T5 users, please post you bulb combination!

[A. Grandis]

... and some nice photoshop vivid work.

The Aquablue has a nice 15000K, plus the 4 Blue Plus bulbs...

I guess we could get something similar to that with any of the 15000K+ bulbs and the 4 Blue Pluses, if that combo has 4 bulbs.

Too blue, if that is really what you see.

Grandis.

 

[rwoten]

Hi everyone. I am new to the hobby, well one year. I currently have a 29 gal with 3 t5's. I am sorry but i don't know what they are. I was told by local fish store that they were good. I have one 10k and two actinic's. I just changed some stuff around and am planning on restocking coral. I currently hav one colony of green striped mushrooms and a green cabbage. I want to add some sps, maybe a Duncan, brain and zoa's. I was wondering if three t5's is enough as I cannot really fit anymore. I plan on getting a bigger tank but would like to become more experienced as well as save some money. Also I know it's been said plenty of times on here it depends on what works best and looks best but I would like a good starting point on bulbs for those types of corals. Any suggestions would highly appreciated!!!

 

[rwoten]

Also I like the really blue look and don't know if I need the white or not?? Thanks

 

[rwoten]

Last thing haha...I also don't really know how long lights should be left on for throughout the day. I have just been turning all three on at like 9am-12am.

 

[A. Grandis]

There are many types of schedule for the lights and everyone does differently.
Most people use all T5s for about 6 to 8 hrs a day. And most people use only 2 blue bulbs for 2 hours a day: 1 hr before white lights come on, and 1 hr after light come on (sunrise/sunset). There are other people that use the bulbs for more hrs a day too...

Blue look will normally be done with 2 Blue Plus bulbs and 1 of the 15000K+ bulbs. Then you have to find the one for you. ATI Coral Plus (~15000K+) would be a good choice once you have only 3 bulbs. ATI Aquablue Special (~15000K) is another one, Giesemann Aquablue Plus (~15000K), and many others...

The reason we post that depends on your taste is because we will give you advice based on what we like today. That might be different to you, of course.

To know what bulbs you've got you can take a look at the end of the bulbs. They normally have their brand and name there.

Go to the store and see what they've got in their tanks.
Ask them to show you what the bulbs look like.

Let's wait and see what others will suggest to you...
Good luck!

Grandis.

 

[DiscusHeckel]

I read a thread on T5 tubes yesterday. The German guy from ATI argues that using Kelvin in T5 discussions is not meaningful. We need to discuss spectrum instead. Here is the link for more information (refer to post #7).

 

[kniquy]

I am in the same boat and will need to change out my bulbs in January. I would love to see some pic of the tanks under peoples lighting set ups. Right now my 75g seems too bright and doesn't give a good color until the 12K goes out. I want to make sure i have a good combo of lights for aesthetics as well as for coral growth.

 

[Michigan Mike]

I feel weird asking, but does anyone have a bulb combo that mimics this color and color pop of the corals? Courtesy of google images

This looks like blue plus only. Or 3 blue plus and a purple, will give you a better color that pops more of the red/yellow colors than blue only, like my avatar.

 

[Michigan Mike]

Hi everyone. I am new to the hobby, well one year. I currently have a 29 gal with 3 t5's. I am sorry but i don't know what they are. I was told by local fish store that they were good. I have one 10k and two actinic's. I just changed some stuff around and am planning on restocking coral. I currently hav one colony of green striped mushrooms and a green cabbage. I want to add some sps, maybe a Duncan, brain and zoa's. I was wondering if three t5's is enough as I cannot really fit anymore. I plan on getting a bigger tank but would like to become more experienced as well as save some money. Also I know it's been said plenty of times on here it depends on what works best and looks best but I would like a good starting point on bulbs for those types of corals. Any suggestions would highly appreciated!!!

Just make sure its T5HO and not T5NO. The wattage will tell you what it is. A 24" T5HO is 24w. A 24" T5NO is only 14w.

2 blue plus and 1 coral plus is probably the best 3 bulb combo and it should grow most LPS and softies.

 

[that Fish Guy]

front

ATI blue +
KZ fiji purple
ATI blue +
ATI aquablue special
ATI blue +
ATI coral +

rear

I am going to have the following combination next month:

front

ATI blue +
KZ fiji purple
ATI blue +
ATI aquablue special
ATI blue +
ATI aquablue special

rear

How is the KZ Fiji Purple different from the ATI Purple Plus.

I hear alot of people use this Bulb.

But I have never seen any KZ or Geismann Bulbs for that matter in person.

Everyone around here uses ATI.

I have never been to an LFS that carries any KZ or Geismann Bulbs.

 

[that Fish Guy]

I feel weird asking, but does anyone have a bulb combo that mimics this color and color pop of the corals? Courtesy of google images

That looks amazing.

I think that all the internet pictures are Photoshopped though.

No combination I try mimics Pictures that are amazing like that (Even 4 Blue Plus).

Or is there something going on that I am not aware of?

 

[DiscusHeckel]

How is the KZ Fiji Purple different from the ATI Purple Plus.

I hear alot of people use this Bulb.

But I have never seen any KZ or Geismann Bulbs for that matter in person.

Everyone around here uses ATI.

I have never been to an LFS that carries any KZ or Geismann Bulbs.

I use 1 X ATI blue plus and 1 X KZ Fiji purple from dawn to dusk. I used to use ATI puple plus instead of the KZ tube and did not like its purple hue. In my opinion KZ fiji purple is a lot more gentle to the eye and bring out red colours better. Its PAR output is excellent too.

A lot of people in the UK seem to use KZ fiji purple. It is a really good tube. I recommend it.

 

[YoungREEFA]

Well i think colors that dont pop under blue light relie more on feeding and water quality more so than others, but still need good light combo! Tanks with a higher phosphate an nitrate level that is stable tend to show very, i mean very deep and rich colors

If you guys want to see amazing tanks hop onto the sps forum and search "T5 non zeovit reef" look at every pic bulb combos are always posted

 

[A. Grandis]

I read a thread on T5 tubes yesterday. The German guy from ATI argues that using Kelvin in T5 discussions is not meaningful. We need to discuss spectrum instead. Here is the link for more information (refer to post #7).

Hey DiscusHeckel,

Thanks so much for the link and heads up!
That's a very nice thread!!
I get all my bulbs from Greg's and he is a wonderful guy do deal with!
I met George back in 2010 at MACNA and now he's gone, but that thread is truly great!

Yes, this is just like those cartoon names for corals and zoas. People identify to the bulbs because of how they call them. Most of the numbers don't match with the colors we see at all!!! That makes very hard to buy them and decide what would be the one of our systems.

If you check at the specifications on all the bulbs I posted you'll see that they "call" them 15000K or 15000K+, therefore I named them like that. If they are or not that comes to another step.
To tell the truth all the bulbs aren't really what we think, unfortunately.
We even can't really tell what is a 10000K bulb or a 14000K bulb nowadays, with so many different names to be able to have a base for comparison.

That's a very good point and the link comes in hand to indeed enrich this thread!! Thanks again!

Once more, I just wanted to identify the bulbs as the description of each imposes.

Grandis.

 

[A. Grandis]

I am in the same boat and will need to change out my bulbs in January. I would love to see some pic of the tanks under peoples lighting set ups. Right now my 75g seems too bright and doesn't give a good color until the 12K goes out. I want to make sure i have a good combo of lights for aesthetics as well as for coral growth.

Let's wait for those nice pictures...

Grandis.