The T5 Q&a Thread - split

[nexusnight]

wow this thread is huge!!! Im just going to ask to save me time lol, im getting a 60" 8bulb ati sunpower and would like bulb suggestions. I have a 140g 72"*20"w+22"d. Its a mixed reef tank. i realy like acans and lps(chalice,scoly,torch ext) and have a nice colection of zoas and some sps mixed throughout the tank. I am switching from 5 hydras as the acans and chalice seem to colour morph and i have to run them really low(intensity) to not cook stuff. Thought and help is greatly appreaciated

 

[DiscusHeckel]

Yes and I'll also show you the comparison with the GE and a purple. Note the Combo you have has more Blue and Red, while the GE combo is stronger in the yellow but flills in the yellow reg1on of the spectrum better. But with only one purple in a 6 bulb combo the GE looks to Yellow for some people.

Dennis, this is really great. I appreciate your help.

Before changing to 3 ATI Blue + and 3 ATI Coral +, I used to use 1 X ATI aquablue special, 1 X ATI coral +, 3 X Coral + and 1 X KZ fiji purple.

I have no idea about the spectral plot on my previous combination, but I am finding that my present combination promotes better colouration and faster growth. Does it come as surprise to you?

regards

 

[rtparty]

wow this thread is huge!!! Im just going to ask to save me time lol, im getting a 60" 8bulb ati sunpower and would like bulb suggestions. I have a 140g 72"*20"w+22"d. Its a mixed reef tank. i realy like acans and lps(chalice,scoly,torch ext) and have a nice colection of zoas and some sps mixed throughout the tank. I am switching from 5 hydras as the acans and chalice seem to colour morph and i have to run them really low(intensity) to not cook stuff. Thought and help is greatly appreaciated

Grab 5 blue plus, 3 coral plus and 2 purple plus. That way you can play around and find what you like.

I'd start with 5 blue, 2 purple and 1 coral plus.

 

[TropTrea]

TropTrea:

Can you do me a favour please? Using the spectral data you have, are you able to tell us which combo of T5 tubes to use in order to create a spectrum as close to the Radium 250w Here is a typical Radium 20K plot:

Many thanks.

Well I spent a few hours trying to get close with 8 T-5 bulbs then I went to my standby 2 T-5 and 150 Watt of LED combination. Here are the plots of my favorate combination that are not too far from your 20,000 K Radium plot.
It also shows the different phases of light that I use.

Using the 8 T-5's I'd say your best bet would be using all Blue Plus Bulbs and then adding the white with your Cool White LED's.

 

[TropTrea]

Dennis, this is really great. I appreciate your help.

Before changing to 3 ATI Blue + and 3 ATI Coral +, I used to use 1 X ATI aquablue special, 1 X ATI coral +, 3 X Coral + and 1 X KZ fiji purple.

I have no idea about the spectral plot on my previous combination, but I am finding that my present combination promotes better colouration and faster growth. Does it come as surprise to you?

regards

No this is not a surprise to me at all. Your lighting now is not as white and is not pumping out a lot of yellow green light that is virtualy useless to corals for growth. Instead you have more blue which is the energy that corals thrive upon.

 

[TropTrea]

wow this thread is huge!!! Im just going to ask to save me time lol, im getting a 60" 8bulb ati sunpower and would like bulb suggestions. I have a 140g 72"*20"w+22"d. Its a mixed reef tank. i realy like acans and lps(chalice,scoly,torch ext) and have a nice colection of zoas and some sps mixed throughout the tank. I am switching from 5 hydras as the acans and chalice seem to colour morph and i have to run them really low(intensity) to not cook stuff. Thought and help is greatly appreaciated

I little thought here I had been running 5 Blue Plus, 1 GE, and 2 Purples and had very poor coloring and growth on my ACAN's. An ACAN experts suggestion I got rid of one of the Purple Plus bulbs as went to another Blue Plus and the acans showed considerable improvement. My Acans had good growth and fair color before and I had not seen any change in them. Zoas are my worst coral some varieties (with a lot of green in them) seem to do great and others (sith more red in them) are very poor for me and eventualy just die.

As a note he recommended that I go to 1 10,000K bulb and 5 Blue Plus which is what he uses on his 120 gallon tank for Acans.

 

[Dapg8gt]

Random question for those with experience with the powermodule and ballasts in general.

I got a used 8x54w powermodule and it was working fine. I replaced the reflectors and after putting it back together the last bulb in the bank won't fire. I swapped bulbs to different positions (all new) and still it's just the one. I changed the end caps/sockets on that one cause I have spares but still no go. The ballast is making a slight hum and if I take the unit bulb out it kills both (normal) but then it just instead of firing the bulbs both blink.

Most research I've done shows both bulbs not firing with a bad ballast. Do you guys think it's the ballast? I ordered another one regardless from Reefgeek just wanted to make sure I am moving in the right direction. I checked the wiring and all seems good everything else works perfect. Just guessing a channel on the ballast is bad. Thanks in advance

 

[TropTrea]

Random question for those with experience with the powermodule and ballasts in general.

I got a used 8x54w powermodule and it was working fine. I replaced the reflectors and after putting it back together the last bulb in the bank won't fire. I swapped bulbs to different positions (all new) and still it's just the one. I changed the end caps/sockets on that one cause I have spares but still no go. The ballast is making a slight hum and if I take the unit bulb out it kills both (normal) but then it just instead of firing the bulbs both blink.

Most research I've done shows both bulbs not firing with a bad ballast. Do you guys think it's the ballast? I ordered another one regardless from Reefgeek just wanted to make sure I am moving in the right direction. I checked the wiring and all seems good everything else works perfect. Just guessing a channel on the ballast is bad. Thanks in advance

If you swapped bulbs and the same spot still is not working then it eliminates the bulbs. Wiring can go bad but that is very rare unless you got salt water in the system. But the ballast humming is a good indication that something is wrong with the ballasts. Quality ballasts should not humm and ATI is known to be using some of the best ballasts on the market today.

As a Side note I will often rewire fixtures so if you want to verify it is the ballast you could switch the wiring between tubes so a different ballast is firing that tube and the questionable ballast is trying to fire another tube. If the problem moves to the new tube you confirmed it is the ballast. If not then try new wiring since you already changed the sockets.

 

[Dapg8gt]

If you swapped bulbs and the same spot still is not working then it eliminates the bulbs. Wiring can go bad but that is very rare unless you got salt water in the system. But the ballast humming is a good indication that something is wrong with the ballasts. Quality ballasts should not humm and ATI is known to be using some of the best ballasts on the market today.

As a Side note I will often rewire fixtures so if you want to verify it is the ballast you could switch the wiring between tubes so a different ballast is firing that tube and the questionable ballast is trying to fire another tube. If the problem moves to the new tube you confirmed it is the ballast. If not then try new wiring since you already changed the sockets.

Thanks Dennis I will give that a try to see if the problem moves. I am really leaning on its a ballast problem as all else checks out. I noticed the guy put the end plates in the wrong orientation so the fixture was not cooling itself properly.. So I am gonna go thru the whole thing to make sure he didn't do anything else like that lol.. Thanks and I got you Pm on the led help I really appreciate it. If I go that route you will be the first person I lean on for info =).

Off to tear apart the fixture.. Talk about tight fitting harnesses and equipment ha ha.

 

[DiscusHeckel]

No this is not a surprise to me at all. Your lighting now is not as white and is not pumping out a lot of yellow green light that is virtualy useless to corals for growth. Instead you have more blue which is the energy that corals thrive upon.

Hi Dennis,

Thanks for your reply, but I made a mistake in my post. The correct version is as follows:

Before changing to 3 ATI Blue + and 3 ATI Coral +, I used to use 1 X ATI aquablue special, 1 X ATI coral +, 3 X ATI blue + and 1 X KZ fiji purple. I wrote 3 X Coral + in my previous post by mistake.

I have no idea about the spectral plot on my previous combination, but I am finding that my present combination promotes better colouration and faster growth. Does it come as surprise to you?

My apologies ...

 

[TropTrea]

Hi Dennis,

Thanks for your reply, but I made a mistake in my post. The correct version is as follows:

Before changing to 3 ATI Blue + and 3 ATI Coral +, I used to use 1 X ATI aquablue special, 1 X ATI coral +, 3 X ATI blue + and 1 X KZ fiji purple. I wrote 3 X Coral + in my previous post by mistake.


My apologies ...

There is not a drastic difference between the two. Unfortunatly I need to make a big assumption here that the fiji purple is simular to the purple plus since I do not have plot dat for the fiji purple. But yes I think your new combo has just a little more concentration of blue light than your old combo so growth should be up slightly. Also there is slightly less green and yellow in the new combo so florescense should be more obvious. But again not a huge difference like some of the combos some people come up with.

Note the scaling is slightly different between the two plots.

 

[rogergolf66]

I have ati 54x8 and its a bit to blue for me. I would like a lighter daylight when all bulbs on. Currently I have
Blue +
Purple +
Blue +
Coral +
Blue +
Blue+
Coral +
Blue +

What changes wouls u recomend ti make it just a touch brighter

 

[TropTrea]

I have ati 54x8 and its a bit to blue for me. I would like a lighter daylight when all bulbs on. Currently I have
Blue +
Purple +
Blue +
Coral +
Blue +
Blue+
Coral +
Blue +

What changes wouls u recomend ti make it just a touch brighter

For just a little bit brighter look swap out one of the coral plus for an Aqua Blue plus. If you want it considerably brighter then use a GE 6,500K, 2 Purple Plus, and 5 Blue Plus. Any brighter than that and you will sacruficing coral growth.

 

[Froggy]

I have ati 54x8 and its a bit to blue for me. I would like a lighter daylight when all bulbs on. Currently I have

Blue +

Purple +

Blue +

Coral +

Blue +

Blue+

Coral +

Blue +



What changes wouls u recomend ti make it just a touch brighter

To go brighter I would change out your coral plus bulbs for another purple plus and a aqua blue special. It is still a bluish light but a lot brighter than the coral plus bulbs.
Joe

 

[Bpb]

I'd personally change out the purple plus for a ge6500k

 

[Froggy]

I'd personally change out the purple plus for a ge6500k

If anything I would change a coral plus for the GE 6500. I think the GE needs a purple plus/Fiji purple to balance the spectrum.
Lighting is subjective though. The original poster did say he wanted a little less blue and a bit brighter and I think the GE may be more than he is looking for, I could be wrong. I feel the aqua blue special would be the first step. My personal preference is two purple plus with the aqua blue but some may like one purple plus and one coral plus along with the 5 blue plus.
Joe

 

[souk]

Like others here, I also have a 8x54 ATI SP. I've been looking through the past post and saw a few recommendations but most of them listed as a mix reef or no info was listed about what they where keeping. So I wasn't sure if it would maximize color and growth for my tank. I have a 48x24x16 setup with 99% sps with a few orange ricordea(sp), red goniopora, and a rbta.

My current setup f to b:

B+
ABS
B+
B+
Uvl actinic white
B+
ABS
B+

It seems to be missing something....

My last setup was a 6 bulb fixture and I was using 2 c+, 1 ABS, and 3 b+. My red goni and orange shroom turned transparent. I believe it was from too much red from the c+, maybe I'm wrong.....

From looking at a couple of the suggestion, it contained 2p+ or 2c+. If it's the red that is causing the transparent what do you guys recommend me trying?

TIA

 

[Froggy]

Like others here, I also have a 8x54 ATI SP. I've been looking through the past post and saw a few recommendations but most of them listed as a mix reef or no info was listed about what they where keeping. So I wasn't sure if it would maximize color and growth for my tank. I have a 48x24x16 setup with 99% sps with a few orange ricordea(sp), red goniopora, and a rbta.

My current setup f to b:

B+
ABS
B+
B+
Uvl actinic white
B+
ABS
B+

It seems to be missing something....

My last setup was a 6 bulb fixture and I was using 2 c+, 1 ABS, and 3 b+. My red goni and orange shroom turned transparent. I believe it was from too much red from the c+, maybe I'm wrong.....

From looking at a couple of the suggestion, it contained 2p+ or 2c+. If it's the red that is causing the transparent what do you guys recommend me trying?

TIA

I think your current setup is missing the red. What is the look you are looking for? Your shroom might have received too much intensity and not necessarily too much red spectrum.
I would start with either 5 blue plus or 4 blue plus and 1 actinic. From there it depends on what look you want. I personally would add 1 or 2 purple plus. Your decision then is how white or blue you want the tank. Blue would be a coral plus. A bit brighter would be an aqua blue special. Even whiter and brighter would be a GE 6500.
My personal combo I like is
4 blue plus
2 purple plus
1 actinic
1 aqua blue special

A good start for you would be 5 blue plus, 2 purple plus, 1 coral plus
or
5 blue plus, 1 purple plus, 2 coral plus. You could mix in an actinic in place of one of the blue plus also.
Grab an extra aqua blue special and GE 6500 and see what you like.
Joe

 

[TropTrea]

Like others here, I also have a 8x54 ATI SP. I've been looking through the past post and saw a few recommendations but most of them listed as a mix reef or no info was listed about what they where keeping. So I wasn't sure if it would maximize color and growth for my tank. I have a 48x24x16 setup with 99% sps with a few orange ricordea(sp), red goniopora, and a rbta.

My current setup f to b:

B+
ABS
B+
B+
Uvl actinic white
B+
ABS
B+

It seems to be missing something....

My last setup was a 6 bulb fixture and I was using 2 c+, 1 ABS, and 3 b+. My red goni and orange shroom turned transparent. I believe it was from too much red from the c+, maybe I'm wrong.....

From looking at a couple of the suggestion, it contained 2p+ or 2c+. If it's the red that is causing the transparent what do you guys recommend me trying?

TIA

Well here is a quick evaluation of your present plighting you have two Aqua Blue Specials that is lot of white light less the red and you do not have a single red bulb to fill in that part of the spectrum. I would suspect your tank is a very bright blue green color.

The old system you had 2 Coral plus Bulbs and an Aqua Blue Special. All three of these bulbs are basicly full spectrum with the Coral Plus being just under 50% as bright as the Aqua Blue Special. You did have some red in that combo from the Coral Plus bulbs and I doubt it was too much red. But I think overall you had too much white light again.

The combinations you used with 2 Aqua Blue Specials, or 1 Aqua Blue Special and 2 Coral plus are all brighter than if you used one GE 6,500K. In most cases you do not want to go any brighter than a single ge bulb in a 6 or 8 bulb fixture.

I'm assuming you like a bright tank in mid day rather than a blueish looking tank. So I would recommend you go with one GE and 2 Purple Plus with the rest of the bulbs being Blue Plus. If this looks to bright for you than replace the GE with an Aqua Blue Special and only run one Purple plus with the others all Blue Plus.

Note you donlt have to buy all new bulbs that your sure you will keep. Try the old Aqua Blues before buying new ones.

 

[TropTrea]

I'd personally change out the purple plus for a ge6500k

Wow that would be 1 GE 6,500K and two Coral Plus Bulbs which would be extremly bright. But still have a slight yellow/green cast from the GE 6,500K