T5 bulb choice to supplement radion?

[kayraw]

Planning on using an Arcadia ballast with reflectors to power 2 ati 24w bulbs to supplement my xr15 pro.

My radion does great for both growth and colour but my main issue is shadowing.

I'm currently running my radion @ ab+ so would like the shadowed areas matching this as close as possible.

So can anyone experienced in this area tell me which 2 of these ati bulbs will be best for the results I'm after?

[rtparty]

Coral plus or Blue Plus. Personally I'd go with actinic bulbs so you actually cover the low end of the spectrum. Your corals will be happier IMO

[nereefpat]

The ATI blue+ bulbs are great. They give a nice, deep blue color. They do the job of bringing out color in corals, while also being fairly bright.

The ATI coral+ bulbs are very good. Not as blue as the blue+ (obviously). It's closer to what you might want in a daylight type bulb, although not yellow at all. A nice blend.

I am not impressed by the other ATI bulbs at all. Giesemann bulbs, in general, are much better, except for ATI's great blue+ and very good Coral+ bulbs.

Just my opinion, and hopefully that helps.

[rtparty]

Originally Posted by nereefpat

The ATI blue+ bulbs are great. They give a nice, deep blue color. They do the job of bringing out color in corals, while also being fairly bright.

The ATI coral+ bulbs are very good. Not as blue as the blue+ (obviously). It's closer to what you might want in a daylight type bulb, although not yellow at all. A nice blend.

I am not impressed by the other ATI bulbs at all. Giesemann bulbs, in general, are much better, except for ATI's great blue+ and very good Coral+ bulbs.

Just my opinion, and hopefully that helps.

The Aquablue is not great but the others all seem to do well. The ATI Actinic is one of the best actinic bulbs available. It's PAR is pretty close to a Blue Plus actually.

[hann1bal]

Blue+ is the staple and the best seller, IMO. Other than those i run 2 Coral+ but thinking of replacing with a Purple+ or Actinic.

Bottom Line cant go wring with Blue+, then Coral+

[nereefpat]

Originally Posted by rtparty

The Aquablue is not great but the others all seem to do well. The ATI Actinic is one of the best actinic bulbs available. It's PAR is pretty close to a Blue Plus actually.

That is interesting. I switched out my giesemann bulbs for ATI bulbs about 6 months ago, when it was time to replace them. I don't have a par meter. But to my eye the ATIs were not as bright as the giesemann bulbs that had been running for over a year. I could single out the aquablue and actinic specifically. It could be that ATI bulbs have plenty of PAR and give plenty of growth, and my eyes just don't pick up on it.

I like to comment on T5 bulb threads. ATI bulbs are the standard ones that everyone uses, but it almost seems to me that everyone uses them just because everyone uses them.

[kayraw]

Would the blue+ and coral+ not be a bit more whitish than my schedule? I'm after a bit more blue but not deep blue as it's only for shadowed areas and I don't want my tank looking 2 different colour shades

[nereefpat]

Sorry, I'm not that familiar with LED lighting, especially in trying to match your spectrum. Shadowing is a common complaint though. Here's a bump for you. Perhaps someone else will chime in.

I would probably go with 1 blue+ and 1 coral+. You could always order 2 blue+ and 1 coral+. That way you'd have a spare, and you could choose what combo you like.

[kayraw]

Thanks, I'm really tempted by the coral + but I've heard it's quite white so I wouldn't want it to bully out blues from my radion.

I'm after two of the t5 bulbs that can give me the whitish look but with a hint of blue if that makes sense lol

[rtparty]

Coral Plus or the KZ New Gen will give white with a hint of blue