The T5 Q&a Thread - split

[DiscusHeckel]

Originally Posted by Stylo328

How effective for growth would this combo be?

4 B+
3 True actinic
1 ABS or Coral+

Thinking of switching from my current combo, which is.

FRONT TO BACK*
BLUE+
BLUE+
CORAL+
BLUE+
AQUABLUE SPECIAL
BLUE+
PURPLE+
BLUE+

Not overly impressed with growth after two years of the same combo; colors aren't that great either. Most seem washed out.

Thanks!

I am surprised about that. My previous combination, which is very similar to yours, stimulated great coral growth, which I never had before:

blue+
blue+
coral+
blue+
coral+
blue+
coral+
blue+

However, note that growth is affected by other factors too, such as available nutrients as well as flow.

[Stylo328]

Originally Posted by DiscusHeckel

I am surprised about that. My previous combination, which is very similar to yours, stimulated great coral growth, which I never had before:



blue+

blue+

coral+

blue+

coral+

blue+

coral+

blue+



However, note that growth is affected by other factors too, such as available nutrients as well as flow.

What combination did you switch to?

[shred5]

You want growth you need to move to more daylight bulbs. They are ugly but that is where the growth comes from. The Ge 6500 t-5 bulb or the Giesemann Tropic T5 Bulb.

They are green/yellow but really will push growth. People use these mainly on frag tanks because the color is not good.

[deepnblue]

I'm currently running 1 Giesemann Actinic+ and 1 Ati Blue+ (3 bulb fixture)

I want to replace my Giesemann Tropic with a true actinic or a purple bulb.
Which bulb would you suggest for a soft coral tank? I'm not a fan of white bulbs.

[shred5]

Originally Posted by deepnblue

I'm currently running 1 Giesemann Actinic+ and 1 Ati Blue+ (3 bulb fixture)

I want to replace my Giesemann Tropic with a true actinic or a purple bulb.
Which bulb would you suggest for a soft coral tank? I'm not a fan of white bulbs.

Your tropic is your only white bulb so the purple would be a good replacement out of what you listed. If you want Giesemann you may also consider Azure or Aquablue Coral lamps. ATI you may look at Aquablue special or coral lamp.
If not it depends on what you are looking for..
Actinic would give you more blue and more pop but does little to light the tank for your eyes. Three blue bulbs is not a good idea your tank will appear very dim.. A purple will add a little red to the spectrum.

[deepnblue]

I tried Coral+ but I didn't like it that much. With 2 blue bulbs it was still dominant and a little bit pinkish I guess. I'm afraid a purple bulb would make it much more pinkish but I'm not sure since I haven't used it before.

Edit: So did I Thanks for your answer.

[shred5]

Originally Posted by deepnblue

Yes, Tropic is my only white bulb. The rest is 1 Actinic+ and 1 Blue+

Would a pure actinic bulb make a significant difference in general? Or should I go with a purple bulb instead?

I re-edited my post while you were posting after I saw you did list your bulbs.

[Stylo328]

How about 4 B+ and 4 true actinic?

[DiscusHeckel]

Originally Posted by Stylo328

What combination did you switch to?

front

blue+
coral+
actinic
abs
purple+
blue+
coral+
blue+

[mhucasey]

Originally Posted by Stylo328

How about 4 B+ and 4 true actinic?

That will grow coral and produce some great fluorescence, but say bye bye to Reflected red and almost all yellow.

[shred5]

Originally Posted by deepnblue

I tried Coral+ but I didn't like it that much. With 2 blue bulbs it was still dominant and a little bit pinkish I guess. I'm afraid a purple bulb would make it much more pinkish but I'm not sure since I haven't used it before.

Edit: So did I Thanks for your answer.

Yea the coral lamps by both ATI and Giesemann both have a red/pink tint and remind me of the old URI VHO aquasun lamp.. . The purple lamps have red in them too but it looks more dim to human yea because it also has less green and yellow. You might like it because I have a feeling you are looking for more of a blue color is seems.. The purple lamps also bring out the oranges and reds in fish. They take a little to get used too at first. It is the yellow and green that give the dominance you are talking about because those color appear bright to the human eye..

Personally I like a little red for several reasons. I think red helps color up corals. Corals really don't like red so I feel they develop pigments to either change the red color or block it all together. Also as stated above it can really bring out the reds in fish and coral visually.

I personally also like some yellow and green for color though because the more spectrum I hit for sps the more chance I have of different ones coloring up. But you are doing lps so it don't matter as much and you are looking for more fluorescing..

You might try a strip of royal blue leds that really makes them pop.


The Azure lamp I am going to try but that has allot of green, yellow and more red.

Purple might be what you are looking for.

[Chris Abbott]

I know that the ATi fixtures are nice, but does it sound reasonable that with my cheap t5 fixture I am only getting 120 par near the top of my tank. Fixture is 4 inches off water and my SSC frag is aprox 4-5 inches into the tank. Par under 2 blues+, one purple+, one actinic is 120. I believe fixture quality maters but I have had people tell me that this bulb combo should easily do 350 plus par at that distance. Can fixture quality make 3x change?

[shred5]

Originally Posted by Chris Abbott

I know that the ATi fixtures are nice, but does it sound reasonable that with my cheap t5 fixture I am only getting 120 par near the top of my tank. Fixture is 4 inches off water and my SSC frag is aprox 4-5 inches into the tank. Par under 2 blues+, one purple+, one actinic is 120. I believe fixture quality maters but I have had people tell me that this bulb combo should easily do 350 plus par at that distance. Can fixture quality make 3x change?

Absolutely. With t-5 fixtures it is all about reflectors or it is just another fluorescent lamp. With t-5 more than any other light it pays to get a good fixture.

[Chris Abbott]

I believe in quality but a multiple of three is uncommon in most things, but the more I think about individual parabolic units vs a single reflective srface in the back the more I understand how it could actually be that big of a diff.

[jdraider75]

And the ATI has cooling fans to keep bulbs cool and extend bulb life.

[Chris Abbott]

Bulb life is great but can anyone say they give 3x the par numbers?

[shred5]

Originally Posted by Chris Abbott

I believe in quality but a multiple of three is uncommon in most things, but the more I think about individual parabolic units vs a single reflective srface in the back the more I understand how it could actually be that big of a diff.

Problem with a single reflector is it traps the light and just bounces it into the lamps.. The reason T-5 is better than other fluorescent bulbs is because the lamps are thin allowing for good individual reflectors that shoot the light straight down wasting very little light.

[jdraider75]

Originally Posted by Chris Abbott

Bulb life is great but can anyone say they give 3x the par numbers?

300 to 330 par in sand in 24 inch deep tank fixture 10 inches above water. 8 bulb 48 inch sun power over a 120 gallon tank. Change bulbs once a year. Grow acros on bottom of tank. 5 blue plus 2 purple plus 1 ge6500k bulbs. Not sure if that's triple but I think it will do. I think it's worth the money in my opinion.

[creefer01]

Originally Posted by jdraider75

300 to 330 par in sand in 24 inch deep tank fixture 10 inches above water. 8 bulb 48 inch sun power over a 120 gallon tank. Change bulbs once a year. Grow acros on bottom of tank. 5 blue plus 2 purple plus 1 ge6500k bulbs. Not sure if that's triple but I think it will do. I think it's worth the money in my opinion.

+1. Just bought an 8 x 24 sunpower for my new build. Old tank had 6 x 39 and it grew clams and acros on the sand bed in a 18" deep tank with the fixture 14" above the water.

[ReeferSteve78]

I have a 3 250watt phoenix 14k halides with 2 48 inch blue reef brites and 4 t5 bulbs which am currently running all blue+ is this a good combination or should I switch it up?

[Stylo328]

I will be receiving my new ATI bulbs tomorrow. Was hoping for some suggestions on bulb order.

I ordered:

4 blue +
2 true actinic
1 purple plus
1 aqua blue special

Any thoughts on what that combination is going to look like? This is for a 48 inch ATI sun power with a Reefbrite XHO blue strip attached to the front.

[Stylo328]

Originally Posted by Stylo328

I will be receiving my new ATI bulbs tomorrow. Was hoping for some suggestions on bulb order.

I ordered:

4 blue +
2 true actinic
1 purple plus
1 aqua blue special

Any thoughts on what that combination is going to look like? This is for a 48 inch ATI sun power with a Reefbrite XHO blue strip attached to the front.

Anyone?

[jdraider75]

Originally Posted by Stylo328

I will be receiving my new ATI bulbs tomorrow. Was hoping for some suggestions on bulb order.

I ordered:

4 blue +
2 true actinic
1 purple plus
1 aqua blue special

Any thoughts on what that combination is going to look like? This is for a 48 inch ATI sun power with a Reefbrite XHO blue strip attached to the front.

Front
Blue
Purple
Actinic
Abs
Blue
Blue
Actinic
Blue
That is how I would lay it out.

[Stylo328]

Originally Posted by jdraider75

Front

Blue

Purple

Actinic

Abs

Blue

Blue

Actinic

Blue

That is how I would lay it out.

Thank you very much. I'll post a pic tomorrow of what it looks like.

[jdraider75]

Originally Posted by Stylo328

Thank you very much. I'll post a pic tomorrow of what it looks like.

It won't hurt anything to shuffle some of the bulbs around. That is just how I would do it. If you like 2 blues in yor 3 and 6 position do that or 2 actinics. Whatever you like. I just like abs bulb close to center in the 4 or 5 slot. You may tweek it a bit to your liking.