The T5 Q&a Thread - split - Page 245

StrikerKratos · 01/31/2016, 02:32 PM

On my 8 bulb I've got on the way I've got the following combo picked for max growth.
Aquablue
Coral +
True Actinic
Aquablue
Coral +
True Actinic
Aquablue
Coral +

mhucasey · 01/31/2016, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by silvernblackr35

Aquablue special vs coral plus.. anyone have growth comparisons?

Not that I know of - functionally they should work the same, its really a visual preference only. The Coral Plus has slightly higher PAR.

mhucasey · 01/31/2016, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StrikerKratos

On my 8 bulb I've got on the way I've got the following combo picked for max growth.
Aquablue
Coral +
True Actinic
Aquablue
Coral +
True Actinic
Aquablue
Coral +

Wow, that is a lot of light - It will certainly work but you may find it too yellow. If you do I'd swap out Aquablue specials and replace them with blue plus.

silvernblackr35 · 02/01/2016, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mhucasey

Not that I know of - functionally they should work the same, its really a visual preference only. The Coral Plus has slightly higher PAR.

I used to run 6 blue + and 2 coral+loved the color for acans and red lps but wasn't a huge fan of the pinkish look the coral plus gave my wrasses and clowns, so I swapped them for ati aquablue specials to see if they were as bad at washing out as people said. They definitely don't give the reds and oranges as much pop as the coral + but they are much much brighter white bulbs and I prefer the more natural look they give slightly over the coral +. It would be interesting to see the growth differences. I've stuck with this combo for a while now.

StrikerKratos · 02/01/2016, 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mhucasey

Wow, that is a lot of light - It will certainly work but you may find it too yellow. If you do I'd swap out Aquablue specials and replace them with blue plus.

For display purposes I would have gone with some blue plus, but this is for a SPS frag tank and chosen for growth purposes only.

RedStangGA · 02/01/2016, 09:38 AM

Looking at buying an ATI 8x80w fixture for my 30-inch deep 220g build. My plan is to supplement it with Kessil LED's at some point as well, possibly taking out the 2 center bulbs to make room for the Kessil's.

So, my question would be what would a good bulb combo be? I'm completely new to T5's. I am partial to a blue look but I've always had LED's and might be a little spoiled by that.

Livestock will be a mixed reef. SPS, LPS, and softies will all be present.

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

mhucasey · 02/01/2016, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedStangGA

Looking at buying an ATI 8x80w fixture for my 30-inch deep 220g build. My plan is to supplement it with Kessil LED's at some point as well, possibly taking out the 2 center bulbs to make room for the Kessil's.

So, my question would be what would a good bulb combo be? I'm completely new to T5's. I am partial to a blue look but I've always had LED's and might be a little spoiled by that.

Livestock will be a mixed reef. SPS, LPS, and softies will all be present.

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

The best combo to start out with would be 5 Blue plus, 2 Coral Plus, one Purple plus(Or Fiji Purple, which is a better purple).

mhucasey · 02/01/2016, 12:10 PM

FYI right now at BRS KZ bulbs are on sale, 25% off!

silvernblackr35 · 02/01/2016, 01:36 PM

The only KZ bulb i've tried was the KZ coral light new gen, it was comparable with the aquablue special as far as color and brightness to the eye.

RedStangGA · 02/01/2016, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mhucasey

The best combo to start out with would be 5 Blue plus, 2 Coral Plus, one Purple plus(Or Fiji Purple, which is a better purple).

Thank you sir!

mhucasey · 02/01/2016, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by silvernblackr35

The only KZ bulb i've tried was the KZ coral light new gen, it was comparable with the aquablue special as far as color and brightness to the eye.

I think you may be thinking of the standard Coral Light. It is similar to the ABS. The New Gen is much whiter and higher K white bulb - closer to a Coral plus with less red and very close to an Aquablue Azure by Giesemann. Its a quality bulb with a ton of PAR.

The KZ Fiji Purple is the original and Best Purple Bulb, and is the one Bulb KZ makes that is better than their competitors.

silvernblackr35 · 02/01/2016, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mhucasey

I think you may be thinking of the standard Coral Light. It is similar to the ABS. The New Gen is much whiter and higher K white bulb - closer to a Coral plus with less red and very close to an Aquablue Azure by Giesemann. Its a quality bulb with a ton of PAR.

The KZ Fiji Purple is the original and Best Purple Bulb, and is the one Bulb KZ makes that is better than their competitors.

You are right, it is the coral light. My mistake.

biecacka · 02/02/2016, 12:44 AM

Ok, so I have a 48/48/24 cube tank that is being lit by 4 rapidled DIY Aurora pucks. They have the same diode layout as the the radion does. Question, if I want to incorporate led into these, how many bulbs do you recommend?
And how many bulbs would you suggest for the tank if I ditch the LEDs?

Thanks,
Corey

mhucasey · 02/02/2016, 01:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by biecacka

Ok, so I have a 48/48/24 cube tank that is being lit by 4 rapidled DIY Aurora pucks. They have the same diode layout as the the radion does. Question, if I want to incorporate led into these, how many bulbs do you recommend?
And how many bulbs would you suggest for the tank if I ditch the LEDs?

Thanks,
Corey

If you ditch the LEDs:

If you want to grow SPS in there and get good coverage - that is, light at high levels at every point in the tank, 2 8x54 watt fixtures. Those are 48" and would go right to the edge.
I know you are not an SPS junkie and So for excellent coverage you could go with the 36" 39watt fixtures. 2 8x39Watt fixtures is 624 watts when all 16 bulbs are on. That will let you grow All kinds of corals almost everywhere in the tank, just slightly lower par near the edges.

I have a 36"X 48" reef with an 8 bulb and a 6 bulb 39 watt sunpowers and that combo covers nicely with both fixtures touching. Two more bulbs and a little gap between the fixtures will handle 48x48 with even par across the whole tank.

If you go with LPS and very easy SPS you may get away with 2 6X39 watt fixtures but I think you would regret not getting the 8 bulb fixtures later.

dahc1979 · 02/02/2016, 07:55 AM

I have an ATI Sunpower 6X54W light and am getting ready to swap out the bulbs. I am debating between 2 bulb configurations. Can someone give me some insight into which one might be better or if either of them seem like a disaster waiting to happen?
This is over a 90 gallon mixed reef.

1. ATI aqua blue
ATI blue +
ATI aqua blue
ATI blue +
ATI aqua blue
ATI blue +

2. ATI Blue +
ATI Blue +
ATI Coral +
ATI Purple +
ATI Blue +
ATI Coral +

biecacka · 02/02/2016, 09:00 AM

Matt, thank you for the advice.

. I think I am coming into the SPS realm. I'm slowly dropping my nitrates in my LPS/softy tank. Going to go sps/LPS. So I'm open to suggestion. Not sure if I'll ditch the leds or not. I'm not completely opposed of the idea.
It's an open top tank with rock in a "U" shape with the open end at the front of the tank. Would 36 inch fixtures work?

Corey

mhucasey · 02/02/2016, 09:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dahc1979

I have an ATI Sunpower 6X54W light and am getting ready to swap out the bulbs. I am debating between 2 bulb configurations. Can someone give me some insight into which one might be better or if either of them seem like a disaster waiting to happen?
This is over a 90 gallon mixed reef.

1. ATI aqua blue
ATI blue +
ATI aqua blue
ATI blue +
ATI aqua blue
ATI blue +

2. ATI Blue +
ATI Blue +
ATI Coral +
ATI Purple +
ATI Blue +
ATI Coral +

The second would look better IMO but both will grow coral very well

dahc1979 · 02/02/2016, 09:17 AM

Thank you mhucasey!!

mhucasey · 02/02/2016, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by biecacka

Matt, thank you for the advice.

. I think I am coming into the SPS realm. I'm slowly dropping my nitrates in my LPS/softy tank. Going to go sps/LPS. So I'm open to suggestion. Not sure if I'll ditch the leds or not. I'm not completely opposed of the idea.
It's an open top tank with rock in a "U" shape with the open end at the front of the tank. Would 36 inch fixtures work?

Corey

Yep 36" fixtures will give you good coverage. If I were you I'd ditch the LED. Four Aurora pucks covering 16 square feet is so underpowered it's ridiculous, and adding them to T5s will just add a confusing element to dialing in the light. With T5, you hang fixture 10 inches above the water to start and turn it on for 12 hours for the 2 bulb circuit, 6-8 hours all bulbs on. It's pretty foolproof.

I'd go with 8X36" non dimmable sunpowers. The 8 bulb circuit layout would let you take out two bulbs on either end if you like to essentially make them a 6 bulb light - you could run that way at the start but have the option to add two more bulbs to increase coverage and par.

mhucasey · 02/02/2016, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dahc1979

Thank you mhucasey!!

You're very welcome

biecacka · 02/02/2016, 10:27 AM

Matt,
Not sure if you've seen my layout but here is an old pic for reference.

The 4 pucks are thin coverage for sure. But the way they are positioned there is no fixture in the center of the tank. So, you think 2 8 bulb fixtures will do it?

Corey

mhucasey · 02/02/2016, 02:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by biecacka

Matt,
Not sure if you've seen my layout but here is an old pic for reference.

The 4 pucks are thin coverage for sure. But the way they are positioned there is no fixture in the center of the tank. So, you think 2 8 bulb fixtures will do it?

Corey

Two 8 Bulb fixtures will cover it for sure

SpSChief85 · 02/04/2016, 02:51 AM

Just ordered an 8x24" dimmable sunpower... going to run 6 blue+ 1 coral+ 1 purple plus. So I should hang the light 10" awl to start? Have a 24 tall tank with a shallow rockscape.... highest point is 12" lowest being around 4 to 6" what par should I be seeing at the bare bottom of my tank, I say bare bottom obviously be a use there's no sand.

mhucasey · 02/04/2016, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpSChief85

Just ordered an 8x24" dimmable sunpower... going to run 6 blue+ 1 coral+ 1 purple plus. So I should hang the light 10" awl to start? Have a 24 tall tank with a shallow rockscape.... highest point is 12" lowest being around 4 to 6" what par should I be seeing at the bare bottom of my tank, I say bare bottom obviously be a use there's no sand.

Start off at 100%, don't dim the bulbs til they burn in for a while. On my 22" tall tank at 8" above the water line here were some of my numbers for comparison(bulbs about 6 months old):

[IMG]

[/IMG]

Mr.Tan · 02/04/2016, 10:13 AM

I'm stuck between choices. I dont want it to be TOO blue, but not too white either... i want the purples and blues and reds to really pop in the tank. Right now it has a washed out windex/bright white look to it which i hate. (running "stock" aquaticlife bulbs that came in 4 bulb fixture)

Its a 4 bulb 30" fixture

I'm thinking:

1 true actinic
1 blue+
1 coral+
1 purple+

or

1 actinic
2 blue+
1 coral+

or even

1 actinic
2 blue+
1 purple+

02/01/2016, 09:38 AM	#6106
RedStangGA Registered Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: Winter Garden, FL Posts: 1,052	Looking at buying an ATI 8x80w fixture for my 30-inch deep 220g build. My plan is to supplement it with Kessil LED's at some point as well, possibly taking out the 2 center bulbs to make room for the Kessil's. So, my question would be what would a good bulb combo be? I'm completely new to T5's. I am partial to a blue look but I've always had LED's and might be a little spoiled by that. Livestock will be a mixed reef. SPS, LPS, and softies will all be present. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks! __________________ Marineland 220, Marineland 60 Cube

02/01/2016, 12:10 PM	#6108
mhucasey Acros & wieners, oh my! Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Oceanside, California Posts: 3,706	FYI right now at BRS KZ bulbs are on sale, 25% off! __________________ - Matt I call the big one "Bitey" - Homer Simpson See my tank thread here: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2468548 Current Tank Info: 120 Gallon Rimless Starphire Shallow Reef. Reef Octopus Diablo EXT-200 skimmer, Chaeto Reactor, Lighting: ATI Sunpower 8X39W, 6X39W Sunpower

02/02/2016, 07:55 AM	#6115
dahc1979 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Rock Island Posts: 78	I have an ATI Sunpower 6X54W light and am getting ready to swap out the bulbs. I am debating between 2 bulb configurations. Can someone give me some insight into which one might be better or if either of them seem like a disaster waiting to happen? This is over a 90 gallon mixed reef. 1. ATI aqua blue ATI blue + ATI aqua blue ATI blue + ATI aqua blue ATI blue + 2. ATI Blue + ATI Blue + ATI Coral + ATI Purple + ATI Blue + ATI Coral + Last edited by dahc1979; 02/02/2016 at 08:33 AM. Reason: Missed spacing

02/04/2016, 02:51 AM	#6123
SpSChief85 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Posts: 172	Just ordered an 8x24" dimmable sunpower... going to run 6 blue+ 1 coral+ 1 purple plus. So I should hang the light 10" awl to start? Have a 24 tall tank with a shallow rockscape.... highest point is 12" lowest being around 4 to 6" what par should I be seeing at the bare bottom of my tank, I say bare bottom obviously be a use there's no sand. __________________ 93 Gallon Rimless Cube, ATI 8x24 Sunpower, Gyre 150, Mp40wes, Skimz SM203, Geo 618 CalRX, Full Apex, and lots of Sps.

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01/31/2016, 02:32 PM	#6101
StrikerKratos Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: Tampa Bay Area, FL Posts: 40	On my 8 bulb I've got on the way I've got the following combo picked for max growth. Aquablue Coral + True Actinic Aquablue Coral + True Actinic Aquablue Coral +

02/01/2016, 01:36 PM	#6109
silvernblackr35 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2014 Posts: 5	The only KZ bulb i've tried was the KZ coral light new gen, it was comparable with the aquablue special as far as color and brightness to the eye.

02/02/2016, 12:44 AM	#6113
biecacka Registered Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Columbus Ohio Posts: 6,361	Ok, so I have a 48/48/24 cube tank that is being lit by 4 rapidled DIY Aurora pucks. They have the same diode layout as the the radion does. Question, if I want to incorporate led into these, how many bulbs do you recommend? And how many bulbs would you suggest for the tank if I ditch the LEDs? Thanks, Corey

02/02/2016, 09:00 AM	#6116
biecacka Registered Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Columbus Ohio Posts: 6,361	Matt, thank you for the advice. . I think I am coming into the SPS realm. I'm slowly dropping my nitrates in my LPS/softy tank. Going to go sps/LPS. So I'm open to suggestion. Not sure if I'll ditch the leds or not. I'm not completely opposed of the idea. It's an open top tank with rock in a "U" shape with the open end at the front of the tank. Would 36 inch fixtures work? Corey

02/02/2016, 09:17 AM	#6118
dahc1979 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Rock Island Posts: 78	Thank you mhucasey!!

02/02/2016, 10:27 AM	#6121
biecacka Registered Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Columbus Ohio Posts: 6,361	Matt, Not sure if you've seen my layout but here is an old pic for reference. The 4 pucks are thin coverage for sure. But the way they are positioned there is no fixture in the center of the tank. So, you think 2 8 bulb fixtures will do it? Corey

02/04/2016, 10:13 AM	#6125
Mr.Tan Registered Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: York, PA Posts: 734	I'm stuck between choices. I dont want it to be TOO blue, but not too white either... i want the purples and blues and reds to really pop in the tank. Right now it has a washed out windex/bright white look to it which i hate. (running "stock" aquaticlife bulbs that came in 4 bulb fixture) Its a 4 bulb 30" fixture I'm thinking: 1 true actinic 1 blue+ 1 coral+ 1 purple+ or 1 actinic 2 blue+ 1 coral+ or even 1 actinic 2 blue+ 1 purple+