The T5 Q&a Thread - split

Hey Grim, thanks for all of the information and help on this subject.

I need to build a canopy for a 90g reef ready, 48" x 18" x 24" and I would like to keep softies and some LPS. To keep things simple and easy I was planning on using Sunlight Supply's 48" 2x54W Tek 2 T5 High-Output Ready Fit Kits (if you there is something better please suggest).

How many bulbs in total would you suggest?
Which lights and in what order from front to back?

Thank you in advance for your help.
 
hey grim
i have a ten bulb ati fixture, i would like a deep blue to be sure the corals pop


what should my bulb choice be???


thanks for all the help!
 
navydave said:
Hey Grim, thanks for all of the information and help on this subject.

I need to build a canopy for a 90g reef ready, 48" x 18" x 24" and I would like to keep softies and some LPS. To keep things simple and easy I was planning on using Sunlight Supply's 48" 2x54W Tek 2 T5 High-Output Ready Fit Kits (if you there is something better please suggest).

How many bulbs in total would you suggest?
Which lights and in what order from front to back?

Thank you in advance for your help.
Click to expand...

4 lamps should be fine as long as no hard corals, clams or anemones are going in the tank

Blue Plus
Purple Plus
Blue Plus
Blue Plus

All ATI Lamps.
 
HI Grim,

I have an eight bulb ATI sunpower and I'm currently running 5 ATI Blue Plus, 2 Purple Plus, and a Giesemann Midday Sun. The color is a little too white for me and I'm not getting some of the color pop from my corals. I'm thinking about swapping out the Midday Sun for another bulb. What would you suggest?

Thanks!
 
award212 said:
HI Grim,

I have an eight bulb ATI sunpower and I'm currently running 5 ATI Blue Plus, 2 Purple Plus, and a Giesemann Midday Sun. The color is a little too white for me and I'm not getting some of the color pop from my corals. I'm thinking about swapping out the Midday Sun for another bulb. What would you suggest?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Try another Blue Plus
 
Mussin said:
OK Grim since you da T5 guy I have a question for you. I am setting up a 90Reef tank. I need to order lights tomorrow. I have a 6bulb TEK T5 fixture. The two outside bulbs on a separate cord (dusk/dawn) and 4 in the middle on another cord. I do not like the "super blue" look. I like it bright but with a hint of blue, I will be buying ATI bulbs. Is there anywhere I can see what different combos look like so I dont get the wrong color for my liking? THANKS


Oh btw, mostly LPS, softies, maybe a clam.

Jeremy
Click to expand...

Any suggestions Grim? THANKS


Jeremy
 
Hello Grim,

What color lamp combination would you recommend to bring out the best color on SPS (pink, reds, purple, blue, green)? Looking to get the best color pop. Last year you recommended the below combination based on my question for color and growth.

Front
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Purple Plus
GE 6500K
Blue Plus
Blue Plus

Today I am not looking for best growth, instead best colors. Should I continue using the same combo? Thank you in advance
 
Hey Grim,

Well im in the home stretch of my build and I need to consider which bulbs I'm gonna be getting. The fixture is a 48'x8 bulb tek. Tank is a 90gal RR. Planning on LPS, SPS, Clams(higher up). I came across this combo on a site by you(I think).
8 lamp Tek or Nova Extreme

Blue
Blue
ATI Purple Plus
Blue
GE Daylight
Aquablue
Blue
Blue
For a more blue look replace the Aquablue with a blue, less blue replace the blue in slot 4 with a Aquablue. You could also try the Actinic White in slot 2 which is one of the 4 dusk/dawn lamps, it adds a purple hue to the look.

Does this still hold water or is there a new combo that you would suggest. Thanks in advance
John
 
Mcagigas said:
Hello Grim,

What color lamp combination would you recommend to bring out the best color on SPS (pink, reds, purple, blue, green)? Looking to get the best color pop. Last year you recommended the below combination based on my question for color and growth.

Front
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Purple Plus
GE 6500K
Blue Plus
Blue Plus

Today I am not looking for best growth, instead best colors. Should I continue using the same combo? Thank you in advance
Click to expand...

How did you like this combo? Is essentially what I plan to run on my TEK5 6-bulb, but with an Aquapink (I have two on hand) where your Purple Plus is.

I too am looking for color over growth. Maybe I should try swapping out the GE and a Blue+ with some KZ New Gens?
 
I like the combo Grim suggested and definitely have recommended to friends, it produced good growth and colors did pop. My stuff has been growing too fast (combination of good lighting plus dosing of additives). I need color now and perhaps this combo may not need changing but I am not an expert in lighting so I will wait for Grim's reply.
 
Mcagigas said:
Hello Grim,

What color lamp combination would you recommend to bring out the best color on SPS (pink, reds, purple, blue, green)? Looking to get the best color pop. Last year you recommended the below combination based on my question for color and growth.

Front
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Purple Plus
GE 6500K
Blue Plus
Blue Plus

Today I am not looking for best growth, instead best colors. Should I continue using the same combo? Thank you in advance
Click to expand...

That basic combination is good but you could try using a coral plus, second purple plus or an aquablue in place of the GE depending on your color preference
 
trying to decide

trying to decide

I have a 120gal 60x18x24 long acrylic tank, I am upgrading from a 40gal column with a 6 bulb nova extreme pro on it, I have sps and lps, my sps are growing decent and are at the top of the tank so i am wondering if i should go with a 60" fixture or 48" and how many bulbs would be best 4,6 or 8
 
Hey Grim...

Need a "quick" recommendation from ya. (They are never quick are they?) Plus I have a few questions just to tickle the fancy.

I used to run MH bulbs on my old tanks but since being given a 58 gal that had a 6 bulb T-5 fixture I have been a convert. At any rate, I am running mainly a soft and lps tank with some millies here and there. I would like to do a clam in this tank but I have never tried a clam under t-5, only under my MH so I am a bit worried.

Looking at all your past recommendations, it looks like you would suggest a set-up like this:

Front
6.Blue+
5.Blue+
4.Coral+
3.Blue+
2.Blue+
1.Purple+
Back

Is that correct?!?

Now, by poor design my fixture has 1 and 2 on the same cord, 3-5 and 4-6 on the same cord. So I usually make 1 and 2 my dawn dusk.

Would you suggest a 6500K bulb (Or even dare I say a GE 3000K bulb) at all? I don't want any "pee" yellow to show in the tank but with that much blue it might not. I feel like that paint commercial.. "I want a blue but not too blue but not too white... just the right blue!"

Someone locally recommended Wavepoint bulbs and said they were comparable to Giesemann bulbs I have been using in conjunction with my MH fixtures. Seems like you are high on ATI bulbs but are the Wavepoint bulbs worth the 25% savings?!? Plus they make a red bulb (Redwave?) which just seems odd. Seems like it would grow a lot, including algae! What you know about it?!?

FYI: My current bulb set up is 1 "pink", 3 "blues", 2 "whites". Since this set up was given to me I have no idea what exactly the bulbs are. I have been told they are a mixture of KZ Fiji Purple, KZ Coral Light, KZ New Gen, 2 TRU white bulbs, and maybe a Blue+. But that does not seem right. I don't mind the color though and that "Pink" bulb adds a nice hue to the tank.

At any rate.. What say you?!? And thanks in advance for the help!
 
to clarify the above: Bulbs 1 and 2 are on the same switch, bulbs 3 and 5 are on the same switch and bulbs 4 and 6 are on the same switch. So all in total there are three photo periods.
 
Need a bit of advice please..

My tank is only 12 inches high, a shallow nano that i built myself ..proud ;-)

I have an ATI Sunpower 6x24w Dimmable with the following bulbs..

3x Narva Blue
2x Aqua Medic 15000K
1xKZ purple
1 xATI Blue Plus
I am messing around with the bulb configuration at the moment

I was running 3 narva's, 1 Blue Plus and AM 15000K, but have found the colours a bit blue and wishy washy

Just changed to 3 narva's, 2 AM 15000K and the KZ, but can't work out the best order..


Also, because the tank is so shallow, i need some help with how high the ATI should be above the water surface.

For the last 3 months it's been 4 inches, my Tri-color is pretty bown with only the faintest hint of purple on the tips, my slimmer is growing well, 2 cm's in the last 2 months, the tri-colour is showing no growth, or at least very little.

I lowered the lights to 2 inches above the surface for a week, the tri-color showed no sign of coloring up, but did not bleach

I have now raised the ATI to 6 inches above the surface ..

I am a little lost.

To add my params are..

Cal 425
KH 7.8
Mag 1350
PO4 0.08 Hanna Phosphorus checker
NO3 2
Potassium 410
Iodine 0.03

I feed KZ amino acids twice a week and KZ CV twice a week

Tank volume is 30 gallons, sump 10 with reef octopus 1000 skimmer, Rowa

Any ideas ..especially about my light height

Thanks

Mike
 
Hello Everyone I am new to the site and looking for a lil help with my lighting. I have set up a 26 gallon bowfront tank. 24"wide 18"tall. I went to the local store and told them exactly what i planned to put in the tank and they sold me this: Solarmax High Efficiency Double T5 lighting system. it has 1 10k daylight lamp and 1 actinic-03 lamp each is 14 watts each one has its own swith but it is on 1 cord. it also has 4 moonlight leds that are always on. Dont know if this makes a difference or not but it says it has parabolic light amplifying reflectors. I plan to put soft corals in my tank and need to know if this is good enough. I want my corals to be colorful and bright so would like to know if this will work or if i should add to it. Keep in mind this is a small tank so only room for one more light fixture if i remove the lid it came with and use those eggcrates over the top instead. Also would like to know how how long i should leave the lights on. I have been turning the actinic light on at 9 am and then turning on the white light at 11 and then back off at 6pm leaving the actinic on til 8 pm and of course the leds are always on. Any help and a lil explanation would be nice. Would like to know as much as i can before i start adding corals. The tank is cycling now and i have a lil time to research and learn. Thanks for any help you can give.
 
ryanmell said:
I have a 120gal 60x18x24 long acrylic tank, I am upgrading from a 40gal column with a 6 bulb nova extreme pro on it, I have sps and lps, my sps are growing decent and are at the top of the tank so i am wondering if i should go with a 60" fixture or 48" and how many bulbs would be best 4,6 or 8
Click to expand...

6 lamp 48 inch fixture. I would get the basic Tek.
 
xyzpdq0121 said:
Hey Grim...

Need a "quick" recommendation from ya. (They are never quick are they?) Plus I have a few questions just to tickle the fancy.

I used to run MH bulbs on my old tanks but since being given a 58 gal that had a 6 bulb T-5 fixture I have been a convert. At any rate, I am running mainly a soft and lps tank with some millies here and there. I would like to do a clam in this tank but I have never tried a clam under t-5, only under my MH so I am a bit worried.

Looking at all your past recommendations, it looks like you would suggest a set-up like this:

Front
6.Blue+
5.Blue+
4.Coral+
3.Blue+
2.Blue+
1.Purple+
Back

Is that correct?!?

Now, by poor design my fixture has 1 and 2 on the same cord, 3-5 and 4-6 on the same cord. So I usually make 1 and 2 my dawn dusk.

Would you suggest a 6500K bulb (Or even dare I say a GE 3000K bulb) at all? I don't want any "pee" yellow to show in the tank but with that much blue it might not. I feel like that paint commercial.. "I want a blue but not too blue but not too white... just the right blue!"

Someone locally recommended Wavepoint bulbs and said they were comparable to Giesemann bulbs I have been using in conjunction with my MH fixtures. Seems like you are high on ATI bulbs but are the Wavepoint bulbs worth the 25% savings?!? Plus they make a red bulb (Redwave?) which just seems odd. Seems like it would grow a lot, including algae! What you know about it?!?

FYI: My current bulb set up is 1 "pink", 3 "blues", 2 "whites". Since this set up was given to me I have no idea what exactly the bulbs are. I have been told they are a mixture of KZ Fiji Purple, KZ Coral Light, KZ New Gen, 2 TRU white bulbs, and maybe a Blue+. But that does not seem right. I don't mind the color though and that "Pink" bulb adds a nice hue to the tank.

At any rate.. What say you?!? And thanks in advance for the help!
Click to expand...

Your mix of lamps is good but Blues only in the first or last slot so relocate the purple. 6500 is good, 3000 bad as long as you run a purple lamp. Stick with ATI, Gieseman GE KZ or Aquascience lamps. There isnt enough marketing costs in these lamps for anyone to be able to shave more than a buck or so off the costs to provide an equal quality product.
 
nsr500rossi said:
Need a bit of advice please..

My tank is only 12 inches high, a shallow nano that i built myself ..proud ;-)

I have an ATI Sunpower 6x24w Dimmable with the following bulbs..

3x Narva Blue
2x Aqua Medic 15000K
1xKZ purple
1 xATI Blue Plus
I am messing around with the bulb configuration at the moment

I was running 3 narva's, 1 Blue Plus and AM 15000K, but have found the colours a bit blue and wishy washy

Just changed to 3 narva's, 2 AM 15000K and the KZ, but can't work out the best order..


Also, because the tank is so shallow, i need some help with how high the ATI should be above the water surface.

For the last 3 months it's been 4 inches, my Tri-color is pretty bown with only the faintest hint of purple on the tips, my slimmer is growing well, 2 cm's in the last 2 months, the tri-colour is showing no growth, or at least very little.

I lowered the lights to 2 inches above the surface for a week, the tri-color showed no sign of coloring up, but did not bleach

I have now raised the ATI to 6 inches above the surface ..

I am a little lost.

To add my params are..

Cal 425
KH 7.8
Mag 1350
PO4 0.08 Hanna Phosphorus checker
NO3 2
Potassium 410
Iodine 0.03

I feed KZ amino acids twice a week and KZ CV twice a week

Tank volume is 30 gallons, sump 10 with reef octopus 1000 skimmer, Rowa

Any ideas ..especially about my light height

Thanks

Mike
Click to expand...

I'd lose the 15K lamps, keep one with the purple lamps and the rest blue. If you think that's too blue swap out the 15K for a GE 6500k. On a 12" tall tank with lights 6 inches over I'd max the lights out at like 70%. That's a lot of light for a 12" tall tank.
 
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