The T5 Q&a Thread - split

[TropTrea]

Menards sells a Phillips 6500k t5 bulb . How does this compare to ge?

Be cautious. My local Menards sell 48" Phillips T-5 Bulvs that are 39 watts and NOT HO. the true HO T-5's would be 54 Watts and put out more than 40% more light.

I was trying to find a Daylight 36" HO bulb locvally and the only one I could find was a coral life HO T-5. It is extremly dull looking with the purple plus with an ATI purple plus next to it that looks much brighter. Note the purple plus should not even look bright,.

 

[vanzea]

Okay I will doublecheck I believe that it was 54 W and that it said HO however I will take a picture and posted on here to get your thoughts thank you

 

[ryanmell]

I have a 48 inch Tek 6 bulb over a 75 gal sps tank what would be the best light combo for growth but still not overly white

 

[TropTrea]

I have a 48 inch Tek 6 bulb over a 75 gal sps tank what would be the best light combo for growth but still not overly white

4 ATI Blue Plus 1 ATI Purple Plus 1 ATI Aqua Blue Special. If it is too blue relace the Purple and Aqua Blue with a pair of Coral Plus. If it to Blue replace the Aqua Blue Special with a GE 6,500K.

 

[Orion120]

Hello all,

I just recently purchased a ATI 36" 6 bulb Sunpower to replace my Maxspect LEDs on a 57 Rimless. (36 x 18 x 21) It will be an SPS dominant tank.
I will eventually add a Reefbrite LED strip, but probably not anytime soon.

For now I am looking for a bulb combination that will make the coral colors pop, but won't make the tank look too blue. Which combination would you recommend?

Here is what I have come up with so far -

Blue+
Purple+
Blue+
Blue+
Coral+
Blue+

Blue+
AB Special
Purple+
Blue+
Coral+
Blue+

 

[Frost3839]

Hey, I have 2 Radions and felt I had better growth with t5's. I had a redsea max that had t5s already in it. Moved over to a new tank for a long time now with the radions. So bought retro t5 kits to add. What bulbs should I use? I have 2x54w and 2x39 watt retro kits. I may add just one 54w bulb and just one 39w due to space. What are good combo bulbs to run for 1x54w and 1x39w? And what would you recommend for 2x54 and 2x39w If I find a way to fit it all with the radions?

 

[TropTrea]

Hello all,

I just recently purchased a ATI 36" 6 bulb Sunpower to replace my Maxspect LEDs on a 57 Rimless. (36 x 18 x 21) It will be an SPS dominant tank.
I will eventually add a Reefbrite LED strip, but probably not anytime soon.

For now I am looking for a bulb combination that will make the coral colors pop, but won't make the tank look too blue. Which combination would you recommend?

Here is what I have come up with so far -

Blue+
Purple+
Blue+
Blue+
Coral+
Blue+

Blue+
AB Special
Purple+
Blue+
Coral+
Blue+

If you go with the Aqua Blue Special you do not need the Coral Plus but can replace it with either a second Purple plus or another Blue Plus. I would move the Aqua Blue special back one position though from your selection.

 

[TropTrea]

Hey, I have 2 Radions and felt I had better growth with t5's. I had a redsea max that had t5s already in it. Moved over to a new tank for a long time now with the radions. So bought retro t5 kits to add. What bulbs should I use? I have 2x54w and 2x39 watt retro kits. I may add just one 54w bulb and just one 39w due to space. What are good combo bulbs to run for 1x54w and 1x39w? And what would you recommend for 2x54 and 2x39w If I find a way to fit it all with the radions?

1 54 Watt would be a Coral Plus with a 39 Watt Blue Plus

2 54 Watts would be Blue Plus with a 39 watt GE 6,500K and 39 Watt Purple Plus.

 

[rbja]

Need some help guys. I have a 180 LPS tank with a ati sun power 80w x 8
Front
Blue +
Blue +
Blue +
purple +
Coral +
Blue +
Blue +
Blue +
big fan of blue if you can't tell.my problem is to me the tank looks to white and bright and was looking for suggestions on new bulbs or new arrangement.

 

[TropTrea]

Need some help guys. I have a 180 LPS tank with a ati sun power 80w x 8
Front
Blue +
Blue +
Blue +
purple +
Coral +
Blue +
Blue +
Blue +
big fan of blue if you can't tell.my problem is to me the tank looks to white and bright and was looking for suggestions on new bulbs or new arrangement.

The only thing you cab do with T-5's to get a Bluer Look is to eliminate the Purple Plus for another Blue Plus. While 90% of growth and florescence comes from the blue part of the spectrum you still need at least coral plus for the red and other parts of the spectrum that corals need in a limited degree.

The other option would be to add a LED strip of Royal Blue and True Blue LED's. On a 72" long tank you can do this easily yourself with roughly 12 LED's running at about 4.5 Watts each for a total of about 55 Watts of a deep blue lighting that is much bluer than even the Blue + T-5's.

 

[rbja]

The only thing you cab do with T-5's to get a Bluer Look is to eliminate the Purple Plus for another Blue Plus. While 90% of growth and florescence comes from the blue part of the spectrum you still need at least coral plus for the red and other parts of the spectrum that corals need in a limited degree.

The other option would be to add a LED strip of Royal Blue and True Blue LED's. On a 72" long tank you can do this easily yourself with roughly 12 LED's running at about 4.5 Watts each for a total of about 55 Watts of a deep blue lighting that is much bluer than even the Blue + T-5's.

if I did replace the purple with another blue would that cause problems with my corals?

 

[mhucasey]

I have been experimenting a bit with how much red to add and I found its very important to get at least a minimum amount of red to spur the corals into growth. I typically went with a very blue look almost like yours rbja, but the growth was slow. Algae was nicely kept in check though.

My girlfriend expressed that she liked it brighter and whiter and so I started adding more whites to the mix and the growth picked up. The whitest mix I went with was:
Super Blue
Fiji purple
B+
KZ New Gen
Aquablue Special
KZ New Gen
KZ new gen
Super blue
Colors looked really good, especially reds, but then some of the blue colors started to fade a bit and there was a little browning. I have arrived at the following mix and the color is great with excellent growth:
KZ Super blue
KZ Fiji Purple
KZ Super blue
KZ New Generation
KZ New Generation
KZ Super blue
KZ New Generation
Super Blue

I find that the New Generation gives you a very cool white look but there is plenty of red in the spectrum, if you are down to that few of tubes Id give it a try. When I add a coral plus it is too much red, and when I add a Aquablue Special its too much green and the colors take a hit.

Reefgeek has a very cool chart of bulb mixes that will also give you some ideas, they have this rough equivalence:
Blue Bulbs = ATI Blue Plus / KZ Superblue / Giesemann Actinic Plus
Purple Bulbs = ATI Purple Plus / KZ Fiji Purple / Giesemann Aqua Pink
Bluish White with a touch of red = ATI Coral Plus / KZ New Gen 14,000K / Giesemann Lagoon Blue
~10-12K white = ATI Aqua Blue Special / KZ Coral Light 10,000K / Giesemann Aquablue Plus


I have all these bulbs except the 10K coral Light and I find that the crispest white bulb is definitely the KZ New Gen.
Here is what the tank looks like with my current mix(a tiny bit bluer than reality because of the camera):

 

[mhucasey]

One thing Ive noticed and come to grips with is that my definition of "Crisp White" is different than many other peoples - I've reproduced the bulb combos of many of the tank of the months and when most people say something is "white with a hint of blue" it looks pretty much like yellow and bland to me.

 

[sahin]

I have been experimenting a bit with how much red to add and I found its very important to get at least a minimum amount of red to spur the corals into growth. I typically went with a very blue look almost like yours rbja, but the growth was slow. Algae was nicely kept in check though.

My girlfriend expressed that she liked it brighter and whiter and so I started adding more whites to the mix and the growth picked up. The whitest mix I went with was:
Super Blue
Fiji purple
B+
KZ New Gen
Aquablue Special
KZ New Gen
KZ new gen
Super blue
Colors looked really good, especially reds, but then some of the blue colors started to fade a bit and there was a little browning. I have arrived at the following mix and the color is great with excellent growth:
KZ Super blue
KZ Fiji Purple
KZ Super blue
KZ New Generation
KZ New Generation
KZ Super blue
KZ New Generation
Super Blue

I find that the New Generation gives you a very cool white look but there is plenty of red in the spectrum, if you are down to that few of tubes Id give it a try. When I add a coral plus it is too much red, and when I add a Aquablue Special its too much green and the colors take a hit.

Reefgeek has a very cool chart of bulb mixes that will also give you some ideas, they have this rough equivalence:
Blue Bulbs = ATI Blue Plus / KZ Superblue / Giesemann Actinic Plus
Purple Bulbs = ATI Purple Plus / KZ Fiji Purple / Giesemann Aqua Pink
Bluish White with a touch of red = ATI Coral Plus / KZ New Gen 14,000K / Giesemann Lagoon Blue
~10-12K white = ATI Aqua Blue Special / KZ Coral Light 10,000K / Giesemann Aquablue Plus


I have all these bulbs except the 10K coral Light and I find that the crispest white bulb is definitely the KZ New Gen.
Here is what the tank looks like with my current mix(a tiny bit bluer than reality because of the camera):

Your tank looks REALLY NICE! Do you have a build thread?

One thing Ive noticed and come to grips with is that my definition of "Crisp White" is different than many other peoples - I've reproduced the bulb combos of many of the tank of the months and when most people say something is "white with a hint of blue" it looks pretty much like yellow and bland to me.

Same here. "20K" or any other "K" is a very subjective thing.

 

[mhucasey]

Your tank looks REALLY NICE! Do you have a build thread?

Thank you very much! I don't have a build thread, I need to do one. I took tons of pictures when I started the tank in 2012 but never had the time to do it then. Now I'm coming up on two years(wow that went fast) and it feels weird to have a build thread at this point. Maybe I will do a "where I'm at now and how i got here" thread

Same here. "20K" or any other "K" is a very subjective thing.

Yes, almost to the point of meaningless I think. I've tried just about every bulb as a two bulb combo just to see what the unadulterated color is like and most of the whites to me look horribly yellow and drab. I'm sure my current mix would be perceived as very cold or blue but every color is clear and vibrant and in person it looks very white to everyone who looks at it. I need to get a good camera so I can get better representations of the color.

 

[sahin]

Thank you very much! I don't have a build thread, I need to do one. I took tons of pictures when I started the tank in 2012 but never had the time to do it then. Now I'm coming up on two years(wow that went fast) and it feels weird to have a build thread at this point. Maybe I will do a "where I'm at now and how i got here" thread

Start a tank thread now. Share the fruits of your tank/efforts as well as info. I bet some top down shots of your corals would look amazing!

I need to get a good camera so I can get better representations of the color.

Get an light orange filter (even one of those coloured sweet wrappers would ) and place over your camera lens...will work wonders in removing most of the blue cast. Try it before you spend money on equipment.

 

[jedimaster1138]

Has anyone out there ever used a sorta "reverse" cycle where you burn the large amount of bulbs for a long time - and those are Blue+ - ish bulbs, and then burn the 2x dawn/dusk bulbs as "mid day" tubes rather than dawn/dusk and populate them with your full spectrum / white bulbs like GE6500k etc.

Kinda like you would burn your halides for 6 hours or so in the middle of the day, but run the actinics etc for longer.

I've been toying with burning 6 tubes for the long run (10-12 hours) all Blue+ and then the 2x dawn dusk bulbs (#3 and #6) as a GE6500k and Coral+ for only 6 hours or so.

PS - new bulb time.

 

[mhucasey]

Good tip on the orange filter, thanks! I will get something going for the tank soon, need to get my rear in gear.
Top down shots are indeed amazing. My personal opinion, though, is that the corals should look as good from the sides as from the top, hence my use of T5s
A couple of pics:

 

[TropTrea]

if I did replace the purple with another blue would that cause problems with my corals?

Since your running a Coral Plus you already have some Blue light. The Coral Plus is a balance between the Aqua Blue Special, the Blue Plus and the Purple Plus. Some corals need a little red light however more people put in to much red compared to not enough red red for corals.

Most people use the purple plus bulb to balance out the spectrum with the GE 6,500K that is a bit strong in the yellow spectrum and weal in the red red spectrum. They also do it with the Aqua Blue Special, but it is not needed with the Coral Plus bulbs unless someone prefers a more violet look compared to a bluer look.

 

[TropTrea]

Yes, almost to the point of meaningless I think. I've tried just about every bulb as a two bulb combo just to see what the unadulterated color is like and most of the whites to me look horribly yellow and drab. I'm sure my current mix would be perceived as very cold or blue but every color is clear and vibrant and in person it looks very white to everyone who looks at it. I need to get a good camera so I can get better representations of the color.

Most films and digital sensors are much more sensitive to blue light than the human eye is. Some of the best pictures I have seen were from individuals who told me they actually turned off there blue bulbs when they took the pictures. However for a true comparison of different lighting it is nearly impossible to duplicate what the eye sees with camera unless you do some extensive photo shopping of the image.