The T5 Q&a Thread - split

[collie man]

I just picked up a 6x24 ati sunpower an plan on running the following combo front to back:
Ati blue +
Ati purple +
Ati blue +
Ati aqua blue special
Ati blue +
Ati blue +

This will be running over my sps dominant cadlights artisan cube. My question is how high should I hang this fixture?

 

[Jstn]

Just swapped my tek in with the same bulbs from my current, amazing how much more brighter this fixture is.

 

[Reefobsession]

I just got a 40 breeder and wanted to do LEDs, but don't quite think they are there yet. I want to keep SPS, acans, and zoas.I am leaning towards a 36" 6 bulb tek elite fixture. Not because it is cheaper than an a ati but the ati sp or pm will be to powerfull since the 40 breeder is only 16" tall. The cord layout is 2 cords. 1. front and back bulb. The other cord is for the middle 4. So the favorite bulb setup is 4 ati plus, 1 purple plus and one GE 6500?
Where should the bulbs be placed? What should the light cycle be?

 

[pwoller]

6 ATI Blue Plus and 2 ATI Purple Plus

The actinics are pointless.

I dont agree that actinics are pointless. With 6 B+ and 2 ATI purples I was frying my LPS. I changed out one of the front B+ with an actinic and raised my fixture a couple inches and my LPS are much happier. I was measuring my PAR levels on the front of the glass at the bottom of the tank at 250 plus. Now its down under 180.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Looking to light 46g bow (36"x16"x21"). Looking at the ATI SunPower, but the Tek's pricing is attractive. For either one, do i need 36" 4 bulb or 6 bulb fixture. And what bulbs would look best?

Thanks!

I;d ati because you get better lamp life. 2 ATI Blue Plus, 1 Purple Plus and a KZ New Generation

 

[Reefobsession]

I just got a 40 breeder and wanted to do LEDs, but don't quite think they are there yet. I want to keep SPS, acans, and zoas.I am leaning towards a 36" 6 bulb tek elite fixture. Not because it is cheaper than an a ati but the ati sp or pm will be to powerfull since the 40 breeder is only 16" tall. The cord layout is 2 cords. 1. front and back bulb. The other cord is for the middle 4. So the favorite bulb setup is 4 ati plus, 1 purple plus and one GE 6500?
Where should the bulbs be placed? What should the light cycle be?

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Thanks for the responses all,

So for a low PAR (relatively) 8x 54 w sunpower setup what bulb combos do you guys recommend? I'm more into the 20,000K look and thats what Im shooting for.

3 ATI Blue Plus and 1 GE 6500K Daylight. It won't be low PAR but It will be 20Kish.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Well I have thought about trying a purple plus but was worried it would look the same as the fiji purple that I tried a few years ago. The fiji bulb made my tank look pink even with 4 blue plus running. Does the purple plus look purple to the naked eye or is it pink like the fiji bulb? I would like to keep the aquablue bulb but maybe 3 blue plus wouldn't be enough blue if I use the purple plus?

See if you can find a UVL 75/25. It's a lot less pink

 

[The Grim Reefer]

I have the aquatic life 12 bulb t5 fixture.

It was suggested to me to take off the plastic guard to increase par. Now, I have some some water that has been hitting the bulbs (without my knowledge) and of course I have some salt build up on the bulbs now. I think it was coming from bubbles popping on the surface of the water.

Is there a recommended way of dealing with cleaning the bulbs? Should I put the splash guard back up?

Thanks!!!

Depends. If the water is also striking the reflectors I'd put the shield back on. Clean the lamps with RO/DI water if possible. Otherwise tap water.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

I just picked up a 6x24 ati sunpower an plan on running the following combo front to back:
Ati blue +
Ati purple +
Ati blue +
Ati aqua blue special
Ati blue +
Ati blue +

This will be running over my sps dominant cadlights artisan cube. My question is how high should I hang this fixture?

4 to 6 inches above the water

 

[collie man]

That's it grim? I thought they had to be mounted super high

 

[The Grim Reefer]

I just got a 40 breeder and wanted to do LEDs, but don't quite think they are there yet. I want to keep SPS, acans, and zoas.I am leaning towards a 36" 6 bulb tek elite fixture. Not because it is cheaper than an a ati but the ati sp or pm will be to powerfull since the 40 breeder is only 16" tall. The cord layout is 2 cords. 1. front and back bulb. The other cord is for the middle 4. So the favorite bulb setup is 4 ati plus, 1 purple plus and one GE 6500?
Where should the bulbs be placed? What should the light cycle be?

Front
ATI Actinic
ATI Purple Plus
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Aquablue
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Blue Plus

Keep the acans out front under the actinic and purple plus lamps. Less par and a lot of pop

 

[Reefobsession]

Front
ATI Actinic
ATI Purple Plus
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Aquablue
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Blue Plus

Keep the acans out front under the actinic and purple plus lamps. Less par and a lot of pop

Thanks Grim.
Do you think the elite is a good game plan? Or do you reccomend DIY LED?

 

[The Grim Reefer]

That's it grim? I thought they had to be mounted super high

Nah, splash shield right on the tank

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Thanks Grim.
Do you think the elite is a good game plan? Or do you reccomend DIY LED?

If yiou have the money and skills do the LED's.

 

[mchung]

Dennis, thanks for the rec

The more bulbs you are using the better as it gives you much more mixing and matching capabilities, plus more light for your corals. The ATI fixture with the same number of bulbs will also gve you considerably more light.

Check the dimensions on the fixtures and go with the one that alow you to fit the most bulbs on your tank.

For combo with a 6 bulb mix I'd go

Front
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Purple Plus
ATI Blue Plus
GE 6,500K
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Blue Plus

 

[Reefobsession]

If yiou have the money and skills do the LED's.

What if I have the money but not the skills? How much for a nice DIY for a 40 breeder?
If you wouldn't mind pmng me the led setup best suited for a 40 breeder I would really appreciate it!

 

[mchung]

I;d ati because you get better lamp life. 2 ATI Blue Plus, 1 Purple Plus and a KZ New Generation

Grim,
Thanks as well!

 

[The Grim Reefer]

What if I have the money but not the skills? How much for a nice DIY for a 40 breeder?
If you wouldn't mind pmng me the led setup best suited for a 40 breeder I would really appreciate it!

You'd be better off starting a thread to ask. I am not up to date on all the fixtures out there now. I built my own.

 

[Essense]

I've got a Current NEP 36" 6 bulb fixture with bulb combo.

Front
Blue+
Purple +
Blue+
Blue+
AB Special
Blue+
Back

Positions 1 and 5 are my dusk dawn that run for 11 hours. I run daylights for 7 hours.

I'm keeping SPS, LPS and Zoas. Tank is 15" front to back and I've got my SPS about 8"-12" from the fixture on the back third of the tank. SPS aren't popping as much as I'd like and my Zoa's aren't either (bottom half, front 2/3's of tank) though both are growing and look OK. I'm concerned i'm sending too much light to my Elegance coral bottom of 20" tank (2" sand depth).

I like the blue look. What changes/adjustements would you recommend? Would a Tek 36" 4 bulb combo be an upgrade and produce better results with a certain bulb combo?