Old Suject (Prob) But Anyone Combined T8 & T5

[crazysilverwolf]

Hi after a disaster with a sump, won't bore anyone. water everywhere.

I have a fluval hood which contains two T8 fittings at the moment. I'm going to remove the center block of plastic and move the electrics out out the hood for space and more control. ( putting switches on each bulb ) then i'm going to put to t5's in the center.

Questions.

Will this be enough to grow hard corals? ( for later in tanks life )
I was planning on two T5 marine white, one T8 marine white and one T8 marine blue lights does this seem the right choice?
Lastly does the position of two T5's flanked by the two T5's seem suitable?

Cheers in advance for your replys.

200ltr Tank 1000mm long 400mm wide and 600mm high.

 

[Morri]

It depends on a lot of things I assume you have 2 T5s and 2 x T8s how deep is the tank? this would dictate where you place any SPS

I would want both T5s in the centre ideally then place the corals under these and would most prob go for a 10k White T8 and a purple if you can get them in T8

Under this you could keep most Montiporas, Hysterix etc. as long as they are high but I would skip acroporas these would need a little more light

 

[crazysilverwolf]

Cheers morri,

The tank is 600mm deep.
ultimately i'll upgrade to four T5's, yes currently two T8's and yes would be putting two T5's in the center if thats best.

 

[xxBarneyxx]

I would say that long term you might have issues with SPS corals under that light. As Morri said you might get away with some Montiporas as long as they are kept high up but personally I would want a bit more light.

Some ways to maximise the light output:

• Make sure you get a good set of reflectors over each tube.
• Use T6 tubes instead of T8 for the white tube, the blue tube you can just use T8. T6 are a straight swap for T8 tubes so you can use the fittings that are already there. They are something like 50% brighter than T8 but are more difficult to get hold of.
• Make sure you regularly give the lights and reflectors a clean. You will get salt creep over both which will reduce the light output quite a bit over time.
• Make sure your rockwork is arranged in a way that gives you a lot of positions higher in the tank for placing more light demanding corals. Also make sure that your arrangement doesn't cut too much light out from the bottom of the tank as well.

How much are you paying for your T5 parts and where are you getting them from?