I'm sorry to disapoint you but I have been studying lighting for well over 20 years. With reef tanks it was for roughly 12 years only. Initialy I experimented with various metal hides then when the HO T-5's came out I switched to them which was roughly 8 or 10 years ago.
Initialy I wnet with the standard of the day mainly pure Atinic bulbs and 10,000K bulbs. Since then I have tried many other bulbs with probably 30 different ones now sitting in my basement some that I only used a couple weeks because I hated what they did to my tank.
When I experimented with lights I also researched the photosynthesis and florescence in corals trying to find the bulbs that created the best growth as well as provided the light that the corals absorb in order to bring out there florescense.
I will admit one of the bulbs I never used was the Fuji purple. However after working in the lighting industry and looking at the mfg plots for the ATI Purple Plus I will say that that bulb produces an absolute mininium of green and yellow light not enough to be noticable to the naked eye.
Corals in general need light in all wave lenghts with some requiring more light in some wave lenghts than others do. Generaly the shorter the wave lenght the more it is needed which is why I agree that a light combination with a heavy dependency on blues is not a bad thing at all.
However I do believe that a balance should be maintained. Some corals will not show there beauty of florescence unless they receive enough light at the frequencies there chemicals absorb to create there florescense. I have a table that lists various of these wave lenghts and they pretty much cover the entire spectrum.
I will agree that for growth there are only a few important wave lenghts namely 417 nm, 436nm, 447nm, 452 nm, 475 nm 485 nm (visualy blues and aqua's.) 625nm and 655 nm (reds). But if you had a tank light with stricly light between 417nm and 485nm it would look extremy monocrome with the exception of the corals that will absorb these frequencies and give off there florescense and much longer wave lenghts.
On the other end of the spectrum while light at 625 nm is benificial to the growth of some corals BUT if it is in excess it will bleach out many corals and it is the primary frequency that is photosynthesized by Cyan Bacteria.
A lot of light bulb selection is a combination of what is good for the corals and what is pleasing to the eye. You also add the enviromental lighting around the aquarium in to the factor and you will find that what one person likes another does not.
I personaly will not use a 6,500K in a reef tank because I think that even when mixed with all other Blue Plus bulbs it makes the tank look yellow, and washed out the florescent colors of the corals. I know some people that swear by them and love there effect. But that is personal taste.
I will agree with you that ATI's Blue PLus should be the main bulb in any arangment or its equivelent. I also like the idea of 1 purple plus in the mix. But I aslo like the idea of having one additional bulb to fill in those gaps. That additional bulb is mainly personal choice and can be an ATI Aqua Blue Special, G Man Aqua Blue Plus, UL's 14,000K, 12,000K, 10,000K KZ's 14,000K New Generation, 10,000K or the GE 6,500K. This is a matter of personal taste.
Presently I'm running 3 ATI Blue Plus and 1 ATI Purple Plus on my dawn to dusk lights. The blues and greens in the tank look fantastic but my corals that floresce in the yellows look gray. When my mid day lights mainly 14,000K come on I agree that it does make the florsesnce of the blue and greens less visable but it does turn those gray corals to bright florescent yellow tones. With my next bulb change I'll be adding more ATI Blue Plus bulbs but I will still keep at least one 14,000K so I do not loose that completly.
Please see above. Grim hit the nail right on the head!
Your response was a major fail. I am sorry to be so rash and bold but I have been running T5s for 6 years at this point.
I have more posts in this thread than you do all together. I have been helping people in THIS thread for over 3 years now.
I KNOW what combos work and what doesn't. A mix of Blue Plus and Purple Plus lamps will keep colors better than adding in a day light bulb. Multiple local reefers all run 4 blue and 2 purple on their T5 setup because that is what I recommended. ALL of them love it!
I value your expertise and your help on this thread. Your points and opinions are valid. I can tell you know what you are doing in keeping tanks.
I just question your knowledge on bulbs and different setups.
Off my soapbox now....
