# question about tek 6x54 t5 lighting



## SnyperP (Dec 31, 2004)

I believe the 6 bulb setups are designed with 4 bulbs and the remaining two on the other plug.


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## ianmoede (Oct 1, 2004)

I think that even with the 6 bulb configuration it wouldnt be overboard, i have the 4 bulb on a 55 and its not totally insane, you can run the bulb banks on timers, say 2 for 4 hours, all 6 for 3 hours and then 2 for another 4 hours, or whatever your photo period is. It just gives you more options than you get with most other fixtures.


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## sayn3ver (Sep 1, 2006)

good to know, cause its not much more than the 4x54 watt and its gives me more flexibility.


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

You won't be able to put the fixture directly on top of a glass versa top without some way of keeping it a few inches off glass.

1) It's heavy as hell,
2) The bulbs might either touch the glass top, or they'll be maybe 1/2" off of the glass and it'll overheat the bulbs. 

You're either going to have to mount it in a canopy (not recommended by SLS, by the way), hang it from the ceiling/support structure, or get the mounting legs.


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## sayn3ver (Sep 1, 2006)

thanks for pointing that out.

I think i'll spring for the legs since i dunno quite yet where i am gonna place the tank and dunno if i feel like going through the trouble of mounting it via the ceiling/wall only to move the tan later down the road. 

Does anyone know if i can still use the vera tops with the legs?


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

sayn3ver said:


> thanks for pointing that out.
> 
> I think i'll spring for the legs since i dunno quite yet where i am gonna place the tank and dunno if i feel like going through the trouble of mounting it via the ceiling/wall only to move the tan later down the road.
> 
> Does anyone know if i can still use the vera tops with the legs?



People don't feel like the legs are up to par with Coralife legs...they slip, so that if you mount the lights at 8" above the surface, it slips until it's only about 4" up. There's a few quick DIY fixes by putting a screw through the mount (not sure, only what I've heard, I don't have these mounting legs).


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## sayn3ver (Sep 1, 2006)

do the coralife legs fit the tek housings? i mean for 57 dollars the legs better be able to do my laundry and make me a sandwhich.


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

sayn3ver said:


> do the coralife legs fit the tek housings? i mean for 57 dollars the legs better be able to do my laundry and make me a sandwhich.



lol, that's why I couldn't afford to get them. In addition to making me a sandwich, it better be able to get me a cold beer whenever I want.

And sadly, no, the Coralife legs will not retrofit a Tek fixture.


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## sayn3ver (Sep 1, 2006)

i may opt for the retrokit and find/build me a canopy. It wont have the clean look ADA style look, but it may be the better option.


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## crazy loaches (Sep 29, 2006)

I am not saying your going overboard with 6x54W on a 75G but I am saying that will be on the very high side. Not only are T5 lights about the most effecient light, (counts a good 150% or so towards the wpg rule) you also have a very effecient reflector design on the Tek light with individual reflectors. Youll probably end up close to 1.5-2X towards the wpg equivelent (ex 6x54=324W, but since its 1.5-2X as effecient you might get the equivelent of 324X1.5 or 324X2 = 486W/648W). I have heard really good things about the Tek light. roud:


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## ianmoede (Oct 1, 2004)

I have the legs on mine and have found that they are very sturdy and don't slip at all.


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## sayn3ver (Sep 1, 2006)

Well, i'd like to move up to a 120g or larger sometime in the future....so i thought it would be nice to have that lighting headroom if i do. I'd only like to run 4x54 watts but like i said, the price is too close to pass up the extra 100 watts of light, even if i just run four out of six bulbs.


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## bharada (Mar 5, 2004)

Here are some stand-mounted hangers made out of 1/2" glavanized steel electrical conduit—if the idea of hanging the fixture from the ceiling or wall doesn't appeal to you...


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## ianmoede (Oct 1, 2004)

Thats a pretty slick setup, where did you get those hangers?


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## bharada (Mar 5, 2004)

ianmoede said:


> Thats a pretty slick setup, where did you get those hangers?


The Sun Lift Reflector Hanger System I got from Specialty Lights where I order my Tek light from.

If you're referring to the conduit, I made those. A 10' length of 1/2" conduit is about $2 at Lowes, but the bending tool cost $30. :icon_lol:

The other misc parts (clips, couplings eye-bolt) added another $3-4.


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## crazy loaches (Sep 29, 2006)

Nice diy hanger system roud: 

I have seriously thought about the 6x54W Tek light myself, from what I can tell the T5 Tek light is about the best fluorescent ligthing solution out there. However I have decided probably instead going to use MH on my 150 since its very deep and 6x54 on this tank might start getting into the med/low range. There is an 8x54 too, but thats starting to get to the same $ as MH anyway. Still debating though...


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## sayn3ver (Sep 1, 2006)

yea, anything bigger than 125ish is usually cheaper to go MH if going highlight. 

I want t5 because of the price, the reflector and how they are actually more efficent than MH


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## dhavoc (May 4, 2006)

got an 8x54 tek and love the look and construction (its on a 120g). it was the only option for a 4' tank that i could find that still gave me decent wpg. i looked at MH, but it was even more expensive, and the last thing i wanted to do was add MORE heat to the house. the tank already heats up quite a bit with the tek (mounted via the optional legs). compared to CF, i like the T5 HO much better. there are cheaper T5 lights on ebay and such but if your going to shell out that much dough already, you may as well get something that will last.


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## sayn3ver (Sep 1, 2006)

that seems like alot of light on a 120g, or maybe i am just shy of over lighting tanks.

So to answer my question, i can run just 4 of the 6 bulbs if i needed to?


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## crazy loaches (Sep 29, 2006)

For the 6x54 Tek light I have seen 2 versions. The aquarium version has the seperate cord that allows you to control 4 and 2 lights independantly. However there is a version for indoor gardening that doesnt have provisions for controlling the bulbs seperately - this one is a little cheaper. As long as your getting the aquarium version you should be fine. BTW I have heard people that use the 6x54 on thier 120 plant tank very well. You should be fine running 4 over a 75, but you have the flexability with that desing.

I have also seen reefers use the 8x54 on smaller tanks than 120. But for fw that might be overkill for sure.

BTW, if I am not mistaken you can always just pull out the tubes out of any fixture if you want less light - I dont beleive any damage will occur but I guess dont quote me :wink:


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## sayn3ver (Sep 1, 2006)

thats what i was asking, could i just use 4 bulbs and have 2 empty slots.


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## ianmoede (Oct 1, 2004)

Absolutely, just use 2 out of the 4 bank and the other 2 on the 2 bank. I really surprised that they're not running that off of three cords though. I guess theyre just using the 4x54 ballast and 2x54 ballast. 3 ballasts would take up more space i spose. Still, the extra control would be nice.


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

ianmoede said:


> Absolutely, just use 2 out of the 4 bank and the other 2 on the 2 bank. I really surprised that they're not running that off of three cords though. I guess theyre just using the 4x54 ballast and 2x54 ballast. 3 ballasts would take up more space i spose. Still, the extra control would be nice.


I would've gone for the Tek 6x54w if it had come with 3 power cords. =)


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## dhavoc (May 4, 2006)

forgot to mention, i replaced one of the 6700 bulbs with a 10k acintic (pretty useless for plants) drops the lighting down to 3.15 wpg which works great on my tank. also, the 120 i have is the 24" deep version, so lighting rules go out the window on deeper tanks. you can also put it on sepparate timers to give you less light during part of the day also.


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## sayn3ver (Sep 1, 2006)

a standard 120 is usually 48x24x24...uber sweet dimensions.

I wish it had 3 powercords as well. I planned on mixing mine 6700k and 10000k, as i thought the 10,000k was used by plants and only the actinic light was unused.


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

sayn3ver said:


> a standard 120 is usually 48x24x24...uber sweet dimensions.
> 
> I wish it had 3 powercords as well. I planned on mixing mine 6700k and 10000k, as i thought the 10,000k was used by plants and only the actinic light was unused.


~5000K to 10000K would be good color temperatures for your bulbs and bulbs within this range have light that can be used by plants. Actinics, however, do not give off a spectrum that plants can use. 

I have a 4x54w Tek fixture and use two 6700K and two 10000K bulbs myself. It looks great!


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## riverrat (Jul 14, 2005)

ianmoede said:


> Absolutely, just use 2 out of the 4 bank and the other 2 on the 2 bank. I really surprised that they're not running that off of three cords though. I guess theyre just using the 4x54 ballast and 2x54 ballast. 3 ballasts would take up more space i spose. Still, the extra control would be nice.



Maybe I don't understand. Why would they need 3 cords? There would be no more control over the light fixture unless there was a single bulb ballast on a cord I suppose. 

I am considering a Tek5 for an upcoming 50gal possibly a 58. This really has me considering the Tek5 36x6. This way I could run.

Just the two bulb bank for a hour.
Just the four bulb bank for six or seven hours.
Just the two bulb bank for an hour.

This would give me somewhat of a dawn dusk scenario and if I really wanted to kick things up a notch I could flip on all 6 bulbs for a short period and really increase the nutrient uptake and do battle with the algae gods! muhahahaha!

Only reason I am kicking around the idea of only a four bulb fixture is the extra 100 bucks and I think I would regret not getting the six. Just for that possibility that I would want a short period of very high light.


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## ianiwane (Sep 7, 2004)

riverrat said:


> Maybe I don't understand. Why would they need 3 cords? There would be no more control over the light fixture unless there was a single bulb ballast on a cord I suppose.
> 
> I am considering a Tek5 for an upcoming 50gal possibly a 58. This really has me considering the Tek5 36x6. This way I could run.
> 
> ...


I run my 6x54 light like this. I use 2 seperate digital timers. 
2 bulbs on for 2 hours (2 turn off)
4 bulbs on for 2 hours (2 turn on)
6 bulbs on for 3 hours (2 turn off)
4 bulbs on for 2 hours (4 turn off, 2 turn on)
2 bulbs on for 2 hours (2 turn off)
Total of 11 hours.


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## sayn3ver (Sep 1, 2006)

how much did those timers cost yah? Thats sounds like a wicked plan.


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## crazy loaches (Sep 29, 2006)

Cool, I guess even with only 2 power cords you still can get 3 different combos of light.roud:


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## ianiwane (Sep 7, 2004)

timers where 18 a piece at home depot. They can do a hundred something on offs.


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## sayn3ver (Sep 1, 2006)

thanks. I'll check it out. I wanna get a decent powerstrip/surge protector as well, any recommendations?


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## riverrat (Jul 14, 2005)

I suggest a gfci receptacle then the power strip of your choice. I wouldn't buy the cheapest one nor the most expensive.


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## sayn3ver (Sep 1, 2006)

i was lookin at a 10plug belkin at the home depot last night. It was about 24 dollars. Can i buy a single ground fault interruptor that plugs in or do i need buy a whole strip with one built in?


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## riverrat (Jul 14, 2005)

I imagine you can. You can buy a receptacle for around 15 bucks at you local box store. Just turn off circuit breaker and follow instructions included. Flip breaker back on and your in business. Only takes about 10 minutes and will give you great peace of mind.


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

I have one of these Tower GFCIs - Shock Buster Portable and a regular power strip plugged into it.


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## sayn3ver (Sep 1, 2006)

My dad put one in our bathroom about 2 years ago(receptacle). I just was wondering if there was a portable which might not require wiring.(not my house, but the rents).


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

With the one I posted, you plug it into an existing outlet. No re-wiring necessary!


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## sayn3ver (Sep 1, 2006)

thats what i thought. Good to know.

Although, i am now at a crossroads. I was all bent on high light co2 tank but i read the article by tom barr on "non co2 tanks" and has stuck with me, with minimal dosing and the ability to grow a decent variety of plants, with no algae seems like a good deal. Now i am debating if i go with the 4 or 6 tek housing, since both are much more light than i need, but if i ever want to add c02 or go high tech, i'll probably benifit from more light.

everything is still all up in the air.


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

sayn3ver said:


> thats what i thought. Good to know.
> 
> Although, i am now at a crossroads. I was all bent on high light co2 tank but i read the article by tom barr on "non co2 tanks" and has stuck with me, with minimal dosing and the ability to grow a decent variety of plants, with no algae seems like a good deal. Now i am debating if i go with the 4 or 6 tek housing, since both are much more light than i need, but if i ever want to add c02 or go high tech, i'll probably benifit from more light.
> 
> everything is still all up in the air.


I debated with that too. Went with the 4x54w for my tanks...ended up going pressurized CO2 and daily fertilizing. I'm happy, kind of. Had some green water outbreaks, but they're controlled now. Just upped the CO2 and now I have 9 hours of 2x54w and 3 hours during mid-day of 4x54w. No algae or green water yet. =)

Plants are growing like mad, I guess. I'm a little impatient, so I like to see results. I don't mind the weekly or bi-weekly trim at all. Lets me know I'm doing something right with my tanks and the plants are growing! lol.


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## sayn3ver (Sep 1, 2006)

i think i am gonna go for the 6x54 when the time comes. it just seems like the extra money is worth it, even if i let two bulb slots go unused on the 75g. I mean, hell, if i move up to a 120g, the 6x54 is gonna be rockin, although i dont anticipate doing this anytime soon.

I have a feeling i'd be fine with the 4x54 but might regret not being able to do high high light for an hour or two like midday sun.


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