The T5 Q&a Thread - split

[Dolmo5000]

Hello, I have a question concerning the posobility of OVER lighting a reef tank. I'm running a 6 bulb (48in) aquaticlife t5 fixture over my 55g AGA (48in) mixed reef tank with mostly sps corals (acro and monti). The fixture is about 3 months old and I am semi new to sps. Most of the corals are new and have been in the system for about the same time as the fixture. At current, I have some birdsnests of various types highest in the tank and they seem to be doing well. I also have some acros that are going pretty good, but some are not. 2 milli's in a row just don't like it and croak slowly. Water parameters are all optimal for sps and coral in general.

My question is, at 6 bulbs (54w) each I have 324 total watts and 5.9 watts/gallon. I know watts/gallon is not a great way to measure, but I see that 5.9 is very high compared to some other people's posts. AM I OVER LIGHTING?

Thanks in advance for any assistance you can provide.

[jdraider75]

Whats the difference between ati sunpower 8 bulb 48 in. fixture and tek elite 8 bulb fixture besides $.

[Michigan Mike]

Originally Posted by Dolmo5000

Hello, I have a question concerning the posobility of OVER lighting a reef tank. I'm running a 6 bulb (48in) aquaticlife t5 fixture over my 55g AGA (48in) mixed reef tank with mostly sps corals (acro and monti). The fixture is about 3 months old and I am semi new to sps. Most of the corals are new and have been in the system for about the same time as the fixture. At current, I have some birdsnests of various types highest in the tank and they seem to be doing well. I also have some acros that are going pretty good, but some are not. 2 milli's in a row just don't like it and croak slowly. Water parameters are all optimal for sps and coral in general.

My question is, at 6 bulbs (54w) each I have 324 total watts and 5.9 watts/gallon. I know watts/gallon is not a great way to measure, but I see that 5.9 is very high compared to some other people's posts. AM I OVER LIGHTING?

Thanks in advance for any assistance you can provide.

Do Not leave your lights on all day and night, that would be over lighting with t5's.
You only have to worry about coral placement, low light meeting corals may need to be acclimated or lower in the rank or shaded by ledges or other corals.
Watts per gallon is viable with new technology, IMO it only was meant for power compact lighting.
My green Millie doesn't seem to do well in my tank under 4x24 sun power, haven't figured out why either, it colored up since it was brown when I got it but it seems to have receded from the frag plug upwards and when I move it around it doesn't seem to help much.

[Michigan Mike]

Originally Posted by jdraider75

Whats the difference between ati sunpower 8 bulb 48 in. fixture and tek elite 8 bulb fixture besides $.

Pretty much everything. I have a sunpower and it is great, the active cooling works great and you can control the fan speed. The reflectors are different, the ballasts are different, the active cooling design is better.
The TEK elites have been having fan issues and have been recalled.

The TEK fixtures are a bit wider (bout an inch and a half, i think on the 8 bulb fixture)than the same bulb ATI fixture. TEK spreads it's light more while ATI focuses the light better giving higher penetration.

[jdraider75]

Thanks I will go ati it will be much better than the current nova extreme I have now.

[Dolmo5000]

Originally Posted by Michigan Mike

Do Not leave your lights on all day and night, that would be over lighting with t5's.
You only have to worry about coral placement, low light meeting corals may need to be acclimated or lower in the rank or shaded by ledges or other corals.
Watts per gallon is viable with new technology, IMO it only was meant for power compact lighting.
My green Millie doesn't seem to do well in my tank under 4x24 sun power, haven't figured out why either, it colored up since it was brown when I got it but it seems to have receded from the frag plug upwards and when I move it around it doesn't seem to help much.

Thank you Michigan Mike. I run 2 Geisemann actinic+ bulbs for 12 hours, and the other 4 (3 aquatic life duel actinic and one aquaticlife purple) for 10 hours. When I get back from my current field collection trip I'll be replacing the aquaticlife bulbs for ATI probably (suggestions???). At night the fixture has 4 VERY bright blue moon led's that are on for all but 1.5 hours just before morning when the 2 actinic+ bulbs come on. The moon lights almost seem like they are overly bright. Would you suggest I do anything different? Again, thanks for the assistance.

P.S. Fixture is 9in above water level and sps coral is at depths of 4in below water level - 12in below water level. Birdsnests and acro's up high, monti caps and encrusting species lower.

[Michigan Mike]

Originally Posted by jdraider75

Thanks I will go ati it will be much better than the current nova extreme I have now.

Yes it will, night and day...

[Michigan Mike]

Originally Posted by Dolmo5000

Thank you Michigan Mike. I run 2 Geisemann actinic+ bulbs for 12 hours, and the other 4 (3 aquatic life duel actinic and one aquaticlife purple) for 10 hours. When I get back from my current field collection trip I'll be replacing the aquaticlife bulbs for ATI probably (suggestions???). At night the fixture has 4 VERY bright blue moon led's that are on for all but 1.5 hours just before morning when the 2 actinic+ bulbs come on. The moon lights almost seem like they are overly bright. Would you suggest I do anything different? Again, thanks for the assistance.

P.S. Fixture is 9in above water level and sps coral is at depths of 4in below water level - 12in below water level. Birdsnests and acro's up high, monti caps and encrusting species lower.

Wow my post (#2054) has so many misspelled/wrong words in it!lol

I'm unfamiliar with aquaticlife bulbs , I don't know what the dual actinic is(420/460nm?) but it sounds like you like a very blue colored tank, is that right? What color are you looking for with new bulbs?- Deep blue/actinic 20k, medium blue 14k,or more white like a 10k look? Looking for growth, color or try for both?

[GSMguy]

So I finally got my hands on a coral plus bulb for my 6 bulb sunpower and switched out my KZ FP for the Coral+. My current combo front to back is

Front
Blue +
Blue +
Coral +
Blue +
KZ superblue
Blue +

Might be too blue for some but it looks amazing to me. Don't be afraid to go too blue. When the Coral + is on it looks like my old 250w Ushio 20k on M-80 ballast.

[DiscusHeckel]

Originally Posted by GSMguy

Might be too blue for some but it looks amazing to me. Don't be afraid to go too blue. When the Coral + is on it looks like my old 250w Ushio 20k on M-80 ballast.

Can you provide a full tank shot please?

[Dolmo5000]

Originally Posted by Michigan Mike

Wow my post (#2054) has so many misspelled/wrong words in it!lol

I'm unfamiliar with aquaticlife bulbs , I don't know what the dual actinic is(420/460nm?) but it sounds like you like a very blue colored tank, is that right? What color are you looking for with new bulbs?- Deep blue/actinic 20k, medium blue 14k,or more white like a 10k look? Looking for growth, color or try for both?

That is correct, the dual actinic's are 420/460nm. I only use the aquaticlife bulbs because they are what came with the fixture. I have been slowly replacing them with better. I do really like the pop that lots of actinic light provides, but would like to move back into the white range a little. The fixture originally came with a 10K bulb but it seemed to be more white than I liked. Maybe a medium 14k bulb would be in order. I also really like what the purple bulb adds. My main concern is the 5.9 watts/gallon. I want to be albe to have high light requiring corals with great color, but also the lower requiring to not be bleached or loose theirs. I presume that as with most other situations ATI bulbs would be most appropriate here? Thanks again

[GSMguy]

Originally Posted by DiscusHeckel

Can you provide a full tank shot please?

I can try but your monitor might have different settings than mine and it will look different.. I think with T5s you just gotta buy bulbs and play around with them.

They coral+ won't come on for another hour but I'll try and get a decent picture.

[Michigan Mike]

Originally Posted by Dolmo5000

That is correct, the dual actinic's are 420/460nm. I only use the aquaticlife bulbs because they are what came with the fixture. I have been slowly replacing them with better. I do really like the pop that lots of actinic light provides, but would like to move back into the white range a little. The fixture originally came with a 10K bulb but it seemed to be more white than I liked. Maybe a medium 14k bulb would be in order. I also really like what the purple bulb adds. My main concern is the 5.9 watts/gallon. I want to be albe to have high light requiring corals with great color, but also the lower requiring to not be bleached or loose theirs. I presume that as with most other situations ATI bulbs would be most appropriate here? Thanks again

Try 4 ATI blue plus and ATI coral plus then either a KZ Fiji purple or ATI purple plus as your purple bulb. That should be a great start. I would run 3 blue pluses and a purple as the dawn/dusk then add the coral plus and blue plus to them for your daytime lighting, but that's just me.
You can also try a ge6500 instead of the coral plus, but it is a very bright and has a yellow tint, but brings out your greens and yellows more kinda like how the purple bulb brings out the reds and orange colors. They are one of the cheapest bulbs also so it can make a good spare if you don't want to run it, it will give you a whiter look with all the other bulbs

[GSMguy]

I think 4 blue + and 2 Coral + would look better than one Coral and one Purple. The coral made my pinks and reds pop more than the purple ever did and it's much crisper.

Next time I'm at the LFS I will get another Coral + to see how that looks.

[luvzz2play]

Hello, new to the hobby. I have a 75g that i'm setting up. i've currently only have sand, rock and water in my tank and have just bought a 6 bulb hood from a guy he says has 3 12k bulbs and 3 actinic blue bulbs. From what little i've read i see that this is probably not a good set up for my tank. Like i said, i 'm new so am not sure what corals i will put in here but just want a good universal light set up that will give me flexibility. What bulbs and in what sequence should i buy? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[SubLevel1]

Hello,
It's time to replace my bulbs over my 4 ft. 90 gallon tank.
Fixture has..
2x 150w Mh and 4x 54w 48" T5

I was planning on going with a pair of 10k ReefLux Metal Halide bulbs, and pairing that with some ATI T5 bulbs.
Blue+
True Actinic
Purple+
True Actinic
Any recommendations here? What are people's opinions on the purple bulbs? Yea or Nay?

Appreciate any input. Thanks.

[Michigan Mike]

Originally Posted by SubLevel1

Hello,
It's time to replace my bulbs over my 4 ft. 90 gallon tank.
Fixture has..
2x 150w Mh and 4x 54w 48" T5

I was planning on going with a pair of 10k ReefLux Metal Halide bulbs, and pairing that with some ATI T5 bulbs.
Blue+
True Actinic
Purple+
True Actinic
Any recommendations here? What are people's opinions on the purple bulbs? Yea or Nay?

Appreciate any input. Thanks.

yay, good for supplementing 10k halides. A mix of blue plus and purples does wonders on 10k bulbs but I would try the 12k reeflux and use the t5 to get a bluer color combo without losing much PAR.

[toofrigginswt]

Sorry I did a search and read through like 50 pages but couldn't really get an answer. I just purchased an ATI 48inch 10x54w powermodule. My tank is 60x24x20 (inch). I was wondering what would be the best bulb combination and placement if I plan on keeping only SPS and Clams?

I read a post where someone had the following combination:

5 ATI 54w Blue Plus
2 ATI 54w Purple Plus
2 ATI 54w Aquablue Special
1 ATI 54w True Actinic

How would this look and perform? I like the bluer end of the spectrum (20K). I am really open to suggestions! Will probably order it within the next few days.

[Michigan Mike]

Originally Posted by toofrigginswt

Sorry I did a search and read through like 50 pages but couldn't really get an answer. I just purchased an ATI 48inch 10x54w powermodule. My tank is 60x24x20 (inch). I was wondering what would be the best bulb combination and placement if I plan on keeping only SPS and Clams?

I read a post where someone had the following combination:

5 ATI 54w Blue Plus
2 ATI 54w Purple Plus
2 ATI 54w Aquablue Special
1 ATI 54w True Actinic

How would this look and perform? I like the bluer end of the spectrum (20K). I am really open to suggestions! Will probably order it within the next few days.

too white and ditch the actinic. If you want a deep blue 20k look you want all the PAR you can get.stick with blue plus bulbs.

For deep blue maybe 8 blue plus and 2 purple plus. This is 20k
For a brighter look maybe 7 blue plus, 2 coral plus and a purple. If your going for the combo you mentioned , this will be stronger and little more blue. I'm not sure you need the purple though..
Take it with a grain of salt....GRIM?

[SneekaPeek]

here is a photo I took to help with how bulbs look to the naked eye. these are very close to true color. see how white the kz bulb is while the giesemann bulb is very yellowish. Kind of a trip, but just to show how you can get different kelvin rated bulbs to light up a tank by using different white bulbs. It goes to show that you have options when you are only using one daylight bulb.
Left to right
blue+
aquablue special
kz new gen 14k white
ati purple+
giesemann aquablue plus
blue+

[jacob.morgan78]

Originally Posted by Michigan Mike

Left to right
Ge6500,ati Aquablue special,ati Coral plus,ati blue plus,ATI purple plus

My Coral Plus looks much more purple than this picture... Is it just the picture or is something wrong?

[coyote97]

Hi Grimm,
It's that time of year to replace my bulbs. I have a 48", 6-lamp Ice Cap Retro set-up with 430 and 600 balasts. Mixed corals. Current set-up:

Front
ATI Blue Plus 430
Fiji Purple
ATI Blue Plus
Actinic White
GE 6500K
ATI Blue Plus 430

I like the bluer look so I was thinking of going with:
ATI Blue Plus 430
ATI Purple Plus
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Blue Plus
KZ New Generation 14K
ATI Blue Plus

Any pros or cons in switching the Fiji Purple to the Purple plus? What about cons to removing the Actinic white? I'm looking for the 20K look you've described previously in this thread. Is there such a thing as a New Gen 20K?

Appreciate your comments!

[Michigan Mike]

Originally Posted by jacob.morgan78

My Coral Plus looks much more purple than this picture... Is it just the picture or is something wrong?

It's just the picture but your screen also, it's not my pic, I stole it!lol It does show the differences to a degree between the bulbs. You can see the purple in the bulb compared to the others. My ge6500 looks a little orange/yellow and itlooks white here so..its not the best picture

[toofrigginswt]

Originally Posted by Michigan Mike

too white and ditch the actinic. If you want a deep blue 20k look you want all the PAR you can get.stick with blue plus bulbs.

For deep blue maybe 8 blue plus and 2 purple plus. This is 20k
For a brighter look maybe 7 blue plus, 2 coral plus and a purple. If your going for the combo you mentioned , this will be stronger and little more blue. I'm not sure you need the purple though..
Take it with a grain of salt....GRIM?

Do I need to add a GE 6500 in anywhere for better growth or are the blue plus, coral plus, and purple be sufficient for sps growth?

[Michigan Mike]

Originally Posted by toofrigginswt

Do I need to add a GE 6500 in anywhere for better growth or are the blue plus, coral plus, and purple be sufficient for sps growth?

The coral plus, blue plus, and purples will be fine and have a bluer look your looking for. The ge6500 is a great bulb for growth but it may not be the color your looking for.

I have had great results with ge6500. If you want to keep the blue color you could try adding one in the fixture with mostly blue pluses and a Fiji purple or two.