The T5 Q&a Thread - split

[DragonWarriorPo]

Anyone have a pic of their tank with this configuration of T5's? Can you post a picture please

Front
1 ATI Blue Plus
2 ATI Purple Plus / KZ Fiji Purple
3 ATI Blue Plus
4 GE 6,500K or ATI Aqua Blue Special
5 ATI Blue Plus
6 ATI Purple Plus / KZ Fiji Purple
7 ATI Blue Plus
8 ATI Blue Plus
Rear

[TropTrea]

Originally Posted by DragonWarriorPo

Anyone have a pic of their tank with this configuration of T5's? Can you post a picture please

Front
1 ATI Blue Plus
2 ATI Purple Plus / KZ Fiji Purple
3 ATI Blue Plus
4 GE 6,500K or ATI Aqua Blue Special
5 ATI Blue Plus
6 ATI Purple Plus / KZ Fiji Purple
7 ATI Blue Plus
8 ATI Blue Plus
Rear

Sorry no pictures every picture I took of it appeared much bluer than it looked in real life. But this was the combination I used for years. First I used the Aqua Blue Special then I thought it looked too blue and substituted the GE 6,500K for it which did make it considerably less blue.

Later I started adding some Royal Blue LED's for a Moon light effect but with even 4 LED's running at 1 Watt Watt each it was too bright for moonlights and upped it to 4 Royal Blue LED's and 2 True Blue running at 3 Watts each.

With the greater amount of light I was getting per Watt on LED's I started adding more LED's and eventually went to running only 4 (54 Watt) ATI Blue Plus Bulbs with a combination of Royal Blue and Neutral White LED's using only 36 Watts.

My latest fixtures are using only 2-54 Watt ATI Blue Plus T-5's and and about 160 Watts of LED's on a 120 Gallon tank.

[Balagur]

Hi all!
I switch my Radions to 24" watt ATI 8 Bulb Sunpower on my 27.5x27.5x24 (l x w x h) shallow reef cube
Bulb setup, front to back, all ATI bulbs:
1. Blue+
2. Purple+
3. Blue+
4. ABC
5. Blue+
6. Purple+
7. Blue+
8. Blue+
Fixuture now is about 5.5" above the water line.
Corals (98% sps) about 13-14 inches of water depth, I do not have a PAR meter. What do you think how high to hang a T5 fixture from the water line in my shallow reef?
In advance very big thank for the answer.

[gordonheimer]

Anyone have some advice on ATI fixture for a 60x27x27 tank? Mostly SPS.

Was looking at 60'' 6 or 8 bulb fixture and 48'' 8 bulb fixture.

[mhucasey]

Originally Posted by asmodyus

Hey guys what do you think about this combo

Front
Blue+
Guessman Lagoon Blue
Blue+
Aqua blue special
Blue+
Guessman Lagoon Blue
Purple+
Blue+

I have almost that exact combo and it is fantastic! Mine looks like this:
front:
Giessman Lagoon Blue
KZ super blue
Blue+
Aqua blue special
Aqua blue special
KZ super blue
KZ fiji purple
Blue+

[terri_ann]

Hi Dennis! I'm upgrading my DT from a 135g to a 180g:0) I currently have the 60" ATI Sunpower (nondimmable), 6 bulb fixture using ATI blue +, etc bulbs. The fixture is newer(2/3yrs). The 180 is 24" W and 25" deep. I'm wondering if the 60" 6 bulb fixture will provide enough Par at the sandbed? Will the spread and Par be ample enough for the additional 6"'s I'm gaining? What distance above the tank/water level would be best for hanging the fixture?

Lastly Dennis, I'm thinking that maybe in the future I will add a couple LEDs on each end of the tank. Because I don't want to sink a lot of money into the LEDs nor am I savy enough to know what might be a good LED fixture at a low price, do you have a recommendation? I was even wondering if a spotlight/pendant type LED would work?

[rfields82]

With all the different t5's I have so many combos running threw my head. Can anyone please take a look and tell me if any of these are any good. Thanks in advance!

Set up 1. 3 B+ 2 P+ 1 ABS
Set up 2. 3 B+ 2 P+ 1 GE
Set up 3. 4 B+ 1 P+ 1 ABS
Set up 4. 4 B+ 1 P+ 1 GE
Set up 5. 3 B+ 1 P+ 1 C+ 1 ABS
Set up 6. 3 B+ 1 P+ 1 C+ 1 GE

[asmodyus]

Originally Posted by mhucasey

I have almost that exact combo and it is fantastic! Mine looks like this:
front:
Giessman Lagoon Blue
KZ super blue
Blue+
Aqua blue special
Aqua blue special
KZ super blue
KZ fiji purple
Blue+

Awsome send me a pic if you get a chance.

[mhucasey]

Originally Posted by asmodyus

Awsome send me a pic if you get a chance.

Here is what I have: Below is a color corrected iPhone pic which is unfortunately more blue than in real life, but it gives you an idea of the intensity and balance of the other colors. With the lagoon blue the greens(not the fluorescent ones) take on another dimension that is very very nice:

And below is a shot of, well, a wiener dog. It happens to also show the overall whiteness of the tank very well:

[mhucasey]

As I've posted here before, I have pretty much every bulb from ATI, Giesemann, and KZ and have played around with about a million combinations of bulbs to get me the best combination of brightness, color, and growth.
For what its worth, based on both my experiments and what I've seen from around the web, the trick for getting the best out of your combination is balancing a strong green peak with the red and blue portions of the spectrum.
Over and over again, I see tanks with amazing color that use Aquablue Special bulbs(which have a huge green peak). Every time I tried the bulb, I hated how it made the tank look greenish and the colors were washed out. I kept trying different combinations and didn’t really see growth AND color take off until I got the Aquablue special tamed.

Remember, only my experiences and my thoughts on viewing color are subjective, the color development in the corals is less subjective. There are many factors at work in an SPS tank that can lead to good color, but I feel that the water parameters have been more or less pretty stable during each of the combos and they were left in place for at least a few weeks to see the effect.
My setup: ATI Sunpower 8X39watt, positions 3 and 6 on 11.5 hours, all bulbs on for 6.5 hours of that time.

Some combos and my results:

#1:
KZ SuperBlue
KZ Fiji Purple
ATI Blue Plus
KZ New Gen
KZ SuperBlue
KZ SuperBlue
KZ New Gen
KZ SuperBlue

Results:
Growth: Slow
Visible Color: Good color representation, definitely blue overtone, a bit dim to the eye
Coral color: Blues Intensified a bit, greens faded some.
Note: Seemed to be better lower to the water, approximately 6” off the surface.

#2:
KZ SuperBlue
KZ New Gen
ATI Blue Plus
KZ New Gen
KZ Fiji Purple
KZ SuperBlue
KZ New Gen
KZ SuperBlue

Results:
Growth: Slow-medium
Visible Color: Good color representation, very visibly bright
Coral color: Tip color improved, but some corals seemed stressed and some tips lost color/burned.
Note: This worked better when I raised the light to about 10” off the water(which blinded me)

#3:
KZ SuperBlue
KZ SuperBlue
ATI Blue Plus
Giesemann Aquablue Plus
KZ Fiji Purple
KZ SuperBlue
KZ New Gen
KZ SuperBlue

Results:
Growth: Slow
Visible Color: Yuck – too yellow for my taste, very visibly bright
Coral color: Corals showed stress within days, some tips/sides of sps burned. Corals began turning brown.
Note: The Aquablue Plus is pretty yellow and hard to balance, and puts out a lot of UV


#4:
KZ SuperBlue
KZ SuperBlue
Giesemann Actinic Plus(Very similar to Blue Plus, a bit more actinic)
ATI Aquablue Special
KZ Fiji purple
KZ SuperBlue
ATI Blue Plus
KZ SuperBlue

Results:
Growth: Medium - Corals immediately responded with growth as soon as the Aquablue went in.
Visible Color: Pretty good representation of color, a bit dull though, a bit dim
Coral color: Bases and tips showed better color within days
Note: Putting the Fiji purple next to the Aquablue helped with the color wash-out, but the overall dimness was not desirable.

#5:
KZ SuperBlue
KZ New Gen
ATI Blue Plus
Giesemann Lagoon Blue(Strong Green and red peaks)
ATI Aquablue Special
KZ SuperBlue
KZ Fiji purple
KZ SuperBlue

Results:
Growth: High - Corals accelerated growth when the Lagoon blue went in next to the Aquablue.
Visible Color: Very good representation of color, Reflective and fluorescent colors glow nicely, Very bright.
Coral color: Bases and tips showed intensified colors, every coral is growing and responding strongly.

Final combo, the one I’m using now:
#6:
Giesemann Lagoon blue
KZ Super Blue
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Aquablue Special
ATI Aquablue Special
KZ SuperBlue
KZ Fiji purple
KZ SuperBlue

Growth: Very High - Corals accelerated growth further, and I have had to up my 2-part dosing significantly.
Visible Color: Very good representation of color, Reflective and fluorescent colors glow nicely, Very bright.
Coral color: Several corals are coloring up in ways that they never had before.

Note: This combo is my current combo and has been in place for about 1 month. The lights are 7” off the water, it looks great and the corals are doing very well.


To sum up: My experience suggests that a lot of blue light doesn’t seem to do much for the corals until there is a strong green component to go with it. There are some studies from Germany that seem to support the need for the green spectrum(but its still not clear what the heck it does for the coral). As you add green, it’s a delicate process to add enough red to balance it aesthetically. I found putting the Fiji purple toward the back helped moderate the red intensity some. KZ New Gen bulbs are good for overall brightness but they seem to be missing something for growth. The Aquablue Special bulb(or that in combination with lagoon blue) for me was the key.

[mhucasey]

Some pics - iPhone 5 pic, color balance changed to cloudy to reduce the blue, brightness increased. No other color adjustments:

[asmodyus]

Originally Posted by mhucasey

Final combo, the one I’m using now:
#6:
Giesemann Lagoon blue
KZ Super Blue
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Aquablue Special
ATI Aquablue Special
KZ SuperBlue
KZ Fiji purple
KZ SuperBlue

Growth: Very High - Corals accelerated growth further, and I have had to up my 2-part dosing significantly.
Visible Color: Very good representation of color, Reflective and fluorescent colors glow nicely, Very bright.
Coral color: Several corals are coloring up in ways that they never had before.


.

Nice thanks for all the info what the Difference between KZ SuperBlue and ATI blue + I see you have both.

[mhucasey]

The KZ superblue has slightly less green and is slightly deeper blue(royal blue). The differences between both tubes are marginal though. In the same fixture you can see that the blue plus looks brighter but its very slight. Both bulbs are made in the same factory.

[FDdragon]

so is 10,000k too strong for my tank? I have a 97 x 24 x 30. I plan on using a 4 bulb fixture with 2 blues, 1 purple and 1 10k. I plan on havin a mixed reef but mostly LPS

[DDon]

I have finally decided (I think) to add T5 supplementation to my LEDS. Tank is 240g 8'x2'x2' mixed reef though heavy on the acros, or will be when the frags grow. Current lighting is 4 kessil a360w (2 original and 2 of newer e series), 4 ai sol blue and a diy led fixture. I originally planned to upgrade a few of the sol units to hydra 52 to get better spectrum and then use the kessils forward and angled to the rear to reduce shadowing. After playing around with the lights though and reading though many of the threads I think it would be better to supplement with t5 and use the kessils and either the diy fixture or one of the sols as the main lights. Not a big fan as the sols but they blend better color wise with the kessils while the diy has a purple tint.
With that said I am looking using 4 of the LET micro 4 2x54w retro kits, 2 end to end in front of and 2 end to end behind the kessils. Anyone have an opinion on these kits as well as the quantity?
Been reading through this thread on bulb colors and still not sure on what to use. I like a whiter warmer look with a bit of blue , so maybe 12k'ish with colors that pop.(run the kessils between 70 and 80 on color to give you an idea but want a fuller spectrum).
I have been researching pretty heavy but have no experience with t5 so don't have a feel for what the bulbs in combo would look like. Here are a few thoughts from my reading but again just not sure.
front:
blue+
coral+
LEDs
coral+
blue+

or possibly all coral+ and use the LEDs to cover the blues.

Would it make any sense to use a ge6500 in place of the coral+ right behind the LEDs to bring out the yellows followed by a blue+ or purple+?
Thanks in advance for any advice you can supply
Dale

[chris@CoralVue]

Hello everyone, as most of you already know CoralVue has taken over distributorship for Giesemann in North America. We are expecting our first delivery of the Giesemann's new range of T5 lamps in two weeks. I'm looking for three T5 only users to be beta testers for the lamps. For consideration please email me at chris@coralvue.com along with the following information:

1. Brand, length and color of T5 lamps currently in use?
2. Which fixture brand are you using, or DIY?
3. Size of aquarium and type of corals?
4. Please provide a current photo of your aquarium.

Three hobbyists will be selected based on criteria that we have already developed. All we are asking is for honest feedback on the look and performance of the new range of Giesemann T5 lamps.

Thanks,

Chris Conti

[Johnseye]

I decided to add a 4 bulb ATI T5 light to my two BML 20000k strips. Would someone be able to recommend a good bulb combination? I'm looking to maximize growth.

Thanks

[FDdragon]

Originally Posted by Johnseye

I decided to add a 4 bulb ATI T5 light to my two BML 20000k strips. Would someone be able to recommend a good bulb combination? I'm looking to maximize growth.

Thanks

from what ive gathered it looks like 2 blue, 1 purple and 1 white light. Then its up to what type of blues and white to use.

im going that route but was curious if 10,000k was too much or if it was fine use with the .

[Johnseye]

Originally Posted by FDdragon

from what ive gathered it looks like 2 blue, 1 purple and 1 white light. Then its up to what type of blues and white to use.

im going that route but was curious if 10,000k was too much or if it was fine use with the .

I was thinking ATI lights; 2 blue plus, 1 purple plus and either a coral plus or an aquablue special. Wasn't sure whether to swap in a GE 6500 with the coral plus or aquablue special.

[FDdragon]

from what I have read and pics I looked at, I would go with the coral plus.

ive been looking at a lot of pics with similar setups and most of them have that purplish tint.....and im not liking it. im thinking about not using the Fiji purple and maybe throw in a Coral plus... but I still want vibrant colors for my corals

[hoju74]

I just switched from LED to T5 and I'm running a 4 bulb unit. I'm running 2 Blue + and 2 Coral +. I'm still undecided if this is too blue, and if I should switch out a bulb for either a Purple + or AquaBlue.

[FDdragon]

Originally Posted by hoju74

I just switched from LED to T5 and I'm running a 4 bulb unit. I'm running 2 Blue + and 2 Coral +. I'm still undecided if this is too blue, and if I should switch out a bulb for either a Purple + or AquaBlue.

do you have a pic?

[DragonWarriorPo]

Originally Posted by mhucasey

As I've posted here before, I have pretty much every bulb from ATI, Giesemann, and KZ and have played around with about a million combinations of bulbs to get me the best combination of brightness, color, and growth.

For what its worth, based on both my experiments and what I've seen from around the web, the trick for getting the best out of your combination is balancing a strong green peak with the red and blue portions of the spectrum.

Over and over again, I see tanks with amazing color that use Aquablue Special bulbs(which have a huge green peak). Every time I tried the bulb, I hated how it made the tank look greenish and the colors were washed out. I kept trying different combinations and didn’t really see growth AND color take off until I got the Aquablue special tamed.



Remember, only my experiences and my thoughts on viewing color are subjective, the color development in the corals is less subjective. There are many factors at work in an SPS tank that can lead to good color, but I feel that the water parameters have been more or less pretty stable during each of the combos and they were left in place for at least a few weeks to see the effect.

My setup: ATI Sunpower 8X39watt, positions 3 and 6 on 11.5 hours, all bulbs on for 6.5 hours of that time.



Some combos and my results:



#1:

KZ SuperBlue

KZ Fiji Purple

ATI Blue Plus

KZ New Gen

KZ SuperBlue

KZ SuperBlue

KZ New Gen

KZ SuperBlue



Results:

Growth: Slow

Visible Color: Good color representation, definitely blue overtone, a bit dim to the eye

Coral color: Blues Intensified a bit, greens faded some.

Note: Seemed to be better lower to the water, approximately 6” off the surface.



#2:

KZ SuperBlue

KZ New Gen

ATI Blue Plus

KZ New Gen

KZ Fiji Purple

KZ SuperBlue

KZ New Gen

KZ SuperBlue



Results:

Growth: Slow-medium

Visible Color: Good color representation, very visibly bright

Coral color: Tip color improved, but some corals seemed stressed and some tips lost color/burned.

Note: This worked better when I raised the light to about 10” off the water(which blinded me)



#3:

KZ SuperBlue

KZ SuperBlue

ATI Blue Plus

Giesemann Aquablue Plus

KZ Fiji Purple

KZ SuperBlue

KZ New Gen

KZ SuperBlue



Results:

Growth: Slow

Visible Color: Yuck – too yellow for my taste, very visibly bright

Coral color: Corals showed stress within days, some tips/sides of sps burned. Corals began turning brown.

Note: The Aquablue Plus is pretty yellow and hard to balance, and puts out a lot of UV





#4:

KZ SuperBlue

KZ SuperBlue

Giesemann Actinic Plus(Very similar to Blue Plus, a bit more actinic)

ATI Aquablue Special

KZ Fiji purple

KZ SuperBlue

ATI Blue Plus

KZ SuperBlue



Results:

Growth: Medium - Corals immediately responded with growth as soon as the Aquablue went in.

Visible Color: Pretty good representation of color, a bit dull though, a bit dim

Coral color: Bases and tips showed better color within days

Note: Putting the Fiji purple next to the Aquablue helped with the color wash-out, but the overall dimness was not desirable.



#5:

KZ SuperBlue

KZ New Gen

ATI Blue Plus

Giesemann Lagoon Blue(Strong Green and red peaks)

ATI Aquablue Special

KZ SuperBlue

KZ Fiji purple

KZ SuperBlue



Results:

Growth: High - Corals accelerated growth when the Lagoon blue went in next to the Aquablue.

Visible Color: Very good representation of color, Reflective and fluorescent colors glow nicely, Very bright.

Coral color: Bases and tips showed intensified colors, every coral is growing and responding strongly.



Final combo, the one I’m using now:

#6:

Giesemann Lagoon blue

KZ Super Blue

ATI Blue Plus

ATI Aquablue Special

ATI Aquablue Special

KZ SuperBlue

KZ Fiji purple

KZ SuperBlue



Growth: Very High - Corals accelerated growth further, and I have had to up my 2-part dosing significantly.

Visible Color: Very good representation of color, Reflective and fluorescent colors glow nicely, Very bright.

Coral color: Several corals are coloring up in ways that they never had before.



Note: This combo is my current combo and has been in place for about 1 month. The lights are 7” off the water, it looks great and the corals are doing very well.





To sum up: My experience suggests that a lot of blue light doesn’t seem to do much for the corals until there is a strong green component to go with it. There are some studies from Germany that seem to support the need for the green spectrum(but its still not clear what the heck it does for the coral). As you add green, it’s a delicate process to add enough red to balance it aesthetically. I found putting the Fiji purple toward the back helped moderate the red intensity some. KZ New Gen bulbs are good for overall brightness but they seem to be missing something for growth. The Aquablue Special bulb(or that in combination with lagoon blue) for me was the key.

Hi. Any Idea on combo for a 12 bulb fixture that would be similar to your #6 configuration?

[mhucasey]

Originally Posted by DragonWarriorPo

Hi. Any Idea on combo for a 12 bulb fixture that would be similar to your #6 configuration?

For a 12 bulb fixture, I would give this a shot(positions 4 and 9 are dusk/dawn?):
front-back
1)Giesemann Lagoon blue
2)KZ Super Blue/ATI Blue Plus
3)KZ fiji Purple
4)KZ Super Blue/ATI Blue Plus
5)ATI Aquablue Special
6)KZ Super Blue/ATI Blue Plus
7)ATI Aquablue Special
8)KZ Super Blue/ATI Blue Plus
9)KZ Super Blue/ATI Blue Plus
10)KZ Fiji purple
11)Aquablue Special
12)KZ Super Blue/ATI Blue Plus

If different positions are the dawn/dusk positions, shuffle them so that the blue bulbs are in those positions. I found I liked the fiji purple bulbs better near the outside of the fixture, whether in front or back(I did not like the Purple plus or Coral plus bulbs from ATI like the Fiji Purple, the ATI bulbs made everything look more pink than i liked.)
I like the Lagoon blue up front, it gives a nice brightness and helps the overall color balance. If you have both Blue+ and Superblue bulbs, I'd mix them throughout, if you have to spend more or if its difficult to get the Superblue you will be fine with the Blue+ only.
I hope this combo will work for you

[Joe Cool]

I'm sure it's been discussed countless times but I'm wondering which is the best combo for growth and colors of SPS on a 6 bulb fixture. I was thinking about switching out the coral+ for an aquablue.
I'm currently running:
Front
blue+
blue+
coral+
purple+
blue+
blue+