The T5 Q&a Thread - split

[cFloor]

Which ATI bulb would have the highest PAR? Would it be the Aqua Blue? Thanks

[DiscusHeckel]

Originally Posted by cFloor

Which ATI bulb would have the highest PAR? Would it be the Aqua Blue? Thanks

I would say the ABS, but the Coral + would be very close. As for PUR, i would say the Blue +.

[wcharon]

Originally Posted by mhucasey

Color Preference is just that, a preference, and not everyone will like the same color. My issues with C+ have been when they are paired with other white bulbs, not just blue. Here is an interesting comparison though. I took a shot of my current lighting:



Then I put in six bulbs, 2 C+ and 4 B+. This is what it looked like in comparison:




The pictures are unre-touched iPhone 6 shots. My impression of the second combo was that it was very "Crystal" blue, bright but too blue for my tastes. The reds, in particular, were too muddy for me. I can see why you would like the combo though, the overall color was a very pretty blue and the fluorescence was good.

Definivaley the first pic looks better for us that don't like the blueish look. Those actinic for sure makes a huge difference. Hope Gisemann brings the Actinics in 80 watts to the frag swap exhibition.

[cFloor]

DiscusHeckel- thank you

[bucfan]

Originally Posted by mhucasey

What color combo are you running here? I really like it but know that phone pics can be deceiving. Can't tell but is there a bit of a pink hue? I'm preparing for my new ATI LED Powermodule with 8 bulbs and trying to get the right combo. I have a bunch of ATI Blue+ so will need to use those in addition to some others. What do you suggest?

[mhucasey]

The picture gets a little pinkish violet due to the actinics but its not there in real life, its a very vibrant white, if that makes sense. The bulbs are:
Front to back:
Blue Plus
Aquablue Azure
Super actinic
Fiji Purple
Super Actinic
Actinic Blue
Aquablue Special
KZ New Gen

[bucfan]

Originally Posted by mhucasey

The picture gets a little pinkish violet due to the actinics but its not there in real life, its a very vibrant white, if that makes sense. The bulbs are:
Front to back:
Blue Plus
Aquablue Azure
Super actinic
Fiji Purple
Super Actinic
Actinic Blue
Aquablue Special
KZ New Gen

Who makes the Super Actinic/Actinic Blue? And is the Aquablue by Giesmann? Wondering if I already have 5 ATI Blue Plus and 1 Coral Plus what other bulbs should I get to make it work?

[mhucasey]

Originally Posted by bucfan

Who makes the Super Actinic/Actinic Blue? And is the Aquablue by Giesmann? Wondering if I already have 5 ATI Blue Plus and 1 Coral Plus what other bulbs should I get to make it work?

The Aquablue Special is from ATI
The Super Actinic and Actinic Blue are from Giesemann.

D-D/Giesemann used to distribute a line of bulbs that are still available at many outlets, but these bulbs are not from that line. This is a new line from Giesemann only now.

[bucfan]

Originally Posted by mhucasey

The Aquablue Special is from ATI

The Super Actinic and Actinic Blue are from Giesemann.



D-D/Giesemann used to distribute a line of bulbs that are still available at many outlets, but these bulbs are not from that line. This is a new line from Giesemann only now.

If I use 4 ATI blue plus and 1 ATI coral plus then what other 3 bulbs do you recommend for growth and color? I prefer a slightly bluer look overall.

[wcharon]

Suggestions..

I have a 6 bulbs Sunpower with 3 B+, 2 C+ and 1 P+. They are from front to back P+, B+, B+, C+, B+, C+. I use 2 b+ for dawn/dusk. I love this combo a lot but like everything in the hobby i am interested to try the Actinic bulb to pop out the flourecence colors.

Besides that i have read that the Actinic bulbs are useless when all the combination bulbs are on i will like to give it a try before i evaluate the use of a Led Strip like Reefbrite or MBL.

Today i will be recieving ATI Actinic +, Gisemann Actinic + and True Actinic and my question is based on your experience which Actinic bulb should i use and which one should i replace??? I assume it should be better to use it in a dawn/dusk slot where the B+ is located or should i replace a C+???

Thanks in advance...

[mhucasey]

The ATI Actinic and the True Actinic are actinic bulbs, the Giesemann Actinic + is like a blue plus. I have found that replacing a Blue bulb with an actinic gives you the fluorescence of the Blue bulb without the accompanying blue cast.

[mhucasey]

Originally Posted by bucfan

What color combo are you running here? I really like it but know that phone pics can be deceiving. Can't tell but is there a bit of a pink hue? I'm preparing for my new ATI LED Powermodule with 8 bulbs and trying to get the right combo. I have a bunch of ATI Blue+ so will need to use those in addition to some others. What do you suggest?

I just figured out that the Camera phone was set to HDR, which made the picture more pink. Here is a better one, from last night:

[wcharon]

Originally Posted by mhucasey

The ATI Actinic and the True Actinic are actinic bulbs, the Giesemann Actinic + is like a blue plus. I have found that replacing a Blue bulb with an actinic gives you the fluorescence of the Blue bulb without the accompanying blue cast.

Ok... Thanks for the clarification... I was confused seeing their spectrum chart.

I will start with the Dawn/Dusk and see what i get first but referring to your explanation probablly i can try both Gisemann actinics as dawn/dusk feature.

What you think???

[mhucasey]

Originally Posted by wcharon

Ok... Thanks for the clarification... I was confused seeing their spectrum chart.

I will start with the Dawn/Dusk and see what i get first but referring to your explanation probablly i can try both Gisemann actinics as dawn/dusk feature.

What you think???

That sounds good, two true actinic bulbs as the dawn/dusk are a bit too much like a backlight poster IMO but a blue and an actinic bulb are quite nice together

[wcharon]

Great.. Thanks for the suggestion.. Will let you know as soon i recieve the bulbs today...

So many options....

[fishgeeksrus]

I am currently (for a LONG time) running. 6x24 ATI
Front:
B+
B+
P+
AB Special
B+
B+

It is getting to be that time to replace my bulbs. I do like the look but I thought maybe try something different. I am not into the really blue tanks. Do you guys have any suggestions? I was thing about trying the C+ but I'm seeing mixed reviews.

Here is a picture of my current lighting. It looks much bluer in the picture than real life.

[bucfan]

Originally Posted by mhucasey

I just figured out that the Camera phone was set to HDR, which made the picture more pink. Here is a better one, from last night:

Beautiful tank! Really love the colors. Trying to figure out to achieve something similar while minimizing cost since I already have 4 ATI blue plus and 1 coral plus. Would like to know which other 3 bulbs I should buy.

[mhucasey]

Originally Posted by bucfan

Beautiful tank! Really love the colors. Trying to figure out to achieve something similar while minimizing cost since I already have 4 ATI blue plus and 1 coral plus. Would like to know which other 3 bulbs I should buy.

Thank you very much for the compliment! I will have to be honest, however, in saying that restricting the selection to adding 3 bulbs to the 4 blue plus and 1 coral plus prevents me from coming up with a suggestion that will get you close to the look I have. I can make some suggestions for bulbs to add to that mix but I don't know exactly what it would look like- I could try to simulate some combos tonight as I have all the bulbs.

Off the cuff I'd say get a Fiji purple and two aquablue azures. Let me see what that looks like tonight.

[rogergolf66]

Ok I have just bought a tank 72x30x25

I have thought of a few different ways to light it. Option 1

2 Lum reflectors with 20k radium 250w MH
2 t5 on each side of MH so 4 bulbs total 60 inch
72in Reef brite 50/50 on each side of the t5
72 in reefbrite blue led on each side the 50/50

The led can be angled towards the middle of the tank.

What t5 bulbs would u go with? All blue plus?

Option 2

I currently have an ati 8x54 setup on my 48x24x24 tank it's to much light. I'm thinking I could hang that center but high maybe 12inch. then use the 72in reef bright 50/50 on each side of the ati and a 72inch blue led on each side of the 50/50.

What do u think or do u recommend or something else completly?

Roger

[wcharon]

Originally Posted by mhucasey

That sounds good, two true actinic bulbs as the dawn/dusk are a bit too much like a backlight poster IMO but a blue and an actinic bulb are quite nice together

Mhucasey....As promised.... I tried the ATI and Gisemanns actinic and liked better the ATI. It really poped my Elegance, Hammers and Duncan colors. As you stated, for Dawn/Dusk the combination of Actinic with Blue is perfect. When all bulbs are on i still notice the effect of the Actinic but less pronuced.

I finished with this setup from front to back:

B+
Actinic 03
B+
C+
B+
P+

Thanks for all your support.. Now my next step is to evaluate the ReefBrite Strip to see if it has more effect on the flourecence colors.

[rogergolf66]

Originally Posted by wcharon

Mhucasey....As promised.... I tried the ATI and Gisemanns actinic and liked better the ATI. It really poped my Elegance, Hammers and Duncan colors. As you stated, for Dawn/Dusk the combination of Actinic with Blue is perfect. When all bulbs are on i still notice the effect of the Actinic but less pronuced.

I finished with this setup from front to back:

B+
Actinic 03
B+
C+
B+
P+

Thanks for all your support.. Now my next step is to evaluate the ReefBrite Strip to see if it has more effect on the flourecence colors.

The reefbright will make all pop much more then the actinic and blue plus

[wcharon]

Originally Posted by rogergolf66

The reefbright will make all pop much more then the actinic and blue plus

Thanks.. That means that when all the bulbs are on with the Reefbrite the colors will pop even more or only using it before and after the daylights ???

[bucfan]

Originally Posted by mhucasey

Thank you very much for the compliment! I will have to be honest, however, in saying that restricting the selection to adding 3 bulbs to the 4 blue plus and 1 coral plus prevents me from coming up with a suggestion that will get you close to the look I have. I can make some suggestions for bulbs to add to that mix but I don't know exactly what it would look like- I could try to simulate some combos tonight as I have all the bulbs.

Off the cuff I'd say get a Fiji purple and two aquablue azures. Let me see what that looks like tonight.

What Giesmann bulb would be the same as ATI Coral Plus? And is the ATI Actinic the same as Giesmann Super Actinic?

[mhucasey]

Originally Posted by rogergolf66

The reefbright will make all pop much more then the actinic and blue plus

I originally added the Actinics in for growth, not fluorescence, but it is a nice side benefit. If you look back through this thread a bit you can see the case I am making for 420nm being a better light source for coral growth and why. My Corals right now are growing like crazy so I am very happy with the result.

[mhucasey]

Originally Posted by bucfan

What Giesmann bulb would be the same as ATI Coral Plus? And is the ATI Actinic the same as Giesmann Super Actinic?

Supposedly the Aquablue Azure, KZ New Gen, and Coral Plus are all in the same group(The bulbs look bluish lavender when on) but I dislike the color of the Coral Plus when its is mixed with other white bulbs.

In the same way I have a purple plus and (several) KZ fiji purple and i dislike the pinkish cast from the purple plus but I like the Fiji Purple. Its a slight shift toward purplish magenta and it looks better to me.

Your overall color is very bluish green because of the blue plus bulbs, and the coral plus doesn't balance against the blue and green much at all. This is due to the fact that it has very little red. That is why I would add a Fiji Purple and then a good balanced bulb like the Azure or the New Gen to increase the whiteness and brightness. Later I would replace one or two blue pluses with Actinics.