,312	I had an old 6 bulb tek fixture over my old 90 and it was plenty of light. Depends on how handy you are IMO. fixtures are plug and play but you may have a problem fitting them in a canopy. I didn't have one / don't like the looks of a canopy so it was an easy decision for me. If you go retrofit, there's wiring involved. Some folks don't like to deal with stuff like that. My 90 I have now is LED lit with black box fixtures. The fixtures are small and can usually fit in a canopy. __________________ - Todd It's often the saddest of us working our hardest to make everyone laugh Current Tank Info: Tankless

07/11/2014, 12:09 PM	#6
d2mini Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 10,344	If you are looking at fixtures for a canopy, find out what's needed for bulb changes. Some fixtures require you to remove a single sheet of glass from the side of the fixture, meaning you would have to remove the fixture from the canopy in order to do any bulb changes. And with T5, you will probably spend some time messing with different bulb combos in the beginning. __________________ -dennis Elos Diamond 120xl \| Elos Stand \| Radion G4 Pros \| GHL Profilux Controller \| LifeReef Skimmer \| LifeReef Sump Photos taken with a Nikon D750 or Leica M.

07/11/2014, 09:24 AM	#3
Bpb Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Texas Posts: 3,148	Don't write metal halides off so soon. I'm running 2x250 watt halides over my 90 gallon and only keep a clip on fan inside the canopy. Temperature stays between 79.5-80.0 when the lights are on. At any rate. If you're dead set on t5 I'd go 6 bulb minimum for color combination reasons. Coming from a 4 bulb fixture myself previously, I hated how limited I was on bulb choices. You could save money and have a lot of light if you went DIY, but I've personally got a phobia of my own electrical work skills and get freaked out over exposed wires so I'd vote prefab fixture for the extra couple hundred bucks personally. If nothing else for the peace of mind that it was assembled by a professional, not a google searcher

07/11/2014, 10:55 AM	#4
Zacktosterone Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Sault Ste Marie Ont Posts: 2,475	why not go without a canopy and use a sweet 4-6 bulb Ati 54 watt dimmable fixture?

07/11/2014, 11:48 AM	#5
toomany Registered Member Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 84	I'm kind of in the same boat, except with a 120. Are there any major downsides to running a full fixture inside of a canopy? I'm set up with two fans on each end....so air flow shouldn't be a problem.

07/11/2014, 11:34 PM	#8
Bpb Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Texas Posts: 3,148	I like canopies because if you're tank is in a living area it'll shield the glare you get whenever you find yourself below eye level with the lights.

07/12/2014, 09:26 PM	#9
Zeppelinator Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2014 Posts: 7	How huge would the difference be between using 6 t5's vs using 8 t5's? Can I keep sps with either?

07/13/2014, 11:45 AM	#11
jdraider75 Registered Member Join Date: May 2012 Location: Davenport, Iowa Posts: 546	I run 8 bulbs on a 120 and it's more than enough light. For a 90 I would do a 6 bulb for sure.