T5 users, please post you bulb combination!

[ReeferBatman]

ATI ABSpecial

Coralife 10k

Aquaticlife 10k

GE6700

 

[A. Grandis]

Oh yeah!
Thanks for the graphs!
:thumbsup:

Grandis.

 

[Travis Rohrbach]

Hi I have a question. I have a 90 gallon tank it has LPs softs and a few sps, I also have a 4-bulb t5 fixture in wondering what combination of bulbs should I run. The corals I have are leathers zoas brains hammer frogspawn torch blastoids lobo brain anemone Duncan montipora cap encrusting montipora encrusting Gregorian plate coral and that covers the majority of the coral.

 

[that Fish Guy]

That was long ago, before the KZ coral light.


KZ Coral Light is a very good bulb and many say it's very similar to ATI Coral Plus! Good PAR (~342).


The last time I've talked to him he wasn't dealing with T5s anymore and trying out some LEDs. That was years ago... It's a shame. LOL!!! Just kidding.



PAR number will depend on how you measure.
The last time I've talked to GrimReefer he posted this values from his own measurements:

ATI Blue plus = 311.
ATI Actinic Plus = 264.
ATI Pure actinic = 157.
ATI Aqua Blue = 324.

He didn't know about the new bulbs back then.

I would expect the ATI Coral Plus would be somewhere between the KZ new generation (~330) and KZ Coral light (~ 342), better than the ATI Aqua Blue.


It's all about adaptation. Not a big deal when you do the right way, very slow, one bulb at a time...



It would be great if someone would do that, but we would like the comparison to other PAR numbers using the same method, instrument and with new bulbs, please.

Please keep posting your observations...
It's so good to talk about the T5s!

Thank again,
Grandis.

What is the difference between:

ATI Pure Actinic
ATI Actinic Plus

I thought ATI only made 1 Actinic Bulb not 2?

 

[Baconbandit]

Pure actinic is from Geisemann

 

[A. Grandis]

What is the difference between:

ATI Pure Actinic
ATI Actinic Plus

I thought ATI only made 1 Actinic Bulb not 2?

I did that on purpose to see if people were paying attention!
Just kidding!!!

Actually, both are from Giesemann!! I'm sorry.
I was supposed to separate them by the brand and I made a mistake!!

Giesemann Pure Actinic = 157
Giesemann Actinic Plus = 264
ATI Actinic = 137 (that was the old style, long ago... Today we've got the ATI True actinic)

By the way, the UVL Super Actinic = 210.

The ATI Blue Plus = 311. Much better than any of the actinic bulbs above in regards to PAR.

Good catch, That Fish Guy!!
Sorry about that once more and thanks very much!

Grandis.

 

[that Fish Guy]

I did that on purpose to see if people were paying attention!
Just kidding!!!

Actually, both are from Giesemann!! I'm sorry.
I was supposed to separate them by the brand and I made a mistake!!

Giesemann Pure Actinic = 157
Giesemann Actinic Plus = 264
ATI Actinic = 137 (that was the old style, long ago... Today we've got the ATI True actinic)

By the way, the UVL Super Actinic = 210.

The ATI Blue Plus = 311. Much better than any of the actinic bulbs above in regards to PAR.

Good catch, That Fish Guy!!
Sorry about that once more and thanks very much!

Grandis.

I see.

So the Old ATI Actinic was 137 PAR.

What is the current PAR of their new ATI Actinic?

I was thinking about witching my ATI Actinic X2 with ATI Blue Plus X2 since I assumed the PAR was only 137.

But if the new PAR is much higher maybe I will keep them.

 

[that Fish Guy]

What is the difference between ATI Actinic and Geismann Actinic?

Or do they look the same?

I was also wondering what the difference between ATI Blue Plus and KZ Super Blue?

Does the Super Blue look nicer than the Blue Plus?

Is it more "Blue"?

 

[A. Grandis]

I see.

So the Old ATI Actinic was 137 PAR.

What is the current PAR of their new ATI Actinic?

I was thinking about witching my ATI Actinic X2 with ATI Blue Plus X2 since I assumed the PAR was only 137.

But if the new PAR is much higher maybe I will keep them.

I do not have a record of the PAR measurements for the new ATI Actinic (called True Actinic), comparing to those measurements.
Please remember that those numbers were for bulb comparison only, done a while ago, and at that time there was no PAR measurement taken for the True Actinic yet, so...

If you want my guess, and you want higher PAR, I would use Blue Plus bulbs instead any actinic bulb in the market today. No doubt about that.

Grandis.

 

[A. Grandis]

What is the difference between ATI Actinic and Geismann Actinic?

Or do they look the same?

I was also wondering what the difference between ATI Blue Plus and KZ Super Blue?

Does the Super Blue look nicer than the Blue Plus?

Is it more "Blue"?

They're all very, very similar to each other in appearance to the naked eye.
I would think PAR is the main difference between them.

Grandis.

 

[Zstriker]

I am running two of the newer ati true actinics, along with 2 giesemann pure actinics, and they look very similar, but the giesemann are slightly more pink.....back in the day the Uvl super actinic was king of pure t5 actinics because it had the most par, but that bulb runs extremely hot and is done for in 6 months.

I have been pleasantly surprised with the new ati true actinic...fairly bright deep purple, so pops other colors than a blue plus....best dawn dusk ever is a combo of the new ati true actinics and blue pluses....but if your in need of par stick with the blue pluses, but I have this strange theory that my corals color up better when I have at least one true actinic bulb being utilized.

 

[Travis Rohrbach]

I would like to order today or tomorrow so if anyone can give me a combo for a 4 bulb fixture that would grow sps LPs and softs it would be greatly appreciated. Thanx ahead of time

 

[A. Grandis]

I've posted this in another thread and want to bring here too:

Well, I currently have 2 Giesemann Actinic Pluse with 2 ATI Blue Plus bulbs and can't see any visual differences between them. I look both, side by side, and there is no differences at all. When I had all ATI Blue Pluses last year, my zoas had more protective pigments than today. Next time I change bulbs I'll go back to the ATI Blue Plus, no doubt.

We all know about the PAR differences between actinic bulbs and the ATI Blue Plus.
Would be good if someone could actually measure the PAR of the Giesemann Actinic Plus and ATI Blue Plus to compare both with the same method and distances, and new bulbs. I'm sure ATI Blue Plus' PAR will be higher and that's why it's my choice.

My combo today is:

----FRONT----
ATI Coral Plus
Giesemann Actinic Plus
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Coral Plus
Giesemann Actinic Plus
ATI Blue Plus
----BACK-----

My US$.02 is here.

Grandis.

 

[ReeferBatman]

The ATI Blue Plus = 311. Much better than any of the actinic bulbs above in regards to PAR.

Grandis.

However that same blue spectrum in Blue plus is also in the 'white bulbs' (coral plus, ABSpecial, 10k, GE6700) in much the same amount.

If you have to have one, Blue plus should be the choice over actinic, but if you already have a blue plus, and/or a 'white' bulb mentioned above, personally I'd add the actinic to vary the nm offered greater... unless the person just really likes the look of Blue plus that is...

If it's a 2 bulb system, skip the actinic. You need the PAR with Blue/'White' bulbs.

If its a 4-6 bulb system feel free to add an actinic and see how it works out.

Just saying my opinion, I love the work you do regarding PAR numbers, very informative and interesting, and definitely has it's place in the equation!

 

[A. Grandis]

Oh yeah, it's all personal preferences...
As long s it works with a great combination for what you have and how you want the bulbs to work.
I've got all my zoas from shallow waters and prefer to keep them with higher PAR, so...

Grandis.

 

[A. Grandis]

Found my list with the Giesemann!
Here are the numbers for an actinic/Blue+ comparison:

ATI Blue Plus= 311
Giesemann Actinic Plus= 264
Giesemann Pure Actinic= 157
ATI actinic (old)= 137
UVL Super Actinic= 210

So the Giesemann isn't that bad, when compared to the ATI Blue Plus.
Please keep in mind that ATI was boosting their bulbs to have better PAR and I don't have any PAR number for bulb comparison of the new ATI actinic.
Could be that the new ATI has higher PAR than the Giesemann. I don't know...

Grandis.

 

[A. Grandis]

Found my list with the Giesemann!
Here are the numbers for an actinic/Blue+ comparison:

ATI Blue Plus= 311
Giesemann Actinic Plus= 264
Giesemann Pure Actinic= 157
ATI actinic (old)= 137
UVL Super Actinic= 210

So the Giesemann isn't that bad, when compared to the ATI Blue Plus.
Please keep in mind that ATI was boosting their bulbs to have better PAR and I don't have any PAR number for bulb comparison of the new ATI actinic.
Could be that the new ATI has higher PAR than the Giesemann. I don't know...

Grandis.

I just found out that the info about ATI boosting the PAR for their bulbs was only a rumor. I've heard that about 2 years ago, but I actually talked to an ATI representative today and he assured that ATI bulb's quality are the same since the beginning without any changes.
Just to pass on the correct info!

Grandis.

 

[Stomatopod1701]

When I had an aquactincs t5x fixture (Nice unit by the way, I heard the company is gone), I used:
Front
Blue+
UVL actinic white
UVL actinic
GE 6500K
Blue+
Back
Worked well for me

 

[ReeferBatman]

I should also mention that although certain corals I have like my prizm favia and yellow orange zoas need that 10k bulb.... my acros started bleaching under the 10k.... they are doing better further back in the tank under the blue plus & coral plus & actinics

 

[that Fish Guy]

I just found out that the info about ATI boosting the PAR for their bulbs was only a rumor. I've heard that about 2 years ago, but I actually talked to an ATI representative today and he assured that ATI bulb's quality are the same since the beginning without any changes.
Just to pass on the correct info!

Grandis.

So are you saying that the PAR on the ATI Actinic is still 137 and it did NOT increase like was said previously?