Recommendation for T5 bulb setup??

[ge-off707]

I have a 4 x 54w T5HO setup right now and it works great, but I'm not a big fan of the daylight bulbs that are in it. It currently has 2 actinics and 2 x 12000k Daylight bulbs. The color just looks kinda washed out to me, nothing POPS like I want. What do you guys recommend for bulbs??

Here is a pic of my tank. The camera is actually showing it a little "blue-er" then it looks in real life.

Thanks in advance!!

 

[Grant W]

I use Geissman t5's with mh but my guess would be 10ks and blue plus combo

 

[ge-off707]

Thanks Grant, I've been hunting around for pics and found one that I really like:

This setup is:
ATI Aquablue -- 336
ATI Blue+ -- 311
KZ Fiji Purple-- 330
ATI Blue+ -- 311
PAR avgs. out to-- 322

If I were to use this setup, how should I pair up the lights?? My fixture has 2 bulbs per switch. would i run the 2 blue+ together and the aquablue and fiji together?? Right now the Actinics come on 1 hour before the daylights and then stay on one hour later, how would I run these??

 

[Reef Bass]

In my opinion, it is the blue bulbs that make colors pop. ATI Blue+ and Giesemann Actinic+ have a very similar spectrum output (almost identical graphs).

I am currently running 4 Giesemann Actinic+ and two Giesemann Pure Actinic on my lps tank. While colors are awesome, the tank looks very blue, even for this 20,000K MH loving guy. My plan is to replace one of the actinic bulbs with a 10,000K "daylight" (whiter / yellower) and to remove one fo the blue bulbs. I should get a less blue look while still maintaining poppin color. I will be getting a bit less par on the sandbed because of removing one bulb, but that's ok because I'm finding some sps are growing under the currently lighting and some lps are showing signs of too much light.

My suggestion for you would be to run 2 blue, one actinic and one daylight bulb.

 

[northbay-reefer]

Geoff that is a very nice combo, you can start with that. If you want more white latter you can always replace the fiji purple with another ATI blue or UV white.

 

[Grant W]

btw I just noticed another thing it looks like you are running bare bottom that could be something to concider because you arent getting the bounce you get with a white sand bed. just a thought

 

[sulcata1619]

You can also do a search for any posts by grimreefer. That guy used to be the go to guy for T5 combos. I'm not sure if he is still around.

 

[shaneh]

grimreefer- still around, he is really good with t5 combos

 

[ge-off707]

I have looked through a couple hundred pages of T5 bulb threads, including the T5 Q&A that Grimm is a big part of. I decided to go with the setup from above, and I hope this setup will be what I'm looking for. I placed my order last night from Reefgeek since the LFS's did not carry ATI or KZ bulbs. They should be here on Thursday, I'm excited!!! What should I do to acclimate my tank to the new lights??

Grant: its not a bare bottom, its black aragonite sand... I'm wishing I went with white sand instead but now I'm kinda screwed

 

[northbay-reefer]

Geof, good choice I think you will be very happy. T5 actinics just doesn't do it for me. Neptune cary ATI but they are 2 hours away.

 

[Grant W]

why are you screwed, you can siphon off a section at a time as you do your water change like about a quarter at a time its not like its a dsb anyways, up to you , oh did you get my pm hav'nt heard from you about the frag let me know if you want them or I'll give them to someone else. Grant

 

[ge-off707]

I just PM'd you Grant, I do want it !!!!

Maybe I'll try that one day where I want to drop the money on new substrate.

So my bulbs will be here tomorrow I'm very excited to see how they are going to look. I do have a couple questions...

First, My fixture is a 4 bulb unit that is wired with the 2 front bulbs together and the 2 rear bulbs wired together. Currently I have my actinics coming on about 1 hour before my daylights and staying on an hour later, then my moonlight LED's come on. How should I place the new bulbs in my fixture?? Which bulbs should I use for "sunrise" and so on? How long should I run them during the day? and how should I acclimate my tank to the new light?? The last thing I want to do is bleach my corals. Thanks again for the help everyone and I'll post pics when I get them in!

 

[northbay-reefer]

You can use your blue plus as sunrise and sunset. People are doing any where from 6 hours to 12 hours so you can go somewhere in between that. I run my main light 7 hours and run actinics vho + my t5 blue plus for 9 hours.

 

[Grant W]

actinics 6am -8pm, mh 8am -4pm , moonlights 7pm - 7am, but all of this is going to change soon as my new hood is just about finished and will be much more powerful

 

[santarosasalt]

Hey Geoff did you get your bulbs yet? I am very curious to see what it looks like. I have been wanting to get that exact same bulb combo but my fixture is only about four months old so I was going to wait to replace the bulbs. Post some pics when you get them in please. - Joe

 

[Stripe01]

I'm using 2 blue+, 1 aquablue special, and 1 fiji purple in my 4 bulb fixture. This is the set up that Grim recommends for most 4 bulb fixtures.

 

[santarosasalt]

Looks good Stripe01. I'm really curious about the fiji purple bulb. Tom(northbayreefer) says its supposed to really make the reds pop. I have some red mushrooms and some red acans. -Joe

 

[ge-off707]

Joe - I finally got my lights last night after waiting 3 days, UPS is horrible sometimes and what a change!! I have some pics on my camera but have not been able to post them yet because I'm at work. I took a few with my phone but they will not do them justice! I'll post some up when I get home for sure. The lights make the corals pop like crazy, which I need to thank Grant W for!!
Thank you very much for your generosity and the beer! Your tank is a huge inspiration and I had a good time talkin shop.

Stripe01, the tank looks great! I love the open top... Are you planning on adding any filtration??

 

[Grant W]

No problem Geoff glad to share plus if I ever come to your place I'll feel right at home haha let me know how they do. Grant

 

[Stripe01]

Stripe01, the tank looks great! I love the open top... Are you planning on adding any filtration??

Thanks! I'm running an aquaclear 50 with filter floss. I only plan on stocking one fish in this tank, so I do no really need heavy filtration.