Hello all.

[F.N.G.]

I have become very interested in working with T5 lighting. I have a hood that is limited to distance away from the water, and the T5 produces less heat. I have been looking for inforamtion on ballasts and T5 80watt bulbs. They work better to penatrate to the bottom of the tank.

I have gone all over the net and have contacted many Engineers on designs. Dimmable Ballast (NICE) , Electronic Ballasts, are only a few of the options that are out there.

http://www.osram.dk/B2B/brochurer/HF-forkoblinger_og_transformere/Osram_T5-Fibel_final.pdf

http://www.universalballast.com/

The one problem I'm having is the wattage rule. (4-6 watts/ gallon) If the T5 produces more lummens then therefore I would need less wattage to get the same output as it would be for a comparable MH. I have heard that a 400 watt metal halide system can be replaced with a 6 lamp T5HO, (of course in the right spectrum.) I talked to the techs at Universal Lighting and they where unsure. This is an odd new technolgy. Should be interesting to watch.

Has anyone got new information on this. I look forward to see you all tommorow.

 

[Crown Royal]

T5-HO technology is not actually "new" per se. They've been using it for years in Europe where electricity is far more expensive resulting in metal halides being prohibitive for most people.

My understanding is that the reason for the greater lumens and (more importantly for aquarists) PAR produced is due to the reflector design of T5s. One is able to shape individual reflectors around each T5 bulb thereby maximizing its useful light output downwards because T5s are so slender. Add a high-output ballast, and you've are your way to a serious contender for metal halide-type brightness.

Here's a link discussing T5 ballasts PAR:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=724967

There are a number of thread at reefcentral.com discussing T5s.

Here's a link to a study concerning bulb comparisons including a T5:
http://article.dphnet.com/cat-04/lightcompare.shtml

Here's a comparison of T5s and reflectors:
http://www.sunlightsupply.com/aquarium/products/t5reflectcomparo.shtml

Finally, here's an example of what T5 lighting is capable of:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=700454