t-5's question

[ssw]

i have 4-39 watt 460 act. and 4-39 watt 10000k on a 125 gal. reef tank.my question is "is their a diferent bulb i should be using or am i good".
i just got them 4 months ago and hope i have the right combo of bulbs.

 

[simmons3011]

go to reefgeek.com and look at lamps

 

[ssw]

i did. i just dont understand the charts.
just need someone who knows a good combo of bulbs that do good for color and growth of a reef.

 

[Geodriller]

What brand are the bulbs?

IMO you should mix the bulbs up a little. Find a happy medium between grow bulbs and actinics.

I have 8x54 T5's on my SPS tank and not 1 is a 10K.

BTW the grimm reefer on RC is the man when it comes to t5. you shold do a search to find PAR readings.

 

[ssw]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14711115#post14711115 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Geodriller
What brand are the bulbs?

IMO you should mix the bulbs up a little. Find a happy medium between grow bulbs and actinics.

I have 8x54 T5's on my SPS tank and not 1 is a 10K.

BTW the grimm reefer on RC is the man when it comes to t5. you shold do a search to find PAR readings.

so what are you running on your tank?i am running current bulbs.

 

[swhaley40]

I would buy 4-5 ATI blue plus, 2-3 Aquablues, and a fiji purple. This will have tons of par and great color

 

[BPKlein]

I don't know what my PAR is, but these are the bulbs that I am using over my 125 gallon 6 footer. Half over each side. The bulbs are 39 watt 3 footers. I like the color and my LPS and softie growth is good. I don't have any SPS.

4 ATI Blue Plus
4 ATI Aqua Blue Special
2 KZ Fiji Purple
2 UVL Super Actinic

 

[ssw]

is it still bright without the 10k?
does it have more blue then white?

 

[BPKlein]

Still very bright, but leans towards the blue side. I assume that you have the factory bulbs in a Nova Extreme or Pro. Mine is a NEP and when I took the stock bulbs out and replaced them with these, the color became more blue. Contact www.reegeek.com they will take care of your T5 bulb needs.

 

[divewsharks]

what kind of tank color do you like? and what kind of corals do you keep/plan to keep?

 

[cich4fish]

You should replace at least 2 of the 10k.If you want the colors to pop out add blue bulbs,like actinic plus from Gsman ,ATI blus plus or UVL super actinic.IMO

Eric

 

[ssw]

What about the purple bulbs?

 

[cich4fish]

from what I have been reading the fiji purple is nice.I have not tried it but I am going too.

Eric

 

[ssw]

their is not alot of info. on t-5s ,so this has helped me pic the right bulbs
so thanks to all for the info :dance:
any more would be good
i know their is more peps out their that strugle with all the different bulbs .
any more info would be good.

 

[divewsharks]

the UVL Super Actinic does not really compare to the ATI Blue+ or GMan Actinic+, the UVL Super Actinic is a true actinic bulb (more violet) where the other two are not, they are blue bulbs with actinic phosphors, and as such produce alot more PAR; the nearest comparison from UVL is the new 454, the color is supposed nearly identical to the Blue+, however it does not have the PAR the Blue+ or GMan does.

The KZ Fiji Purple is a very nice bulb, high in PAR and is very good for reds/pinks/purples, you can also use the UVL Actinic White to focus on those colors; it doesn't have the PAR of the FP, but it also doesn't have the same price tag either.

depending on how blue you want the tank, you can do:
ATI Blue+
ATI Aquablue Special (nearly white bulb/ slightest blue tint, very bright, high PAR)
KZ FP/ UVL Actinic White
ATI Blue+
GE 6500K (for greens/yellows)
ATI Aquablue Special
KZ FP/ UVL Actinic White
ATI Blue+

If you want less blue you can sub a Blue+ with an Aquablue Special.