WavePoint HO T5

[scottfaulkner11]

Has anybody tried out the WavePoint HO T5's yet? They are pretty new, out for a couple months. Each bulb has 14x reflection and it seems extremely bright

[scottfaulkner11]

also, i was told that because each bulb has 14 angle reflection that it makes it equivalent to twice its actual wattage. its 4x 54w so instead of 216 watts they claim its equal to 432. Any comments on that?

[scottfaulkner11]

ive got a 72g thats 22 in. tall with a sand bed of four in. so id think it would be enough lighting for anything..

[charlie]

The only way I figure that their claim is close to true is they have to use individual reflectors for each bulb. Do they mention that? It is a proven fact that individual reflectors help increase the output of T5 bulbs, but I don't know if they will double the output.

Who is telling you this information? I get really leary of folks that claim that their equipment is so much better than anybody elses, especially in this case.
Can you provide a link to these lights?

[scottfaulkner11]

Yeah id be glad to put a link for you. The people telling me that were at pet-land. But they are the higher ups that have been doing this stuff forever not just the helpers haha. Each bulb has individual 14x paradynamic reflection, which is why they were saying this light fixture smokes the other T5 competition. Heres the link though so you can check it out WavePoint™ Technology, Inc. The World’s Most Advanced Aquatic Lighting. List price at their store was 375-399 for the 48" but i got it for $300. On the downside, it doesnt have any fans and does get quite hot, also id like something with lunar lights so im stuck between keeping this, or taking it back to get a fixture that has two 150 MH with 12 led lunars. But the upgrade also comes with another $550 haha

[scottfaulkner11]

its got two 460 nm bulbs and 2 12000k

[charlie]

I googled the wavepoint right after I posted. It is nice that it has the individual reflectors, but the fans are a downside. I think you could rig something up that would be a bit cheaper than the halide option. How high above the tank does this thing sit. Is there a chance of mounting fans on either side of it to keep it cool?

[scottfaulkner11]

it sits four inches above the water level. Yeah, i could do that. My tank tops out at 80.5 F right now. The main issue im stuck on though is if it will be enough light for what im wanting which includes some sps and at least one good sized maxima. Which brings me to the debate whether or not i should go ahead and get the halides. Because with the 216w of the t5s that puts me at exactly 3 watts per gallon, but if their claim is true, then it would be the equivalent of at least five.. whereas if i had two 150 halides that would put me at 4.16 watts p/g which would be plenty.

[charlie]

Watts per gallon is old and pretty much antiquated!!!! Do some looking around on here and maybe check out a couple other sites and you will see what folks are doing with pretty much the same fixture you have.
Do not pay any attention the watts per gallon, now it is how much PAR your lights have. There aren't many studies out there on T5 bulbs yet, but like I said, do some searching around, you will be amazed at what you find.

[scottfaulkner11]

alright sounds good. thanks for the help

[charlie]

There is a sticky or 2 on this forum about T5 lighting that are very good threads. The folks that did them have done alot of research on T5's. Good luck and keep us updated as to what goes on.
How big is the tank these are on?

[scottfaulkner11]

its a 72g bowfront. 22in.tall

[charlie]

If you have a sandbed, that also decreases the depth, I think you will be fine. All you gotta do is figure out a fan system, definitely cheaper than halides!!!

[scottfaulkner11]

yeah my sand bed is 3-5 inches throughout the tank. Appreciate the help, i'll probably stick with it but itll be awhile before i add anything i just set this up about a week ago but ill post on here to let people know how they work. If needed im sure i can just raise the sps up a bit so that just leaves the issue with the maxima. I could live without though to save an extra 500 haha. I went and bought two 4" clip on fans to mount on the back though so that should kill the heat issue

[metalhead]

it sits four inches above the water level. Yeah, i could do that. My tank tops out at 80.5 F right now. The main issue im stuck on though is if it will be enough light for what im wanting which includes some sps and at least one good sized maxima. Which brings me to the debate whether or not i should go ahead and get the halides. Because with the 216w of the t5s that puts me at exactly 3 watts per gallon, but if their claim is true, then it would be the equivalent of at least five.. whereas if i had two 150 halides that would put me at 4.16 watts p/g which would be plenty.

I would go with MH (or LED if you can afford it) if you want to keep clams and sps in a 22'' tank. I have the same wavepoint light on my 12'' deep frag tank and sps/lps growth is not what I had hoped for...

I wouldn't even think about trying to keep a clam in there for any extended period of time even that shallow, quarantine period maybe but I doubt the clam would do well under T5's of any kind at any depth over the long hall. Just my $.02

Everything I've ever read about keeping clams strongly recommends MH lighting or better (natural sunlight). I've had a maxima for several months now under a 250 MH pendant about 18'' deep and he's loving it, thriving to say the least.

On the bright side (pun intended) I have not had any overheating problems with the wavepoint fixture so far and it runs much cooler than the 250w MH I previously had in its place and at a fraction of the energy cost.

That said, I have not seen anything that has benefited from the transition... Even my zoa frags seem to have suffered from the switch but maybe they are still acclimating, we'll see.

[scottfaulkner11]

yeah ive been looking at led/ halide combos. thanks for the input