Difficulty choosing new bulbs

[Bpb]

Hey folks. Still can't decide which combo I'm going to shoot for. Long time t5ho user here. Been through a lot of bulb combos. So many pluses to each different combo as well but I haven't been truly happy yet with the overall ambience of the tank.

I am fully aware that flow, chemistry, and food are equally if not more important to color development , so I won't go there too much. I'm speaking more of the overall looks of the tank. Color of the sand and rocks. The hue the tank shines the room with. That sort of thing.

Current combo is

4 ati blue+
2 ati coral+
2 ati true actinic.

It's way too blue for my taste. I like even color across the tank and want to avoid color banding which is why I don't want to use a single bulb of any kind. I really love the 10k halide with blue supplement look. Loved that look when I ran halides (which I won't go back to) and I wanna get closer to that). I liked it more than Radiums.

I'm torn between the popular and positive track recorded BigE combo for me which would be evenly staggered
4 ati blue+
4 ati coral+

But I worry it will still look too cold and blue.

Considering
4 ati blue+
2 ati true actinic
2 giesemann 6500k tropic.

Yes I am familiar with the bulb. Ran a single one in the combo years ago and liked it. Used them on my planted tank for years as well. It's a lot warmer and whiter than most people would prefer but it's the color I like.

Which of those two would you think the tank would respond well to or will it be a total wash in terms of growth. I just want the tank a lot whiter looking. Getting a lot of green colors in the corals and that dark blue shine in the room. Want to kind of promote some warmer colors and brighten it up


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[Tuffyyyyy]

I'm starting to transition towards all bulbs ATI Coral-Plus. That should give you a nice 10k-14k output. You could also supplement it with a ReefBright LED strip if you like some more blue and/or shimmer.

 

[Bpb]

Interesting going all coral+. Hard to imagine what that would look like

I should also mention two I'm on a couple stipulations. Number one I value light stability. I pick a combo and I won't change it. I'll live with it for a year till bulb change time happens. I'm a big believer in stability and that goes for light.

Secondly, life happens and some changes have gone on here on the personal front and I'm on a very tight budget. Not so tight I need to sell the tank. But tight enough to halt all coral purchases and equipment upgrades for the foreseeable future (good thing I value quality stuff and purchased for the long haul). And tight enough that I don't have the extra $200 or so to buy twice as many bulbs as I need just to experiment with combos. I'm going to buy what I buy and live with it


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[xiaoxiy]

I'm gonna tag along on this thread, I'm currently running 1 B+, 2 C+, 1 Giesemann Super Purple, and think my tank is still too blue as well.

 

[Bpb]

My fixture is also a huge pain to take down. I have a massive stack of old bulbs. I'll see if I can replicate any of my proposed combos and see how it looks. I'll post pics with as close of white balance as I can get


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[Lsufan]

I don't like as much blue as what most people recommend on here. If I had a 8 bulb I would probably go with something like 5-cp & 3- bp. I don't have a 8 bulb fixture, I know I like to have almost a 2 to 1 ratio of cp to bp.

I would do something like u are planning & maybe go ahead & buy 2 each of cp & bp. With the 4 new bulbs u can mix match with your existing bulbs & see what u like. I would focus on the bp & cp bulbs at first & once u get it close to what u think u want then switch one of those for a actinic & see what u think. I would start with 4 of each & then just add a cp until u get the color temp u are looking for. To me a actnic doesn't change the overall color temp of the tank to much & by using only cp & bp to get close would make it easier. Once u get to that point u can change out a cp for a actnic if it's a little to white or change a bp to actnic if u don't want it any bluer. Being u have a couple actnic bulbs u may as well try them out in the combo that u find that u like, but u may find u like all cp & bp better

 

[outssider]

if you want to warm it up a bit, consider taking out a c+ and putting in a p+

 

[Orcus Varuna]

You know where I stand the load out with the Geismann Tropics Rusty!!!!!!They add such a nice warmth to the display. Really makes reds and purples come alive and for some reason fish stand out better as well.


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[Piper27]

I like the 10k halide with blue supliments look too. My suggestion would be to buy two different kinds of brand bulbs, 4 of each and 2 of each similar kind of bulb. They are actually different in color which really makes the tank look better I'm. I like using kz bulbs with ati. If it's too blue for you stop using actintic and use more white bulbs. At least one bright white bulbs in the middle of the fixture will not make colors band together and will give the tank a lot brighter daylight look.

 

[GAM GAM]

I second 2:1 CP to BP

I run 4 CP, 2 BP, and 2 true actinic (dawn dusk).
Gives a nice natural mix of purple/blue without being too overwhelming.
I'd post a pic but every pic I take looks bluer than real life.

I bet all coral plus would look real good. Maby one or two blue plus.

 

[w3bbo]

4xB+, 2xC+, 1x actinic, 1x ABS. Very natural looking to my eye.

 

[Nanook]

I use 5 BP, 1 Giesemann 6500K, 1 CP 1 PP. this combination is 14 K to my eyes and gives great growth.

 

[Bpb]

I appreciate all the participation folks. I went ahead and ordered the giesemann bulbs and will be arranging it as follows

Blue+
Actinic
6500k
Blue+
Blue+
6500k
Actinic
Blue+

All 6 Blue/actinic bulbs are on channel A and will serve as dawn dusk
2-6500k bulbs on channel B.

All 8 will fire for 8 hours with a 30 minute dawn/dusk for a 9 hour total photoperiod.

I've previously had a 12 hour photoperiod with a 3 hour dawn/dusk and 6 hour full power

I'll post some comparison shots after a while.

Also planning on changing out those Blue+ bulbs with the new soon to be released Reefbrite Blue T5HO bulbs once they're available.


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[DiscusHeckel]

3 X B+ 2 X C+ 1 X P+ 1 X ABS 1 X Actinic

will promote very good colouration and exceptional growth.

 

[glaukos]

4xB+, 2xC+, 1x actinic, 1x ABS. Very natural looking to my eye.

Have almost the same combo,6 blue plus-2 coral plus and 2 aquablue and is really nice and natural for me too(personal taste).

I really want to try the combo that was mentioned by Bpb and go with 8 coral plus and two actinics.Probably in the next few months i will bite the bullet and let you know:thumbsup:
Love the combo choice you made

 

[slavetonet]

My new tubes combo for my 8x80 watts Sun Power
3 x blue plus
3 x coral plus
2 x actinic

This will be close to 16k I reckon. A big difference to my 10k setup right now.

 

[Bpb]

Put the new combo in today. Only bulbs i changed so far are the 2-6500k in place of the coral+. I'll change the blues and actinics out a couple a week to acclimate the tank obviously.

The visual change is exactly what I was wanting. It's much brighter, fish colors are better. Looks more natural. Yes, there's less green pop overall, but the reds, blues, and purples are so much deeper and pleasing to see. Visually it's VERY close to my old xm10k halide + blue led supplement lighting I had before getting the sunpower


Here's a before and after. White balance in these pics is dead on.

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[Orcus Varuna]

Put the new combo in today. Only bulbs i changed so far are the 2-6500k in place of the coral+. I'll change the blues and actinics out a couple a week to acclimate the tank obviously.

The visual change is exactly what I was wanting. It's much brighter, fish colors are better. Looks more natural. Yes, there's less green pop overall, but the reds, blues, and purples are so much deeper and pleasing to see. Visually it's VERY close to my old xm10k halide + blue led supplement lighting I had before getting the sunpower


Here's a before and after. White balance in these pics is dead on.

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Looks great man I'm excited to see how the tank responds!


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[pisanoal]

3 X B+ 2 X C+ 1 X P+ 1 X ABS 1 X Actinic

will promote very good colouration and exceptional growth.

What do you think for a 6 bulb that resembles this?

 

[DiscusHeckel]

What do you think for a 6 bulb that resembles this?

I do not think you can resemble this with 6 bulbs.