The T5 Q&a Thread - split

[medicreefer]

I am having problems finding someone who sells the ge 6500k t5 in Canada......I see many vendors have the giessemann midday 6000k.....is this similar? Or where can I get the ge brand?

Goreef.com has them. Look under lighting>replacement bulbs>T5>general electric.

They are an online aquarium/reef shop based in Montreal, QC. I've ordered this bulb from them before.

 

[bennr]

Yes they do!:spin3:

 

[dtt]

For what it's worth my 6 bulb t-5 set up 60 inches long
back to front

All ATI bulbs

1. True Actinic
2. Blue Plus
3. Purple plus
4. True Actinic
5. Blue Plus
6. True Actinic

Bulbs 1, 3, 6 comes on 1st'
then 2, 4, 5, 1/2 hour later

 

[TropTrea]

For what it's worth my 6 bulb t-5 set up 60 inches long
back to front

All ATI bulbs

1. True Actinic
2. Blue Plus
3. Purple plus
4. True Actinic
5. Blue Plus
6. True Actinic

Bulbs 1, 3, 6 comes on 1st'
then 2, 4, 5, 1/2 hour later

I would suspect it would make a 20,000K lighted tank look white next to yours. How do the non florescent colors look? Especial the colors of your fish?

 

[TropTrea]

I am having problems finding someone who sells the ge 6500k t5 in Canada......I see many vendors have the giessemann midday 6000k.....is this similar? Or where can I get the ge brand?

Yes the Gman 6,000K could weork as a substitute. It would be slightly more orange in the total hue. But keep in mind you do NOT want to use a bulb under 5,000K because it will have way too much Red for Corals.

 

[AugustWest]

Almost time to change bulbs in my 8X24W ATI Sunpower. Tank is mainly SPS , Coral color and tank look are my main concerns. Looking for bulb combo suggestions.

I'm currently running :

ATI Blue+
ATI Purple+
ATI Blue+
GE 6500K
ATI Blue+
ATI Purple +
ATI Blue+
ATI Blue+

Thank You

Never got a response on this. Was considering using the same combo except replacing the GE 6500k with a Coral Plus. Would doing that make the tank too blue ?

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Never got a response on this. Was considering using the same combo except replacing the GE 6500k with a Coral Plus. Would doing that make the tank too blue ?

Depends. If you want a little more blue than you have now it should be a good idea.

 

[jacob.morgan78]

Hey, why don't you guys suggest the ati coral plus more? Is there something negative about them or just the lack of data or usage time on them? Was thinking about adding this to my setup but wanted some feedback on them first.

Thanks!

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Hey, why don't you guys suggest the ati coral plus more? Is there something negative about them or just the lack of data or usage time on them? Was thinking about adding this to my setup but wanted some feedback on them first.

Thanks!

It's a more blue version of a Aquablue. Not It's like a KZ New Gen.

 

[Rhegium]

Hello all,

Got great recommendations before so figured I would tap the well again.

I have an ATI dimmable with 6 bulbs, currently 4 blue plus, 1 purple plus and a 6500. 1 blue and the 1 purple are the dusk dawn.

Would like to get a little more color out of the tank, would you recommend swaping out the 6500 for something?

Thanks

 

[jacob.morgan78]

Not It's like a KZ New Gen.

Can you clarify this?

Do you ever get tired of answering these questions?

 

[DiscusHeckel]

I'm not a Clam expert. You might want to post this to a group that is mainly concerned about clams. I do know that Clams like a lot of light especialy Blue and UV light. so perhaps extending the light cycle may help. But remember that your tank need at least 8 hours of near darkness every day as well.

I posed this question in the clam section and got only one reply. So, do not raise your hopes.

I have recently set up my 6 X 39W Sunpower module with the following combination after receiving good advice in this thread:

front
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Purple Plus
ATI Blue Plus
Sylvania (or GE) 6500 K
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Blue Plus

This is how my empty tank looks at the moment. I will update once all my corals and clams are placed in my new tank.

 

[TropTrea]

Hello all,

Got great recommendations before so figured I would tap the well again.

I have an ATI dimmable with 6 bulbs, currently 4 blue plus, 1 purple plus and a 6500. 1 blue and the 1 purple are the dusk dawn.

Would like to get a little more color out of the tank, would you recommend swaping out the 6500 for something?

Thanks

What you have is fairly balanced with my prsonal color taste. Getting more color can go either of two ways and each one will take away from the other.

1. More floresense from the coral for this you could run something like a Aan Aqua blue plus or coral Plus in place of the GE. But by doing this you reduce the reflective color in the tank so red fish will look more maroon rather than bright red.

2. More reflective color which can be gotten by adding another GE 6,500K, Aqua Blue Plus or Coral Plus which will turn a maroon fish more red however it will decrease the amount of florescence from your corals.

Different individuals do have different taste in color. This is why I like to say you need to tune your tank to your personal color taste.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Can you clarify this?

Do you ever get tired of answering these questions?

??? It's a more blue version of an Aquablue which is a cool white color.

 

[zachfishman]

PAR drops off and the spectra of the bulbs will shift.

Non cooled T5s need to be replaced every 6 months.

Semi-cooled T5s can make it to about 9 months.

Properly cooled T5's like those in an ATI fixture, can go 12 months.

Would you say that the fan-less Tek fixtures fall into that "non-cooled" category? If I have to replace bulbs every 6 months for optimal performance I think I might angle-mount a pair of small fans at one end of the fixture (pointed at the labeled ends of the T5's to hit their designated 'cold spot'). What do you think?

 

[khjenki]

Switch the new gen for another blue plus.

What are the pros/cons of running the xtra blue plus vs the KZ new gen? Any corals that would work better with one vs the other? Although I like the bluer look, I wouldn't want to give up growth or overall coral health.

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

 

[mgould73]

??? It's a more blue version of an Aquablue which is a cool white color.

Its a much more blue version then the Aquablue. Side by side in my fixture there is no comparsion between the 2. The AB is bright white but the coral + is blue/purple.

Takes at least 2 coral + to give the brightness of 1 AB.

I am now running 3 Coral +. 1 Blue + and 1 Purple +.

Much better then when I had 3 blue, 1 purple and an AB. (brighter, more color because its not a blue tank).

All depends on personal prefernce though, I like my tank with a nice blue hue so you can just see the color of the sand a slight blue.

 

[lingwendil]

Hey all, I'm redoing my 20 long and replacing the hagen GLO 2 bulb with a sunlight supply 4 bulb (4x24) fixture here pretty soon, mainly for better reflectors and coverage, as well as choice of color.

I currently run an actinic 03 and 10k off brand (Deep Blue maybe?)bulb in the glo fixture, and it looks way too yellow/white. In this tank I have a lobo brain, kenya tree, some assorted mushrooms, couple ricordia, and some zoas. long term plans are for mostly LPS and ricordeas, maybe Xenia and GSP, and a few zoas. Haven't got any plans for SPS at all.

I LOVE a deep blue look to the tank, any recommendations? I want good par and coloration/fluorescence, without looking too white, and I have four new GE 6500k, I wouldn't mind using in the tank, although if they wont work that's fine, they were free and are unused. I was thinking 1 ge and a mixed set of 3 other blue-ish bulbs, but haven't got a good picture of how the combos will interact. Any suggestions?

 

[TropTrea]

Hey all, I'm redoing my 20 long and replacing the hagen GLO 2 bulb with a sunlight supply 4 bulb (4x24) fixture here pretty soon, mainly for better reflectors and coverage, as well as choice of color.

I currently run an actinic 03 and 10k off brand (Deep Blue maybe?)bulb in the glo fixture, and it looks way too yellow/white. In this tank I have a lobo brain, kenya tree, some assorted mushrooms, couple ricordia, and some zoas. long term plans are for mostly LPS and ricordeas, maybe Xenia and GSP, and a few zoas. Haven't got any plans for SPS at all.

I LOVE a deep blue look to the tank, any recommendations? I want good par and coloration/fluorescence, without looking too white, and I have four new GE 6500k, I wouldn't mind using in the tank, although if they wont work that's fine, they were free and are unused. I was thinking 1 ge and a mixed set of 3 other blue-ish bulbs, but haven't got a good picture of how the combos will interact. Any suggestions?

The GE bubls are strong in the green red which makes them look Yellow. But with a lot of blue lighting it can balance out very nicely. I would only use one with eiter 3 ATI Blue Plus bulbs or 2 ATI Blue Plus and an ATI Purple plus. If that is too white for you than consider not using the GE and putting in an ATI Coral Plus if you like a realy blue look.

 

[lingwendil]

The GE bubls are strong in the green red which makes them look Yellow. But with a lot of blue lighting it can balance out very nicely. I would only use one with eiter 3 ATI Blue Plus bulbs or 2 ATI Blue Plus and an ATI Purple plus. If that is too white for you than consider not using the GE and putting in an ATI Coral Plus if you like a realy blue look.

Thanks!