Recommended T-5 bulbs

[davidadelp]

I know alot of people recommend ATI bulbs but what are other Top of the line bulbs that are as good or better then ATI bulbs? My LFS that carries alot of SW supplies and livestock has never heard of ATI but of course they had bulbs that they recommended. One was a german made bulb not sure of the name and the other LFS recommended a bulb that was only like two letters maybe HK OR JK im not sure. Any ideas?

Anyway whats some other great bulbs aside from ATI?

 

[JAustin]

Guiesmann is another good bulb. IMHO, if your LFSs has not herd of ATI they know nothing about T5s.

 

[sminker]

ATI or nothing for me. Reefgeek or BRS have the full lines. Don't waste your time with the LFS ones.

Geisemann is the only other brand I would even consider, you can sometimes find them locally if you are in a pinch.

 

[SchnitzelReef]

Stick with ATI. In my opinion they're the best. If u order online alot of places will give u free shipping. Good mix is
Blue +, coral+, and purple +.


Sent from my iPhone

 

[davidadelp]

Yeah I didnt intend to stear away from ATI I was just curious. I have a 4 bulb fixture whats the best combo of bulbs to run? Im keeping softies, LPS and Zoas. I want something to make the colors pop and really stand out plus to really encourage growth.

 

[Kies1]

Kz super blues are much nicer than ati blue plus. Throw a Fiji purple in and your all set. Super blues are such a nice shade of blue and will pop your corals.

 

[davidadelp]

KZ that it, The one LFS recommended those bulbs and said they was one of the best ones on the market but said they was expensive. He showed me the bulbs on a tank and it looked good and really brought the colors out in the coral.

 

[Kies1]

I have used giessman, ati and kz. I prefer the kz bulbs over both. The super blues have great par, rich colour and make your corals pop. They do not wash out other colours as well. Kz new gen is a little more white. For a four bulb I would play around with 3 super blues and a Fiji purple. If to blue remove a super blue and add a new gen. This will be a very nice combo.

 

[Michigan Mike]

2 ATI blue plus 1 KZ Fiji purple & 1 ATI actinic.
I'm running this in my 4x24 Sunpower

In real life its a tad more purple than the pic..looks real good,lots of pop! I use a blue plus & actinic for the dawn/dusk.

 

[davidadelp]

Hmm I like the look of your tank. Never really thought about mixing brands of bulbs is that what your running? I didnt realize how expensive KZ was to get 2 super blues, 1 purple fiji and one Gen 2 its going to be 111$ before shipping. I can get 4 ATI bulbs for around 90$ Ive got to get it figured out soon though I want to get rid of the stock bulbs that came in my fixture asap so this and my new skimmer are my next upgrades!

 

[that Fish Guy]

2 ATI blue plus 1 KZ Fiji purple & 1 ATI actinic.
I'm running this in my 4x24 Sunpower

In real life its a tad more purple than the pic..looks real good,lots of pop! I use a blue plus & actinic for the dawn/dusk.

Very Nice. So the First Bulb on the Right is the Fiji Purple? It looks very blue.

 

[Michigan Mike]

Left to right
ATI ACTINIC,KZ FIJI PURPLE,ATI BLUE PLUS,ATI BLUE PLUS

If money is an issue than stick with ATI or try GIESSEMAN bulbs, they have gone down in price I think...they are cheap here..http://saltycritter.com/lighting/t5-bulbs-giesemann.htm
2 actinic plus,1 aqua pink & 1 pure actinic would be the closest to what I have...well actually they don't carry the aqua pink bulb there for some reason. You get the idea though.

 

[SchnitzelReef]

I wouldn't spend the extra money on the KZ bulbs. The purple + and the Fiji purple are made by the same company (Sylvania), but supposedly they're not identical color.

For a 4 bulb I'd go all ATI bulbs:
Blue+
Coral +
Blue +
Purple+

I'm running 4 bulbs with led and I'm running 2 blue+ and 2 coral +. Awesome bulbs

Sent from my iPhone

 

[that Fish Guy]

Left to right
ATI ACTINIC,KZ FIJI PURPLE,ATI BLUE PLUS,ATI BLUE PLUS

If money is an issue than stick with ATI or try GIESSEMAN bulbs, they have gone down in price I think...they are cheap here..http://saltycritter.com/lighting/t5-bulbs-giesemann.htm
2 actinic plus,1 aqua pink & 1 pure actinic would be the closest to what I have...well actually they don't carry the aqua pink bulb there for some reason. You get the idea though.

I use 2 ATI Blue Plus and 2 ATI Actinic but my ATI Actinic is Pink/Purple in color like the 2nd bulb you have.

I went on youtube and found two videos saying that they were ati actinic bulbs but in one video they were pink/purple and in the other video they were blue like yours.

What is going on?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4B5rCqKm4c

That video is what my ATI Actinic Bulbs look like.

Why is your ATI Actinic so blue?

I bought the Actinic because I wanted my Tank to look Very Blue like they do at Frag Swaps but the light looks Purple?

I am confused?

 

[Michigan Mike]

It's not like a purple/pink bulb, its deep violet/blue.
Here's another pic

When I look down at the surface of the water it looks like the darkest blue/purple bulb in the mix.heres a pic I took just for you.lol

 

[that Fish Guy]

Does ATI Make 2 Different Actinic Bulbs?

Did you watch the Video in the Link I posted.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4B5rCqKm4c

The video and my own actinics look pink/purple not violet.

That is what I want - Violet.

Are you sure it is an ATI and not some other company?

Do you have any pictures of what your Tank looks like with just actinic bulbs?

Thanks for all the help.

 

[that Fish Guy]

Your Actinic is more Blue than your ATI Blue Plus right?

That is how the picture looks anyways.

 

[Michigan Mike]

Looks like the pics, it has a purpley/blue look..it's its own color, for sure. It will get overpowered by blue p,us and purple bulbs but is better than a blue bulb as it flourescence better and doesnt wash colors out like blue bulbs because it has the violet 420nm. (Actinic is is 420nm & blue is 460nm)
Ya I seen the vid, it looks like the bulb when he put a new one in.

ATI makes one actinic but the blue plus will fluoresce corals like the actinic but is much brighter and has a ton of PAR like a "daylight" bulb, really the blue plus is the best of both worlds and IMO 3 lue plus and a purple is the best 4 bulb combo for 6 bulb fixtures...instead of using 2 bulbs for the dawn/dusk use this 4 bulb combo and add the other 2 bulbs (coral plus?) for midday boost.

 

[Big E]

The Hexarc bulbs are about 30% less and are apparently made in one of the same German factories.

I'd give it a try if I could find some locally to try out.

I've used the Geismans & can say I like the ATI's much better.

 

[deepseadan]

I've tried all the bulbs out there including all the ones spoken of in this thread. I will only buy ati. The best for coral color and growth. With any bulbs you choose though, the mixing and matching gets you your color. Believe it or not my lfs didn't know of ati bulbs either. I challenged them to try some in one of their reef tanks and now two years later all they run are ati's. You will see the difference.