Should i switch to a different T5 brand?

[jcjule]

I have an ice cap 660 running 1 T5 (4300K) and 2 T12 bulbs (10000K) All of them are 24w
My corals (mushrooms, zoanthids, and specially a candy cane) are opening like crazy since i installed this combination

Why the combination you ask?
Well, when I bought this ballast, 3 of the 4 brand new t5s got burned in 2 days (the bulbs were current usa)
Since then, i have been running that combination

Anyway...
Should i switch the lamps to T5s? Will corals be better?
Which brand do you recommend for 24w t5 lamps
And what color combination

1- ATI
2- Giesemann
3- Ice cap
4- Other???

Thanks for the help...

 

[possys]

I been using Current T5 for years and I love it.

 

[Henry Bowman]

ATI here in a 6 bulb unit. Well, not totally true. I use 1 GE AquaSun

 

[SaltyDr]

All ATI and one UVL here. Do you like the color of your bulb combo? I would think it to be on the yellow side. Good for coral growth, but not all that pleasing to the eye, although beauty is in the eye of the tank owner.

 

[Peter Eichler]

ATI are far far better bulbs than the current bulbs and will be fine being overdriven by your ballast. You should however look into proper cooling for overdriven T5's. That said, if you have individual reflectors along with overdriven ATI bulbs you'll probably fry your mushrooms and perhaps some LPS and zoanthids as well.