bulb selection

[supertech99]

I posted a question to the grim reefer (RC t5 guy) on bulb selection. I need to replace the bulbs in my 4x54w t5 unit. I am adjusting them in an attempt to prepare to keep a hydraphora in my tank without getting another light fixture (75gal tank) if possible. he suggested 2 ATI Blue Plus, 1 UVL Actinic White, and a ATI Aquablue. Does anyone have any input on this? Does anyone have any of these bulbs and can tell me what they look like? Does anyone carry these locally?

 

[andywe]

CeeGee has almsot that exact config if I rememer correctly.

 

[james3370]

here is what he recommeded to me for my tank......

*Front*
Giesemann Pure Actinic
ATI Aquablue
Giesemann 6K Midday
Giesemann Actinic Plus

 

[supertech99]

yeah, I have read a lot of the t5 q&a thread and i can't seem to figure out his reasoning on what he suggests. It doesent help that I don't know what these bulbs color look like. I am not sure if I will be able to keep this coral happy under just my 4 t5s anyway. Rhett gave me a SPS acro frag to put high in my tank to see if My lights have what it takes and they are 8-9mo old so if they keep the acro alive then I should be ok regardless of what combo i choose. James did you get those bulbs?

 

[NeveSSL]

That is actually exactly what I have, except instead of an extra Blue Plus, I have a UVL Super Actinic. You saw my tank yesterday... so imagine it looking a bit more blue and that would be what it looks like. On my tank, that exact combo looks like around 14k MH would.

To be honest, Sean, I wouldn't mind at all to stick my other Blue Plus in my setup so you could see exactly what it would look like.

Brandon

 

[NeveSSL]

Oh, and as far as purchasing them, ReefGeek is going to be your best bet.

Giesemann has similar bulbs to those listed, except for the Blue Plus. That is my absolute favorite bulb. It is a great color of blue and also has a lot of actinic in it. Great stuff!

Brandon

 

[sandalscout]

I just ordered 2 of each of the UVL bulbs that Dr. F&S has in 48" length (Super Actinic, Actinic White, and Aquasun) for my 6 bulb fixture on my 90. I had a mixture of current and geissman bulbs before, but wasn't terribly impressed with it. I jumped on these because they are $15 each currently, so even if I don't like part of them, I'll know for the future. Anyway, the super actinic's were on backorder and currently in route to me, so I have the aquasuns, the actinic whites, and only one of my old geissman actinics (more of a pinkish blue than true actinic). My tank is currently a pinkish hue, and with the new actinics on it, I think it'll look nice and bluish. I was really afraid that the aquasun would make the light too yellow, but I think I'll be okay. If it's not quite blue enough for me, I'll be adding 1 or 2 of those new internally reflected UVL actinics.

Hope that helps some.

 

[supertech99]

brandon, i will take you up on that offer. how often do you get to see it before you buy it! Iam not doing anything this weekend but I dont get home to the boro till 6 on the weeknights so kinda hard to schedule things during the week, il send you a pm



Hey sandalscout thats a good deal! Is that deal still going?

 

[sandalscout]

Yep, just looked on the site, looks like some are backordered again, but I think that they are only taking a few days to get them shipped out. $15.95 for UVL HOT5s in all lengths.

 

[james3370]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15198074#post15198074 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NeveSSL
Oh, and as far as purchasing them, ReefGeek is going to be your best bet.

Giesemann has similar bulbs to those listed, except for the Blue Plus. That is my absolute favorite bulb. It is a great color of blue and also has a lot of actinic in it. Great stuff!

Brandon

reefgeek also has color spectrum graphs of all the bulbs as well

 

[aquaman67]

FWIW,

I got a Marine Depot catalog in the mail the other day and Giesemann bulbs will be 20% off in October.