Tell us your T5 bulb combination

JOL · 02/04/2013, 08:58 PM

please tell us your T5 combo. What kinds of corals? how is the growth? colors? I'm not ready for LED and need to replace my bulbs.

dnsfpl · 02/04/2013, 09:26 PM

Blue+
Blue+
AquaBlue
Purple+
Blue+
Blue+

Red254 · 02/04/2013, 09:49 PM

Blue +
Purple +
Blue +
Blue +

Love the color it gives and have a mix of sps and lps, everything is growing great and good color except for my one acro but that's due to a phosphate problem

JOL · 02/05/2013, 09:20 AM

Thank you for sharing, I'm surprised I expected to see some white bulbs for growth. also I should had asked how often you replace them.

TheKman · 02/05/2013, 09:22 AM

Coral+
Purple+
Blue+
Blue+

EDJFA · 02/05/2013, 11:45 AM

There's a website out there, search for Grim Reaper T5. He give recommendations on bulb combinations as well as brand recommendations.

I have actinic, Purple+, and 2 10K white bulbs. I think I'm going to replace one of the 10K bulbs with a blue+ or purple+ because I don't like turning the white lights on as they wash out the actinic and purple light.

dowtish · 02/05/2013, 01:00 PM

3 ATI blue+
2 ATI coral+
1 geissmen actinic+

Growth and coloration is great

SPotter · 02/05/2013, 01:03 PM

this is what I have on my frag tank

- 4 ATI Blue Plus
- 2 ATI Aquablue Special
- 2 ATI Purple Plus

donald altman · 02/05/2013, 02:06 PM

blue +
Blue +
Actinic

6500k
Coral +
blue +

JOL · 02/06/2013, 07:16 PM

Thanks guys, for the input. don't know if I mentioned it currently I have.

1 blue +
1 Purple
2 Whites

should I get rid of the white?

JOL · 02/06/2013, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EDJFA

There's a website out there, search for Grim Reaper T5. He give recommendations on bulb combinations as well as brand recommendations.

I have actinic, Purple+, and 2 10K white bulbs. I think I'm going to replace one of the 10K bulbs with a blue+ or purple+ because I don't like turning the white lights on as they wash out the actinic and purple light.

Thanks, googled him but din't find much.

Signal151 · 02/06/2013, 07:40 PM

When I had to replace the stock bulbs in my Red Sea Max 250, I went with the following based on some reading I had done here.

From front to back:
GE 6500K
ATI Blue Plus
Giesemann Midday (6000K)
ATI Purple Plus
Red Sea 10000K
ATI Blue Plus

The tank was a bright white-blue with just a tinge of purple. A bit too bright for my taste. Also, way too much PAR from five high-PAR bulbs (v.s. the three of the stock setup). Everything looked good for a while but after about six months I wound up with pale looking corals. Growth in the SPS colonies was amazing however. I was unfortunately also getting some nuisance algae even with almost zero phosphates and nitrates.

I decided to go back to lower growth but better color by changing to the following bulb arrangement...

Front to back: (all bulbs are Giesemann-DD)
Aquablue+ 15000K
Actinic (420nm)
Aquablue+ 15000K
Actinic+ (460nm)
Aquablue+ 15000k
Actinic (420nm)

The tank is not as bright but overall looks more white-purple. All corals and fish fluoresce better and "pop" out more. After just a month my coral colors are becoming deeper and more vivid. I am much happier.

JOL · 02/06/2013, 08:24 PM

signal 151, thank you for the explanation.

Bolivian Ram · 02/06/2013, 08:32 PM

Have a a 4 bulb combo.

Ati Blue Plus

Ati Blue Plus

Ati purple plus

12000 K Aquascience

Corals I keep are:

Toadstool Leather

Cup coral

Green Sta Polyp

Birdnest Coral

Plate Coral

Zoanthids (various)

Hammer Coral

Elegance Coral

All corals are responding positively to the lights. Growth is good for all corals. Not fast.... but not slow either. The purple plus is a must have if you have any red or pinkish corals. It makes my birdnest, red zoas and elegance standout.

rsaha · 02/06/2013, 08:47 PM

I run

ATI Blue+
ATI Blue+
ATI Purple+
GE 6500
ATI Coral+
ATI Purple+
ATI Blue+
ATI Coral+
ATI Blue+

This gives me a crisp white look. The coral plus have a bit of purple to them but don't have the washed out look the Aquablue specials had. For 4 bulbs you could try 3 Blue Plus and one Coral Plus (it will be pretty blue) or try a Purple plus or GE6500 in place of one of the Blue Plus'. That's the fun of T5 - you can tune the lights to what you like.

If you search T5 thread you will find hundreds of pages of discussion on bulb combinations, fixture discussions etc.

rsaha · 02/06/2013, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rsaha

I run

ATI Blue+
ATI Blue+
ATI Purple+
GE 6500
ATI Coral+
ATI Purple+
ATI Blue+
ATI Coral+
ATI Blue+

This gives me a crisp white look. The coral plus have a bit of purple to them but don't have the washed out look the Aquablue specials had. For 4 bulbs you could try 3 Blue Plus and one Coral Plus (it will be pretty blue) or try a Purple plus or GE6500 in place of one of the Blue Plus'. That's the fun of T5 - you can tune the lights to what you like.

If you search T5 thread you will find hundreds of pages of discussion on bulb combinations, fixture discussions etc.

Teach me to post while watching TV - I have an 8 bulb fixture. I listed an extra Purple bulb. What I actually run is

ATI Blue+
ATI Blue+
ATI Purple+
GE 6500
ATI Coral+
ATI Blue+
ATI Coral+
ATI Blue+

JOL · 02/06/2013, 09:07 PM

thank you everyone, now how often do you replace them?

michael.lemke · 02/06/2013, 09:56 PM

Actinic, b+,b+, aqua blue b+,b+, actinic. Change every 12 to 14 month.

greg1786 · 02/06/2013, 10:33 PM

All bulbs are geisemann. Aquablue plus 15k , actinic plus, pink plus, actinic plus. Six sps colonies one birds nest rest acros, 5 zoa colonies(one is over 200 polypls) ricordea, encrusting gorg, torch, and plate are my corals. I used to run a 12000k in place of 15k and a 10000k in place of one actinic plus and a pure actinic in place of pink plus. Coral growth rate has doubled with new bulb set up and their colors have become much deeper not washed out like before. I also like the color i get as far as overal tank looks when all four are running. While i get extra par from the actinic plus, i think i will trade one out for a pure actinic or a fiji purple to get a darker look when the whites are off

PrangeWay · 02/07/2013, 08:36 AM

UVL - Actnic
ATI - Blue +
KZ - Coral Light 14k
ATI - Blue +
KZ - Coral Light 14k
KZ - Fiji Purple

got me;

the picture from divers den when I ordered it was;

With only 4 bubls you'd probably have to go
UVL, ATI, KZ, Fiji

MrClam · 02/07/2013, 11:47 AM

I run ATI front to back:

blue +
actinic
coral +
aquablue
blue +
blue +

I run just actinic and 1 blue+ for dawn/dusk which gives great viewing of torch, GSP, trumpet and others.

The coral+ aquablue and blue+ give good photosynthetic spectrum daylight for coral growth. I found it helpful to use ATI website's graphs for bulb spectral output in making decisions and I use their recommended change intervals.

But it really boils down to your viewing preference.

SkyJunkie · 02/07/2013, 12:17 PM

Can some of you with 4 bulb combos post photos of the type of color you're getting? I want to get new bulbs too but I'm not sure what to get.

Spyderturbo007 · 02/07/2013, 01:20 PM

I have:

Blue
Purple (420/460)
10K
Blue

I would post pictures, but my iPhone chokes on the light and skews everything towards blue.

rsaha · 02/07/2013, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JOL

thank you everyone, now how often do you replace them?

Every 9 months here.

stubby 58 · 02/08/2013, 09:02 AM

I run ATI bulbs really happy with them, front to back on a 6' 125 gal. B+Coral+Purple+B+.

02/04/2013, 08:58 PM	#1
JOL Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Miami FL Posts: 61	Tell us your T5 bulb combination please tell us your T5 combo. What kinds of corals? how is the growth? colors? I'm not ready for LED and need to replace my bulbs. __________________ No one forced me into it... So now I have to deal with it. Current Tank Info: 100 Gal. Island DT * 40 Gal Sump * Panda 100 (X-2) * T-5 (54 watt X 4) * Apex III * pH1 * pH2 * Salinity Probe * Dossers (2) * ATO * Custom over flow *

02/04/2013, 09:26 PM	#2
dnsfpl Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 1,121	Blue+ Blue+ AquaBlue Purple+ Blue+ Blue+ __________________ Achilles Tang \| Bandit, 2 x False Shepardi Angelfish \| Cleaner, Flame & Mystery Wrasse

02/05/2013, 09:20 AM	#4
JOL Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Miami FL Posts: 61	Thank you for sharing, I'm surprised I expected to see some white bulbs for growth. also I should had asked how often you replace them. __________________ No one forced me into it... So now I have to deal with it. Current Tank Info: 100 Gal. Island DT * 40 Gal Sump * Panda 100 (X-2) * T-5 (54 watt X 4) * Apex III * pH1 * pH2 * Salinity Probe * Dossers (2) * ATO * Custom over flow *

02/05/2013, 09:22 AM	#5
TheKman Registered Member Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 227	Coral+ Purple+ Blue+ Blue+ __________________ 65gallon reef tank - 30gal Sump - Evergrow IT2080 LED - NAC 6 Skimmer - RKL Controller - Jebao WP25 - JBJ ATO \| 2 Clowns, 3 Pajama Cardinals, 1 Hovens Wrasse, Flame Angel, lots of corals.

02/05/2013, 01:00 PM	#7
dowtish Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Nashville TN Posts: 886	3 ATI blue+ 2 ATI coral+ 1 geissmen actinic+ Growth and coloration is great __________________ Sexy Sticks consume my thoughts. Build Thread: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2339384

02/04/2013, 09:49 PM	#3
Red254 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: epping, nh Posts: 135	Blue + Purple + Blue + Blue + Love the color it gives and have a mix of sps and lps, everything is growing great and good color except for my one acro but that's due to a phosphate problem

02/05/2013, 11:45 AM	#6
EDJFA Registered Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: St. Charles, MO Posts: 1,025	There's a website out there, search for Grim Reaper T5. He give recommendations on bulb combinations as well as brand recommendations. I have actinic, Purple+, and 2 10K white bulbs. I think I'm going to replace one of the 10K bulbs with a blue+ or purple+ because I don't like turning the white lights on as they wash out the actinic and purple light.

02/05/2013, 01:03 PM	#8
SPotter Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Mt. Pleasant, SC Posts: 5,691	this is what I have on my frag tank - 4 ATI Blue Plus - 2 ATI Aquablue Special - 2 ATI Purple Plus __________________ Steve Am I really doing all of this for a fish tank?????? Current Tank Info: 360g Envision Acrylic Tank, Closed Loops, Vectra L1's, MP40QD's, 400w Radiums, Regal 300ext, Dastaco Ext3 CaRx, Controlled by GHL Profilux

02/05/2013, 02:06 PM	#9
donald altman Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Florida/Georgia Posts: 632	blue + Blue + Actinic 6500k Coral + blue + __________________ -donaltman3 Current Tank Info: 100 gallon reef...

02/06/2013, 07:16 PM	#10
JOL Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Miami FL Posts: 61	Thanks guys, for the input. don't know if I mentioned it currently I have. 1 blue + 1 Purple 2 Whites should I get rid of the white? __________________ No one forced me into it... So now I have to deal with it. Current Tank Info: 100 Gal. Island DT * 40 Gal Sump * Panda 100 (X-2) * T-5 (54 watt X 4) * Apex III * pH1 * pH2 * Salinity Probe * Dossers (2) * ATO * Custom over flow *

02/06/2013, 07:40 PM	#12
Signal151 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 71	When I had to replace the stock bulbs in my Red Sea Max 250, I went with the following based on some reading I had done here. From front to back: GE 6500K ATI Blue Plus Giesemann Midday (6000K) ATI Purple Plus Red Sea 10000K ATI Blue Plus The tank was a bright white-blue with just a tinge of purple. A bit too bright for my taste. Also, way too much PAR from five high-PAR bulbs (v.s. the three of the stock setup). Everything looked good for a while but after about six months I wound up with pale looking corals. Growth in the SPS colonies was amazing however. I was unfortunately also getting some nuisance algae even with almost zero phosphates and nitrates. I decided to go back to lower growth but better color by changing to the following bulb arrangement... Front to back: (all bulbs are Giesemann-DD) Aquablue+ 15000K Actinic (420nm) Aquablue+ 15000K Actinic+ (460nm) Aquablue+ 15000k Actinic (420nm) The tank is not as bright but overall looks more white-purple. All corals and fish fluoresce better and "pop" out more. After just a month my coral colors are becoming deeper and more vivid. I am much happier.

02/06/2013, 08:24 PM	#13
JOL Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Miami FL Posts: 61	signal 151, thank you for the explanation. __________________ No one forced me into it... So now I have to deal with it. Current Tank Info: 100 Gal. Island DT * 40 Gal Sump * Panda 100 (X-2) * T-5 (54 watt X 4) * Apex III * pH1 * pH2 * Salinity Probe * Dossers (2) * ATO * Custom over flow *

02/06/2013, 08:32 PM	#14
Bolivian Ram Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Posts: 128	Have a a 4 bulb combo. Ati Blue Plus Ati Blue Plus Ati purple plus 12000 K Aquascience Corals I keep are: Toadstool Leather Cup coral Green Sta Polyp Birdnest Coral Plate Coral Zoanthids (various) Hammer Coral Elegance Coral All corals are responding positively to the lights. Growth is good for all corals. Not fast.... but not slow either. The purple plus is a must have if you have any red or pinkish corals. It makes my birdnest, red zoas and elegance standout.

02/06/2013, 08:47 PM	#15
rsaha Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Ottawa, Canada Posts: 587	I run ATI Blue+ ATI Blue+ ATI Purple+ GE 6500 ATI Coral+ ATI Purple+ ATI Blue+ ATI Coral+ ATI Blue+ This gives me a crisp white look. The coral plus have a bit of purple to them but don't have the washed out look the Aquablue specials had. For 4 bulbs you could try 3 Blue Plus and one Coral Plus (it will be pretty blue) or try a Purple plus or GE6500 in place of one of the Blue Plus'. That's the fun of T5 - you can tune the lights to what you like. If you search T5 thread you will find hundreds of pages of discussion on bulb combinations, fixture discussions etc.

02/06/2013, 09:07 PM	#17
JOL Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Miami FL Posts: 61	thank you everyone, now how often do you replace them? __________________ No one forced me into it... So now I have to deal with it. Current Tank Info: 100 Gal. Island DT * 40 Gal Sump * Panda 100 (X-2) * T-5 (54 watt X 4) * Apex III * pH1 * pH2 * Salinity Probe * Dossers (2) * ATO * Custom over flow *

02/06/2013, 09:56 PM	#18
michael.lemke Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: greeley co Posts: 395	Actinic, b+,b+, aqua blue b+,b+, actinic. Change every 12 to 14 month.

02/06/2013, 10:33 PM	#19
greg1786 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Baltimore md Posts: 1,241	All bulbs are geisemann. Aquablue plus 15k , actinic plus, pink plus, actinic plus. Six sps colonies one birds nest rest acros, 5 zoa colonies(one is over 200 polypls) ricordea, encrusting gorg, torch, and plate are my corals. I used to run a 12000k in place of 15k and a 10000k in place of one actinic plus and a pure actinic in place of pink plus. Coral growth rate has doubled with new bulb set up and their colors have become much deeper not washed out like before. I also like the color i get as far as overal tank looks when all four are running. While i get extra par from the actinic plus, i think i will trade one out for a pure actinic or a fiji purple to get a darker look when the whites are off

02/07/2013, 08:36 AM	#20
PrangeWay Duke of Monte Fisto Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Fort Worth, TX Posts: 722	UVL - Actnic ATI - Blue + KZ - Coral Light 14k ATI - Blue + KZ - Coral Light 14k KZ - Fiji Purple got me; the picture from divers den when I ordered it was; With only 4 bubls you'd probably have to go UVL, ATI, KZ, Fiji __________________ Dumbest Quotes Ever..... "Great color, great growth" closely followed by "all water parameters fine"

02/07/2013, 11:47 AM	#21
MrClam Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Posts: 557	I run ATI front to back: blue + actinic coral + aquablue blue + blue + I run just actinic and 1 blue+ for dawn/dusk which gives great viewing of torch, GSP, trumpet and others. The coral+ aquablue and blue+ give good photosynthetic spectrum daylight for coral growth. I found it helpful to use ATI website's graphs for bulb spectral output in making decisions and I use their recommended change intervals. But it really boils down to your viewing preference.

02/07/2013, 12:17 PM	#22
SkyJunkie Registered Member Join Date: May 2012 Location: Southern California Posts: 159	Can some of you with 4 bulb combos post photos of the type of color you're getting? I want to get new bulbs too but I'm not sure what to get.

02/07/2013, 01:20 PM	#23
Spyderturbo007 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: PA Posts: 2,564	I have: Blue Purple (420/460) 10K Blue I would post pictures, but my iPhone chokes on the light and skews everything towards blue.

02/08/2013, 09:02 AM	#25
stubby 58 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Ama TX Posts: 217	I run ATI bulbs really happy with them, front to back on a 6' 125 gal. B+Coral+Purple+B+.