The T5 Q&a Thread - split

[TropTrea]

Hi Grim,
i'm italian and now i have a 363 lt marine tank (more ore less 95,89 gal) and now i've buyed an Blau aquaristic Lumina 8x39W T5HO with this 8 neon (all ATI):
2 Blu plus
1 Purple Plus
3 Acquablu special
1 Actinic
1 Coral plus

Is this the right combination? and which is the sequence?

If not could you tell me the right one? and the right sequence?


Note that the Blau Lumina has four power buttons that light up neon staggered (1-8, 2-7, 3-6 and 4-5)

Ultimately also wonder what is the sequence of on / off to recreate the right photoperiod

Thanks for the answers (i'm neophyte) and sorry for my bad english.

Your combination is way to white. I would run with
1 Aqua Blue Special only
1 Purple Plus
And the rest as Blue Plus builbs.

Put the Aqua Blue Special one space in front of the cent slot and the Purple either one behind it or right next to it dependent on your coral placement.

Front
B+
B+
B+
Aq
B+ or P+
B+ or P+
B+
B+
Rear.

If it is not white enough for you substitute the Aqua Plus for a 6,500K bulb.

 

[Snake74]

Your combination is way to white. I would run with
1 Aqua Blue Special only
1 Purple Plus
And the rest as Blue Plus builbs.

Put the Aqua Blue Special one space in front of the cent slot and the Purple either one behind it or right next to it dependent on your coral placement.

Front
B+
B+
B+
Aq
B+ or P+
B+ or P+
B+
B+
Rear.

If it is not white enough for you substitute the Aqua Plus for a 6,500K bulb.

so, no Pink, Fiji, Actinic or Coral plus?

however.... and what about this request?

Ultimately also wonder what is the sequence of on / off to recreate the right photoperiod

Note that the Blau Lumina has four power buttons that light up neon staggered (1-8, 2-7, 3-6 and 4-5)

Thx again

 

[MarksReef]

I have the ATI 8X24 and was wondering what others have for a lighting schedule and are you using all 6 settings per channel 1 and 2?

 

[TropTrea]

so, no Pink, Fiji, Actinic or Coral plus?

however.... and what about this request?



Thx again

The Pink bulbs are virtually the same as the purple plus.

I do not consider the Atinic bulbs since the Blue Plus bulbs will produce enough atinic light for the needs of 98% of people. They are only usefull when you want to reduce your total light.

As far as the Coral Plus bulbs In your case your going from a very bright combination and I suspect that you would not be happy with the final results of the tank being too blue with them instead of the Aqua Blue Special. If you ran a combination of 4 blue plus and 4 coral plus it would be roughly the same brightness as what you would get with what I recommended only slightly pinker.

Timing I would run
hour 0 1-8 on (both B+)
hour 1 2-7 on (both B+)
hour 2 3-6 on (1 B+ 1 P+
hour 3 4-7 on (1 B+ 1 Aqua Blue Special)
Hour 9 4-7 off
Hour 10 3-6 off
Hour 11 2-7 off
Hour 12 1-8 off

 

[nogascans]

Grim,

for a new 60 cube (24 x 24 x 24) build I just finished, I picked up an AquaticLife 8 bulb T-5HO fixture from their clearance store. Came with (5) 24W 420/460 Lamps (1) 24W 10K Lamp, and (2) 24W 460/620 Lamps. Tank is going thru cycling now. I understand the fixture is not too bad (has individualized reflectors), but that the included bulbs are poor. Plan on this being a mixed reef tank in future. At some point (? of when), I would like to replace the lamps with ATI units. Could you suggest an ATI bulb selection and order from front to back?

Sincerely,

David

 

[Snake74]

If it is not white enough for you substitute the Aqua Plus for a 6,500K bulb.

You mean Aqua Blue Special or Blue Plus?

6,500K bulbs like...?

Thank you very much for the answers and the patience!

 

[Perureef]

Hey everbody, I'm looking to upgrade my old tek 4-bulb T5 fixture to an ATI 6-bulb (48"). I plan to attach the old tek leg stands to the new fixture somehow as hanging the lights is not an option. In this case, what is the best way to acclimate my existing livestock to the new lights? (can I add some translucent material, for example, and remove it with time) right now I have mostly bulb-tipped anemones, which have split over the years (i do plan to sell some before adding SPS). How far high would be ideal to start with, and how close to the water line is reasonable with the sun module fixture? My tank is a 72 bow-front that is about 20in deep

 

[Perureef]

Also, my system is controlled by an aquacontroller jr. It is programmed to turn the lights on and off, and also to shut them off if the temperature is too high. Since I already own a controller, is there still any benefit in getting the dimmable model over the sun module?

 

[TropTrea]

Also, my system is controlled by an aquacontroller jr. It is programmed to turn the lights on and off, and also to shut them off if the temperature is too high. Since I already own a controller, is there still any benefit in getting the dimmable model over the sun module?

With your tank the acclamation can easily be done from the 65 bulb to the 6 bulb lighting system by simply adjusting the timing. You can start by setting the time down to 2/3 of what it was originally and then slowly every other week add an extra 1/2 hour to the cycle till you have your old time period again.

 

[Perureef]

Thank you TropTrea, that is a good idea. I was also thinking of blocking some of the light with 2 or 3 sheets of black mesh, and removing one weekly. should i apply both methods? Should I bother with the dimmable model? thanks!

 

[TropTrea]

You mean Aqua Blue Special or Blue Plus?

6,500K bulbs like...?

Thank you very much for the answers and the patience!

The GE 6,500K is not as blue as the
Aqua Blue Special that is referred to by some vendors as Aqua Blue Plus.
The Blue Plus is almost a pure Blue Bulb in itself and does not have the green like the Aqua Blue does.

 

[rogergolf66]

The GE 6,500K is not as blue as the
Aqua Blue Special that is referred to by some vendors as Aqua Blue Plus.
The Blue Plus is almost a pure Blue Bulb in itself and does not have the green like the Aqua Blue does.

R u saying the 6 500 don't have green to or just the blue plus don't have green?

What does the green do for the coral look?

 

[TropTrea]

R u saying the 6 500 don't have green to or just the blue plus don't have green?

What does the green do for the coral look?

Think of it this way
Blue Plus = 90% blue 5% green 5% red
Purple Plus = 60% blue, 10% green, 30% red.
Coral Plus = 65% blue, 20% green, 15 % Red
Aqua Blue Special = 50% Blue 40% green 10% Red
GE 6,500K = 30% Blue 40% Green 30% red

The green in the bulb brings out the reflective green colors in the Aquarium from both the fish and the corals. Some corals actually use green light to activate there florescence. The human eye is also most sensitive to green light so the more green light you have the brighter an object will look.

 

[TRUKINGNY]

just set up my first T5 fixture its a ATI sunpower dimmable 6x39w i read the instructions and it said to break in bulbs for 50 hrs just curious on how many of us reefers do this and how critical is it. Also do you do this every single time you change the bulbs

 

[TropTrea]

just set up my first T5 fixture its a ATI sunpower dimmable 6x39w i read the instructions and it said to break in bulbs for 50 hrs just curious on how many of us reefers do this and how critical is it. Also do you do this every single time you change the bulbs

I personally do not believe in dimmable T-5's so no I never do a break in for them. I would be interested in how they tell you to break them in however.

I have worked years ago in the lighting industry on quality control and we dd a lot of testing of various T-5 bulbs. If you run them at there rated power they will be the most efficient. Reducing power by only 10% can result in a as much as a 25% drop in the light you get from them. When you get to reducing then by as much as 30% some will actually go dark on you. Similarly overpowering can be an issue as a little extra voltage does not give you anywhere near that proportion of extra light yet drastically shortens the life of the bulb.

Hopefully there 100% is the true rated poser for the bulb. So turning it down slightly should not be an issue. There is a burn in cycle on bulbs between 20 and 100 hours where they are less constant in the amount of light they put out. Some will shift there spectrum slightly, and there intensity as the phosphors stabilize but it is very unnoticeable. Once they are broken in they are extremely stable until the near the end of there life expectancy. The normal end of cycle turns to a shifting of the spectrum to the red end slightly and a slow loss in intensity.

 

[r2odie]

bulbs available:
4 Blue+
fiji purple +
Purple +
New Generation
Aqua Blue Special.
Best configuration in 7 bulb fixture?
or maybe I should use some and buy more Blue+ and/or coral+?
2 & 6, 3 & 5, 1,4,7 together

 

[Grandlotus]

I have a 2x T5HO ballast on a 29 gallon. Looking for the best coral growth.
Will 2x ati blue+ support acro growth if water chemistry is great with mp10 flow?

 

[jackblow33]

I would like to start a frag tank (40g Breeder (36x18x16 with 6 inches high egg crate)) to be able to fill as soon as possible my empty dt with sps only and almost just acropora and some sps species that require high lightning. I would like to buy an Ati sunpower 6x39w and wondering wich bulb combination might gives me the fastest growth. I don't want to have a too blue lightning and I don't care if it's too white since it is not for my display tank and if it gives me atleast the fastest possible growth on Acro with T5.

I was thinking: 3x Blue Special and 3x Blue Plus. Maybe later I will add some more lights and blue spectrum with 2 ReefBrite led strips 50/50.

Also wondering if an Ati 8x39w with no Reefbrite might be to much and a waste of money for almost just Acro on my 18inches front to back tank dimension?

Could a 6x39w + 2x 36 inches Reef strips Led could be too much light on my Frag tank?

Thanks

 

[TropTrea]

bulbs available:
4 Blue+
fiji purple +
Purple +
New Generation
Aqua Blue Special.
Best configuration in 7 bulb fixture?
or maybe I should use some and buy more Blue+ and/or coral+?
2 & 6, 3 & 5, 1,4,7 together

I would pick up another blue plus
1- Blue Plus
2 Purple Plus
3 Blue Plus
4 Aqua Blue Special
5 Blue Plus
6 Blue Plus
7 Blue Plus

2 and 6 on for 10 hours
3 and 5 on for 8 hours
1,4and 7 on for 6 hours.

 

[TropTrea]

I would like to start a frag tank (40g Breeder (36x18x16 with 6 inches high egg crate)) to be able to fill as soon as possible my empty dt with sps only and almost just acropora and some sps species that require high lightning. I would like to buy an Ati sunpower 6x39w and wondering wich bulb combination might gives me the fastest growth. I don't want to have a too blue lightning and I don't care if it's too white since it is not for my display tank and if it gives me atleast the fastest possible growth on Acro with T5.

I was thinking: 3x Blue Special and 3x Blue Plus. Maybe later I will add some more lights and blue spectrum with 2 ReefBrite led strips 50/50.

Also wondering if an Ati 8x39w with no Reefbrite might be to much and a waste of money for almost just Acro on my 18inches front to back tank dimension?

Could a 6x39w + 2x 36 inches Reef strips Led could be too much light on my Frag tank?

Thanks

4 bulbs would be enough but if you go with 6 on a frag tank I'd go with 4 Blue Plus and 2 Coral Plus. The coral plus in 2 and 5 positions. with 2 blue plus running dawn to dusk and the other four for midday.

With 4 bulbs I'd go with only one coral plus.

Note I gpo much bluer on frag tanks compared to show tanks.