T5 Replacement Bulbs

[justin_cutri]

So I am wanting to replace the bulbs in my fixture and remember talking to someone at the last meeting who said they recently replaced theirs and had a friend that could order them fairly cheap. Most online retailers charge between $20-$24 a piece + shipping and the extra bulb charge is about another $30. Not terribly expensive but anything cheaper would be helpful.

Also I'm pretty sure I want to go with:

2x Coral Plus
2x Blue Plus
1x Purple Plus
1x Actinic

Either ATI or Giesemann, may want to go with Giesmann because they are a little more expensive and we all know expensive means better

Thoughts/opinions appreciated!

 

[zeroinverse]

If u can wait, you can ask diablo corals to order (if cheaper) and I can bring them up at next meetup...

 

[gdm42001]

BRS does not charge an extra bulb charge for shipping, just normal UPS shipping rates based on weight.

 

[zeroinverse]

Ahh! Right. If you are a "group buy" member... First week of month from wed to next we'd... They do additional discount.

Btw, if u do a BRS buy, may ask you to order other stuff for me also.
Super glue tubes, frag plugs, etc.

 

[GiantBen]

Justin, I'm running that exact combo.
Also, Steve at CRE was wholesaling out his bulbs for $12. Check the site to see what he has.

 

[justin_cutri]

Hotsauce

 

[justin_cutri]

What is this CRE is you speak of, google needs more input

 

[kokaneejr]

coral reef ecosystems .com Steve Ruddy's business in Gurneville.

Hey if you do a BRS order I may want bulbs too, I didn't see anything at Steves still on sale that I wanted.

 

[gonzalez78]

I guess Steve is getting out of the business or just upgrading because i saw a lot of his things for sale on craigslist a few weeks back. He has great selection too bad he is so far away

 

[lokii_37]

Reefgeek only charges a special handling fee if you order less than 4 bulbs. So if you order 6 it is only 10.95 for shipping

 

[GiantBen]

Steve is going down to a single drag tank and isn't going to be carrying dry goods or equipment stock on-site. You can still order from him and he has it shipped direct to you. I it a couple Tunze 6045s from him a few weeks ago.

 

[justin_cutri]

Looks like marine depot is the winner, no shipping or tax. I checked CRES but he didn't have coral plus or purple plus, nice site though. Hoping that the new color combo and fresh bulbs will add a little more pop to my tank. I'm guessing whats in there now came with the fixture which means approx 24 months on them, just a bit overdue

 

[GiantBen]

I recommend ordering a couple extra blue plus so you can play with the color combo.

 

[zeroinverse]

Or borrow some used ones to try color combos first

 

[GiantBen]

Very true. I still have the 6 bulbs for you Justin. If you want to pick them up before you order, that's fine with me. You can see the color combo over my tank while you are at it.

 

[justin_cutri]

I'm a compulsive spender already ordered not worried about playing around with the color combo too much, the only other options I really considered was the fiji purple opposed to purple plus and a different temp of actinic. The big difference will be the purple and actinic for dawn dusk opposed to the 2 blue plus I have at the moment. Can't wait!!!

 

[justin_cutri]

And TY for the offers!!!

 

[GiantBen]

How are you planning to order the bulbs. I have mine Back to Front:

Coral+, Blue+, Purple+, Coral+, UVL Super Actinic, Blue+

That puts a Blue+ and UVL on the same switch for dawn dusk.

 

[justin_cutri]

Only think I have yet to decide, that will take some playing with. Guessing I'll start with purple plus and actinic on one switch with purple being in the front for dawn dusk, if I don't like the purple I'll switch it for a blue. Hoping to get a little more contrast in colors this way.

Blue+, Purple+, Coral+, Coral+, Actinic, Blue+

That's front to back, but if I decide to leave the purple and actinic on the same switch for d/d I may switch there positions to put the actinic in front.

 

[justin_cutri]

Got the bulbs today. Ordered them sat night at my front door today, not too shabby. After playing around I decided to put a blue+ and the actinic on the d/d switch. The purple+ is a bit much so I moved it to the daylight switch and put it in back which leaves my with...

Coral+, Actinic, Blue+, Coral+, Blue+, Purple+

Front to back.