# lighting upgrade



## eagleANTH (Jun 26, 2009)

ok guys i got a 75 instead of the 125. and i was using the 4x t5 from my 55 and it doesnt quite cut it. so i ordered a new light setup its a 6x t5 it came yesterday with 6 bulbs included. has anyone heard of Hopar HP T5s? and are they any good? Or should I go out and buy 6 new bulbs? also the tank being wider should i go 3x whites 3x blue or is 2 blues just fine? On the 4x fixture i ran 2 blues and 2 whites and that worked great for that system. aside from the T5s i have a diy 20 blue led lightbar that i made for a total cost of about 15 bucks and thats my night time light. Also I would like to hear about your guys' photoperiods, how long are they? How long should I make mine to keep coral healthy and keep the electric bill as low as proper husbandry will allow?
*c/p*


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## JoesAquariumsInc (Jan 8, 2010)

I'm assuming those t-5s are 55watts each. That's 330 watts of light. I would have put at least 500 watts on a 75. You may have some trouble with hard corals. Make sure you keep them high up in the tank. T-5s alone will not provide much light from the UV spectrum, that's what gives corals their nice color. If your going to stick with only 330 watts I would recommend a 10-12 hour photoperiod. Half blues half whites. I never heard of hopar, but light bulbs generally only come from a couple of major manufacturers so I'm sure your ok. I would have the blues come on first for an hour or so before the whites and have them turn off an hour after. Mostly for looks.


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## eagleANTH (Jun 26, 2009)

thanks alot for the info. i also plan on adding a couple 50led diy fixtures that im going to make myself and aesthetically they are looking pretty good so far. I may actually try and sell these once I have tested how well they work. I got my hands on some really good LEDs on the cheap so I ordered up 1000 whites and 1500 blues. so i hope to build a few fixtures for supplemental lighting.


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## eagleANTH (Jun 26, 2009)

this is the T5s I did order new bulbs which should be here by Monday. As this fixture came with 4x 10k whites and 2x actinic 430nm.


Here is the moonlights all by themselves. Believe it or not thats only a 20 strip... The main supplemental boards im in the process of making have alot more.


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