Tell us your T5 bulb combination

[JOL]

please tell us your T5 combo. What kinds of corals? how is the growth? colors? I'm not ready for LED and need to replace my bulbs.

 

[dnsfpl]

Blue+
Blue+
AquaBlue
Purple+
Blue+
Blue+

 

[Red254]

Blue +
Purple +
Blue +
Blue +

Love the color it gives and have a mix of sps and lps, everything is growing great and good color except for my one acro but that's due to a phosphate problem

 

[JOL]

Thank you for sharing, I'm surprised I expected to see some white bulbs for growth. also I should had asked how often you replace them.

 

[TheKman]

Coral+
Purple+
Blue+
Blue+

 

[EDJFA]

There's a website out there, search for Grim Reaper T5. He give recommendations on bulb combinations as well as brand recommendations.

I have actinic, Purple+, and 2 10K white bulbs. I think I'm going to replace one of the 10K bulbs with a blue+ or purple+ because I don't like turning the white lights on as they wash out the actinic and purple light.

 

[dowtish]

3 ATI blue+
2 ATI coral+
1 geissmen actinic+

Growth and coloration is great

 

[SPotter]

this is what I have on my frag tank

- 4 ATI Blue Plus
- 2 ATI Aquablue Special
- 2 ATI Purple Plus

 

[donald altman]

blue +
Blue +
Actinic

6500k
Coral +
blue +

 

[JOL]

Thanks guys, for the input. don't know if I mentioned it currently I have.

1 blue +
1 Purple
2 Whites

should I get rid of the white?

 

[JOL]

There's a website out there, search for Grim Reaper T5. He give recommendations on bulb combinations as well as brand recommendations.

I have actinic, Purple+, and 2 10K white bulbs. I think I'm going to replace one of the 10K bulbs with a blue+ or purple+ because I don't like turning the white lights on as they wash out the actinic and purple light.

Thanks, googled him but din't find much.

 

[Signal151]

When I had to replace the stock bulbs in my Red Sea Max 250, I went with the following based on some reading I had done here.

From front to back:
GE 6500K
ATI Blue Plus
Giesemann Midday (6000K)
ATI Purple Plus
Red Sea 10000K
ATI Blue Plus

The tank was a bright white-blue with just a tinge of purple. A bit too bright for my taste. Also, way too much PAR from five high-PAR bulbs (v.s. the three of the stock setup). Everything looked good for a while but after about six months I wound up with pale looking corals. Growth in the SPS colonies was amazing however. I was unfortunately also getting some nuisance algae even with almost zero phosphates and nitrates.

I decided to go back to lower growth but better color by changing to the following bulb arrangement...

Front to back: (all bulbs are Giesemann-DD)
Aquablue+ 15000K
Actinic (420nm)
Aquablue+ 15000K
Actinic+ (460nm)
Aquablue+ 15000k
Actinic (420nm)

The tank is not as bright but overall looks more white-purple. All corals and fish fluoresce better and "pop" out more. After just a month my coral colors are becoming deeper and more vivid. I am much happier.

 

[JOL]

signal 151, thank you for the explanation.

 

[Bolivian Ram]

Have a a 4 bulb combo.

Ati Blue Plus

Ati Blue Plus

Ati purple plus

12000 K Aquascience

Corals I keep are:

Toadstool Leather

Cup coral

Green Sta Polyp

Birdnest Coral

Plate Coral

Zoanthids (various)

Hammer Coral

Elegance Coral


All corals are responding positively to the lights. Growth is good for all corals. Not fast.... but not slow either. The purple plus is a must have if you have any red or pinkish corals. It makes my birdnest, red zoas and elegance standout.

 

[rsaha]

I run

ATI Blue+
ATI Blue+
ATI Purple+
GE 6500
ATI Coral+
ATI Purple+
ATI Blue+
ATI Coral+
ATI Blue+

This gives me a crisp white look. The coral plus have a bit of purple to them but don't have the washed out look the Aquablue specials had. For 4 bulbs you could try 3 Blue Plus and one Coral Plus (it will be pretty blue) or try a Purple plus or GE6500 in place of one of the Blue Plus'. That's the fun of T5 - you can tune the lights to what you like.

If you search T5 thread you will find hundreds of pages of discussion on bulb combinations, fixture discussions etc.

 

[rsaha]

I run

ATI Blue+
ATI Blue+
ATI Purple+
GE 6500
ATI Coral+
ATI Purple+
ATI Blue+
ATI Coral+
ATI Blue+

This gives me a crisp white look. The coral plus have a bit of purple to them but don't have the washed out look the Aquablue specials had. For 4 bulbs you could try 3 Blue Plus and one Coral Plus (it will be pretty blue) or try a Purple plus or GE6500 in place of one of the Blue Plus'. That's the fun of T5 - you can tune the lights to what you like.

If you search T5 thread you will find hundreds of pages of discussion on bulb combinations, fixture discussions etc.

Teach me to post while watching TV - I have an 8 bulb fixture. I listed an extra Purple bulb. What I actually run is

ATI Blue+
ATI Blue+
ATI Purple+
GE 6500
ATI Coral+
ATI Blue+
ATI Coral+
ATI Blue+

 

[JOL]

thank you everyone, now how often do you replace them?

 

[michael.lemke]

Actinic, b+,b+, aqua blue b+,b+, actinic. Change every 12 to 14 month.

 

[greg1786]

All bulbs are geisemann. Aquablue plus 15k , actinic plus, pink plus, actinic plus. Six sps colonies one birds nest rest acros, 5 zoa colonies(one is over 200 polypls) ricordea, encrusting gorg, torch, and plate are my corals. I used to run a 12000k in place of 15k and a 10000k in place of one actinic plus and a pure actinic in place of pink plus. Coral growth rate has doubled with new bulb set up and their colors have become much deeper not washed out like before. I also like the color i get as far as overal tank looks when all four are running. While i get extra par from the actinic plus, i think i will trade one out for a pure actinic or a fiji purple to get a darker look when the whites are off

 

[PrangeWay]

UVL - Actnic
ATI - Blue +
KZ - Coral Light 14k
ATI - Blue +
KZ - Coral Light 14k
KZ - Fiji Purple

got me;

the picture from divers den when I ordered it was;

With only 4 bubls you'd probably have to go
UVL, ATI, KZ, Fiji