The T5 Q&a Thread - split

[TropTrea]

Originally Posted by SDboatguy

Just a quick question, I've been running ATI 3x B+,P+,C+, and a GE 6500. I grabbed an AB spec to replace the GE. Any opinions on the difference? My "midday" lights are only on 4hrs a day, so just wondering if it will change much. Also is there much difference between the ATI purple vs. any others?

Thanks in advance...

The GE is brighter but slightly yellow in color compared to the Aqua Blue Plus. So it will appear slightly darker but considerably bluer rather than yellow. Coral growth would be a small plus with the change, Reflective colors will be a slight small minus.

[rogergolf66]

Originally Posted by TropTrea

The GE is brighter but slightly yellow in color compared to the Aqua Blue Plus. So it will appear slightly darker but considerably bluer rather than yellow. Coral growth would be a small plus with the change, Reflective colors will be a slight small minus.

I asked this question earlier in this thread but never got an answer. What color are reflective that use more of the daylight bulbs? Yellow would be 1 if I had to guess. Any others?

[rogergolf66]

I also have a second question. I was in lfs looking at ati coral plus and aquablue special spectrum chart printed on box. Its identical. Why do they make 2 bulbs different name but same spectrums?

[quantim0]

The spectral plots may look similar, but the blue+ is blue and the coral+ is white with maybe a hint of pink.

They perform very differently.

[rogergolf66]

Originally Posted by quantim0

The spectral plots may look similar, but the blue+ is blue and the coral+ is white with maybe a hint of pink.

They perform very differently.

U didn't read my question properly. I'm asking about aqua blue special and coral plus both are white bulbs. I'm not talking about the blue plus bulb at all.

Roger

[quantim0]

My apologies. They are similar and the general consensus is that the abs will wash out some coral color while the c+ will make the colors pop a little more.

Personally I had one c+ and one abs on my tank, in addition to 5 b+ and one p+. I didn't like the abs and replaced it with another c+ and the tank looks much nicer

[rogergolf66]

Thx. Any thoughts on the refective color question I had at the top of the page?

[spicytuna]

Hello,

I recently just bought a 6x39 dimmable sunpower. This is my first time with t5. I've been a long time user of metal halide. My favorite bulbs are radiums and Phoenix 14k. I used this thread to choose my first set of bulbs based of grims recommendation for replicating a radium 250. My first bulb combo goes like this.

Aquablue special
Blue+
Blue+
UVL actinic white
Blue+
Aquablue special

Now I already have this bulb combo, have yet to open my ati and fire it up, but I've been doing a lot of reading, and it seems people don't favor the aquablue special anymore. So today I picked up 2 new bulbs. Geisemann aquapink and true actinic. The combo is going to go like this

Blue+
Aquablue special
True actinic
Aquapink
Blue+
Actinic white


I'm looking for a color that's a very crisp white with a tint of blue/purple. Just enough to make the corals pop. I don't want the washed out windex look. My favorite color was when I ran a 150w DE radium. The tank was a crisp white, crystal clear, but the corals popped like crazy. If that makes sense? Thank you all for your help, this has been a very informative thread.

[TropTrea]

Originally Posted by rogergolf66

I also have a second question. I was in lfs looking at ati coral plus and aquablue special spectrum chart printed on box. Its identical. Why do they make 2 bulbs different name but same spectrums?

I never compared the box spectrum from ATI. But I have for other bulbs. I do not trust them one bit. The Coral Plus is stronger in the blues, has reds that the Aqua blue does not have, and has much less green in the spectrum.

[TropTrea]

Originally Posted by spicytuna

Hello,

I recently just bought a 6x39 dimmable sunpower. This is my first time with t5. I've been a long time user of metal halide. My favorite bulbs are radiums and Phoenix 14k. I used this thread to choose my first set of bulbs based of grims recommendation for replicating a radium 250. My first bulb combo goes like this.

Aquablue special
Blue+
Blue+
UVL actinic white
Blue+
Aquablue special

Now I already have this bulb combo, have yet to open my ati and fire it up, but I've been doing a lot of reading, and it seems people don't favor the aquablue special anymore. So today I picked up 2 new bulbs. Geisemann aquapink and true actinic. The combo is going to go like this

Blue+
Aquablue special
True actinic
Aquapink
Blue+
Actinic white


I'm looking for a color that's a very crisp white with a tint of blue/purple. Just enough to make the corals pop. I don't want the washed out windex look. My favorite color was when I ran a 150w DE radium. The tank was a crisp white, crystal clear, but the corals popped like crazy. If that makes sense? Thank you all for your help, this has been a very informative thread.

It sounds to me that your looking for a very neutral white tank. The GE 6,500K pared with one or two Purple bulbs will give that whit effect. Then the rest of the slots can be Blue bulbs and when everything is on it will still be fairy white looking yet compared to some of the deeper blue combos some people love.

[tgrove]

I have a 55g tank and need new bulbs. I have a 4x54 fixture by aquatic life: http://www.aquaticlife.com/light-fix...our-lamp-t5-ho

I am looking to place some SPS mid to high in the tank and maybe a clam. I would like a slight blue hue to the the light, what bulbs should I get?

[Tron_954]

I like the icy look of 2 Coral+ 2 Blue+, touch of blue, yet nice and icy white.

[dave_black]

Hello,
I have a 48g tank and I need to replace my 6 x 39W bulbs, I was thinking something from ATI/KZ.

For example from KZ:

3x KZ super blue
2x KZ New gen coral light
1x KZ Fuji Purple

or with ATI
3 Blue Plus
2 Aquablue Special
1 Purple plus

Do you think this mix would be good for keeping soft coral and LPS corals.
Or in case do you think I should mix bulbs from the two manufacturers?
BR

[TropTrea]

Originally Posted by dave_black

Hello,
I have a 48g tank and I need to replace my 6 x 39W bulbs, I was thinking something from ATI/KZ.

For example from KZ:

3x KZ super blue
2x KZ New gen coral light
1x KZ Fuji Purple

or with ATI
3 Blue Plus
2 Aquablue Special
1 Purple plus

Do you think this mix would be good for keeping soft coral and LPS corals.
Or in case do you think I should mix bulbs from the two manufacturers?
BR

For both combos I think they would to white. I would go with either one New Generation, or one Aquable Special instead of two. Then the extra slot would be an additional Blue Bulb. This would also boast your usable PAR and give you better coral growth.

[TropTrea]

Originally Posted by tgrove

I have a 55g tank and need new bulbs. I have a 4x54 fixture by aquatic life: http://www.aquaticlife.com/light-fix...our-lamp-t5-ho

I am looking to place some SPS mid to high in the tank and maybe a clam. I would like a slight blue hue to the the light, what bulbs should I get?

I'm not sure if you Handle a clam with just 4 bulbs. Dependent on your color preference you can go with 1 or 2 Coral Plus bulbs with the rest being Blue Plus bulbs.

[dave_black]

Originally Posted by TropTrea

For both combos I think they would to white. I would go with either one New Generation, or one Aquable Special instead of two. Then the extra slot would be an additional Blue Bulb. This would also boast your usable PAR and give you better coral growth.

First of all thanks for the advice,
I will definitely follow your advice replacing a bulb in my previous setup.
I am very confused about light for my reef tank as I always asked for advice from my supplier, over the last few years he made me have this setup (2 x ATI aquablue 1 x ATI purple 2 x KZ new generation 1 X ATI sunpower ). Now I need to gradually replace all of them and I saw many discussion on these forums about ATI and KZ. I was wondering if the difference between ATI or KZ just a matter of personal preference (I am trying to figure our if one of the two setup is better).

[TropTrea]

Spectrum plots have been done by several people on both the ATI bulbs and the KZ bulbs and a few others. Interestingly the similarities are like splitting hairs in most cases. The difference could very easily difference between Manufacturing batches in some cases. Some even believe they might come of the same assembly line with only a difference in the stamp on the bulb.

The KZ Coral Light is a 10,000K bulb while the aqua blue plus is a 15,000K bulb. This gives a slightly blue look to the aqua blue. The KZ bulb you say can is a split almost between the GE 6.500K and the the Aqua blue Plus.

The fiji purple as opposed to the purple plus again is very debatable. Some claim it is the same bulb, others think the Fiji has slightly more red and less blue. Spectrum analysis showed the same peak frequencies but slight differences in the max of there peaks. The differences being so small I personal would not expect a noticeable difference for the human eye or corals.

One bulb I used to love that is seldom talked about is the UVL 454 Atinic Blue. Some places have dropped it but it was a nice low cost bulb that was much more blue than the other blue bulbs and did not have the pink tint of the 420 Atinic bulbs. Wonder if the fact that it started to get hard to find at the same time that ATI changed there advertisement on the Blue plus from 454 to 460nm had any correlation.












I will say that between the Blue Plus and super Blue I think the Super Blue is slightly more blue in color compared to the Blue plus being slightly more cyan colored. This was noted by other when ATI changed there reported peak from 454nm to 460 nm. Recently the super blues changed there literature to reflect a peak at 460 as well so again they could be the same bulb.

[AugustWest]

Looking for a bulb combination for SPS dominant tank. ATI Sunpower 8x24 w T5. I'm currently running 6 ATI Blue Plus and 2 Purple Plus .

Any suggestions, in the past I have only used ATI bulbs but I'm open to trying the. Kz bulbs also.

Thanks for any suggestions.

[TropTrea]

Originally Posted by AugustWest

Looking for a bulb combination for SPS dominant tank. ATI Sunpower 8x24 w T5. I'm currently running 6 ATI Blue Plus and 2 Purple Plus .

Any suggestions, in the past I have only used ATI bulbs but I'm open to trying the. Kz bulbs also.

Thanks for any suggestions.

I'm not convinced now there is a big difference between KZ and ATI bulbs other than the brand name.

As far as your bulb combination I would pick up two of the coral plus bulbs and replace the purple plus with them one at a time to see if you like the brighter look.

[AugustWest]

Originally Posted by TropTrea

I'm not convinced now there is a big difference between KZ and ATI bulbs other than the brand name.

As far as your bulb combination I would pick up two of the coral plus bulbs and replace the purple plus with them one at a time to see if you like the brighter look.

I actually have a spare Coral Plus somewhere so I'll give it a try. You think I should stay with the 6 Blue Plus then ? Thank you

[rogergolf66]

Ok I have an interesting idea. I'm sure there is a good reason why this is not done but fill me in.

I have ati 8x54 and 2 led 460nm strips.

The ati has plugs controll 6 and 2 bulbs separately. I know the now is to run the led sunset and sunrise then 2 t5 for 10-12 hours then the 6 bulbs for 4-8 hours.

I beleive with everything on its to much light. Have bleached out most sps and zoa and paly r retracting a bit. I have sines turned off the 2 bulbs completely and run the 6 bulbs for 7 hours and the led for 12 hours.

I was thinking of using the 2 bulb plug that I'm currently not using for 2-4 hours in the middle of the day instead of the 6 bulbs in the middle of the day. Any thoughts?

[rtparty]

Originally Posted by rogergolf66

Ok I have an interesting idea. I'm sure there is a good reason why this is not done but fill me in.

I have ati 8x54 and 2 led 460nm strips.

The ati has plugs controll 6 and 2 bulbs separately. I know the now is to run the led sunset and sunrise then 2 t5 for 10-12 hours then the 6 bulbs for 4-8 hours.

I beleive with everything on its to much light. Have bleached out most sps and zoa and paly r retracting a bit. I have sines turned off the 2 bulbs completely and run the 6 bulbs for 7 hours and the led for 12 hours.

I was thinking of using the 2 bulb plug that I'm currently not using for 2-4 hours in the middle of the day instead of the 6 bulbs in the middle of the day. Any thoughts?

I used to run my 4 blue bulbs for 10 hours and my 2 daylight bulbs for 4 hours on my old sunpower. There is no set rule on everything.

[Dapg8gt]

Originally Posted by rogergolf66

Ok I have an interesting idea. I'm sure there is a good reason why this is not done but fill me in.

I have ati 8x54 and 2 led 460nm strips.

The ati has plugs controll 6 and 2 bulbs separately. I know the now is to run the led sunset and sunrise then 2 t5 for 10-12 hours then the 6 bulbs for 4-8 hours.

I beleive with everything on its to much light. Have bleached out most sps and zoa and paly r retracting a bit. I have sines turned off the 2 bulbs completely and run the 6 bulbs for 7 hours and the led for 12 hours.

I was thinking of using the 2 bulb plug that I'm currently not using for 2-4 hours in the middle of the day instead of the 6 bulbs in the middle of the day. Any thoughts?

I was just thinking last night about the same thing sort of. I too am having some sps bleaching going on coming from a 6x39w sunpower to a 8x 54 powermodule.

I have altered my light schedule already by only having the "daylights" on for 5 hours but it doesn't seem to be improving and I not too keen on only having 2 blue + bulbs on for most of my viewing time. I'm thinking of actually adding another plug or 2 into the power box have more control on sets of bulbs. That way I can run a gradual increase in pairs with high noon setting for a few hours then ramping back down. The power box is simple to alter and I feel it would work pretty well.

I'm waiting on a delivery of some actinic bulbs first to give it a shot to drop the par as my light is at the highest setting I can mount it and I'm over 600 at the top of my rock work and 500 at the center of the tank as of now with more light spill than I'm used to.

I'm not so into having a really short light cycle like some mention to do as I like to gawk at my tank so if swapping out 2 B+ for the actinics don't help I'll be experimenting with adding a few more plugs and doing some rewiring of the ballasts to get proper coverage. I'm sure it's been done before as It seems pretty simple and should work as that's what most light fixtures these days are emulating anyways just with a different source. Thoughts?

[rogergolf66]

Double

[rogergolf66]

Originally Posted by Dapg8gt

I was just thinking last night about the same thing sort of. I too am having some sps bleaching going on coming from a 6x39w sunpower to a 8x 54 powermodule.

I have altered my light schedule already by only having the "daylights" on for 5 hours but it doesn't seem to be improving and I not too keen on only having 2 blue + bulbs on for most of my viewing time. I'm thinking of actually adding another plug or 2 into the power box have more control on sets of bulbs. That way I can run a gradual increase in pairs with high noon setting for a few hours then ramping back down. The power box is simple to alter and I feel it would work pretty well.

I'm waiting on a delivery of some actinic bulbs first to give it a shot to drop the par as my light is at the highest setting I can mount it and I'm over 600 at the top of my rock work and 500 at the center of the tank as of now with more light spill than I'm used to.

I'm not so into having a really short light cycle like some mention to do as I like to gawk at my tank so if swapping out 2 B+ for the actinics don't help I'll be experimenting with adding a few more plugs and doing some rewiring of the ballasts to get proper coverage. I'm sure it's been done before as It seems pretty simple and should work as that's what most light fixtures these days are emulating anyways just with a different source. Thoughts?

I have 2 actinic I purchased 2 but I thought turning 2 bulbs off completely would help to min bleaching faster then install actinic but dosnt seem to be helping. So I was thinking putting 2 actinic in the 6 bulb plug and 3 blue plus with a purple plus. Run that most of the day say 6- 8 hours then have 2 coral plus in the 2 plug slot to run for daylight 4 hours, and has led strips for 10-12 hours. Any thoughts on this and or bulb recommendation with this?

Roger