The T5 Q&a Thread - split

[catfisher]

Should I change out the new bulbs gradually?

Should I change out the new bulbs gradually?

My new T5HO bulbs are arriving today :beer:. Do I need to replace only 2 at a time or can I replace them all at once. The only coral I'm concerned about is a frogspawn, galaxia, and hammer which are all mid-level in a 55 Gal. I also have a Red Lobo and orange blast acan on the bottom along with a crapload of zoanthids and Palys all over the tank. The new bulbs consist of of 2 ATI Blue +, a UVL Actinic White, and an ATI Actinic...

 

[Froggy]

Thanks. I got nervous I killed my new fixture.

All three fans did not work. I had to push down with my finger on the fans to get them to spin. Evidentally they were hitting the ATI logo protective cover on top of it.
Ken

I heard this is pretty common. I read the proper fix is to bend the logo cover away from interfering with the spinning of the fans. It is my understanding that it is not recommended loosening the screws as a fix.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

My new T5HO bulbs are arriving today :beer:. Do I need to replace only 2 at a time or can I replace them all at once. The only coral I'm concerned about is a frogspawn, galaxia, and hammer which are all mid-level in a 55 Gal. I also have a Red Lobo and orange blast acan on the bottom along with a crapload of zoanthids and Palys all over the tank. The new bulbs consist of of 2 ATI Blue +, a UVL Actinic White, and an ATI Actinic...

Do a couple and wait a week to do the rest

 

[catfisher]

Blue Plus has more PAR than either of those other lamps.

Brains and Acans don't like a lot of light, clams and SPS do. You could do this

Front
Super Actinic
Blue Plus
Actinic White
Blue Plus

Now you are placing a lower PAR lamp up front over the brains which they will like but it dose mean you need to keep any clams you put in the tank back on the rocks so they get the direct light from the higher PAR lamps. They don't have to be high on the rocks, just below those good lamps.

If I'm using a dusk/dawn timer, should I use the Actinic White with the Blue+ as my daylight bulbs and the True Actinic and Blue+ as my Dawn/Dusk bulbs?

Or should I just keep it as you originally suggested?

 

[TropTrea]

If I'm using a dusk/dawn timer, should I use the Actinic White with the Blue+ as my daylight bulbs and the True Actinic and Blue+ as my Dawn/Dusk bulbs?

Or should I just keep it as you originally suggested?

I personaly would put the True atinic and Blue + on the dawn to dusk. The difference from no light to Dawn to Dusk should not be big shock. The brighter looking bulbs should be in the mid day cycle.

 

[brob22]

hey Grim,
uv helped me alot in the past and i apreciate it, but i got one last question for ya.\
my tank is 18 inches deep and i got the 6 bulb sunpower running 4 inches above the tank.
should i raise it up, am i blasting the corals with to much light at 4 inches above.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

hey Grim,
uv helped me alot in the past and i apreciate it, but i got one last question for ya.\
my tank is 18 inches deep and i got the 6 bulb sunpower running 4 inches above the tank.
should i raise it up, am i blasting the corals with to much light at 4 inches above.

Look at the corals. If they seem happy.... If not raise it.

 

[brob22]

they seem pale, and i notice when i add frags the base of the frag grows under the shaded part of the coral, but not the part in the light.

also my ora green birdsnest frag is very healthy and growing but has whight streaks on the top brachs which im not sure but i think is cuz of the light.

do u ave any idea how high i should raise it, unless by chance this isnt a light issue, but it seems like it is to me

 

[The Grim Reefer]

they seem pale, and i notice when i add frags the base of the frag grows under the shaded part of the coral, but not the part in the light.

also my ora green birdsnest frag is very healthy and growing but has whight streaks on the top brachs which im not sure but i think is cuz of the light.

do u ave any idea how high i should raise it, unless by chance this isnt a light issue, but it seems like it is to me

Try about 6 inches higher.

 

[unkownvirus]

need some help with my bulb configuration, im in a losing battle with getting good colors with 6 bulb sunpower, i have a mixed reef with lots of blue, yellow, pinks, reds,and majority of greens sps/lps corals. my problem is getting my colors to "pop" as good as how the greens "pop".

i have tried

front
blue+
blue+
fiji purp
ge 6500
blue+
blue+
**With this config. increased growth, everything is tinted blue, with only the greens popping

Front
blue+
actinic (can't tell you the brand, logo is practically gone. but its not ATI or UVL, ill try to take a pic later on today)
UVL 75/25
ge 6500
Blue+
UVL 454

** with this config. growth slowed a bit, colors are a little more balanced, but still not there

any suggestions, will be helpful

Thanks in advance

 

[The Grim Reefer]

need some help with my bulb configuration, im in a losing battle with getting good colors with 6 bulb sunpower, i have a mixed reef with lots of blue, yellow, pinks, reds,and majority of greens sps/lps corals. my problem is getting my colors to "pop" as good as how the greens "pop".

i have tried

front
blue+
blue+
fiji purp
ge 6500
blue+
blue+
**With this config. increased growth, everything is tinted blue, with only the greens popping

Front
blue+
actinic (can't tell you the brand, logo is practically gone. but its not ATI or UVL, ill try to take a pic later on today)
UVL 75/25
ge 6500
Blue+
UVL 454

** with this config. growth slowed a bit, colors are a little more balanced, but still not there

any suggestions, will be helpful

Thanks in advance

Go back to your first configuration and play with different lamps in place of the GE 6500K

 

[Finzz]

Ok .. What bulb combo should i go with? How high should i keep the fixture from the surface of the water? Thanks in advance

If you want the PM just hang it a little higher

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Ok .. What bulb combo should i go with? How high should i keep the fixture from the surface of the water? Thanks in advance

Bout a foot above

Blue Plus
Purple Plus
Blue Plus
GE 6500K
ATI Actinic
Blue Plus
Purple Plus
Blue Plus

 

[Shiroi Kitsune]

Well I'm back again after a year ready to replace my bulbs. Last year I used, as recommended; 2 ATI purple plus, 2 ATI aquablue, and 4 ATI blue plus over my 75G SPS dominated. While happy at first with the setup up, I find it a little washed out now and find myself really yearning for more of a 20k radium effect. That said I still need to keep the color in my rainbow stylo, which is the only coral that looks crappy during dawn/dusk (4 blue plus) and markedly better under the full lighting. Another problem coral is a formosa stag which seems to think the bluer the better but looks like garbage under the full lighting. Any suggestions? I'm thinking possibly 5 blue plus, 1 purple plus, 1 aqua blue, and 1 true actinic.

 

[rtparty]

Well I'm back again after a year ready to replace my bulbs. Last year I used, as recommended; 2 ATI purple plus, 2 ATI aquablue, and 4 ATI blue plus over my 75G SPS dominated. While happy at first with the setup up, I find it a little washed out now and find myself really yearning for more of a 20k radium effect. That said I still need to keep the color in my rainbow stylo, which is the only coral that looks crappy during dawn/dusk (4 blue plus) and markedly better under the full lighting. Another problem coral is a formosa stag which seems to think the bluer the better but looks like garbage under the full lighting. Any suggestions? I'm thinking possibly 5 blue plus, 1 purple plus, 1 aqua blue, and 1 true actinic.

Skip the Aquablue and Actinic. You won't even know the actinic is on when all bulbs come on. The Aquablue is what washes things out as well.

I would try one of two combos.

6 ATI Blue Plus and 2 ATI Purple Plus. Put a purple bulb on the dusk/dawn and see what you think. It brings out colors that the blues miss.

5 ATI Blue Plus, 2 Purple Plus and 1 KZ New Generation.

 

[tegee]

Skip the Aquablue and Actinic. You won't even know the actinic is on when all bulbs come on. The Aquablue is what washes things out as well.

I would try one of two combos.

6 ATI Blue Plus and 2 ATI Purple Plus. Put a purple bulb on the dusk/dawn and see what you think. It brings out colors that the blues miss.

5 ATI Blue Plus, 2 Purple Plus and 1 KZ New Generation.

Hello Grim and Ryan,

I have a new 24" ATI PM (6 bulb) T5 fixture that I just installed over my 60gl Cube. What bulb combination would you recommend for a mixed reef (70 lps/30 sps) tank?

Many thanks for any help and guidence............

 

[tegee]

Skip the Aquablue and Actinic. You won't even know the actinic is on when all bulbs come on. The Aquablue is what washes things out as well.

I would try one of two combos.

6 ATI Blue Plus and 2 ATI Purple Plus. Put a purple bulb on the dusk/dawn and see what you think. It brings out colors that the blues miss.

5 ATI Blue Plus, 2 Purple Plus and 1 KZ New Generation.

Hello Grim and Ryan,

I have a new 24" ATI PM (6 bulb) T5 fixture that I just installed over my 60gl Cube. What bulb combination would you recommend for a mixed reef (70 lps/30 sps) tank?

Many thanks for any help and guidance............

 

[TropTrea]

Skip the Aquablue and Actinic. You won't even know the actinic is on when all bulbs come on. The Aquablue is what washes things out as well.

You do need a balance if light in the entire spectrum if you want your corals to grow and keep there color. Yes the Blue + is an inportant bulb, and the purple plus does add some red. The combination works great in the dawn dusk lighting.

But your mid day light realy needs to fill in the gaps of the color spectrum. yes you can increase the blues here but you also need to add some green and yellows. With one Aqua Blue your fill in those gaps without over doing it. Other options are 10,000K or 6,500K bulbs but they will either whitten things up more than the Aqua Blue would, or in the case of the 6,500K even add a touch of a yellow hue.

As far as Atinics go I do agree that 420nm is baerely visable by most human eyes. But corals do need light at 420nm to grow. The Aqua Blues do provide some of this 420nm light but it is debatable if they furnish enough on there own. With 4 or 6 Aqua Blues there probably is enough 420nm light provided but with only 2 there probably is not.

On the purple bulbs remember purple is a combination of red and blue. Red light is needed however in excewss it can be more detrimental than benificial. Adding multiple bulbs that produce red light is realy walking a thin line tword bleaching out your corals.

It appears someone has an 8 bulb fixture and 4 on dawn to dusk and 4 on midday. I can recommend one purple and the rest of the dawn to dusk bulbs as blues. For the Mid Day do not add another purple but one or two full spectrum bulb of your liking either 6,500K, 10,000K or Aqua Blue, and the rest again plue plus bulbs.

Now if you want to suplement atinics than use one to replace a blue plus in your dawn to dusk but remember it will make the tank look slightly darker than a blue plus snce it does not give off as much visable light.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

OK, lets review. ATI has the Blue PLUS. Giesemann has the actinic PLUS. Anyone wanna guess what the PLUS means?

In the case of the Blue Plus it's Blue PLUS Actinic. In the case of the Giesemann lamp it's Actinic Plus Blue. There is no benefit to using an actinic lamp other than aesthetic value as long as you are running premium blue lamps. Blue Pluses have output beyond 420. Don't believe me hold a pair of transition lens glasses near one. They act on UV.

As far as other spectrum goes the Purple lamps are both basically an aquablue with the green and yellow output reduced but it's still there. Not saying that it wouldn't be better to have a true daylight lamp in your mix but I've seen some remarkable tanks with nothing but Fiji Purple and Blue Lamps.

 

[rtparty]

You do need a balance if light in the entire spectrum if you want your corals to grow and keep there color. Yes the Blue + is an inportant bulb, and the purple plus does add some red. The combination works great in the dawn dusk lighting.

But your mid day light realy needs to fill in the gaps of the color spectrum. yes you can increase the blues here but you also need to add some green and yellows. With one Aqua Blue your fill in those gaps without over doing it. Other options are 10,000K or 6,500K bulbs but they will either whitten things up more than the Aqua Blue would, or in the case of the 6,500K even add a touch of a yellow hue.

As far as Atinics go I do agree that 420nm is baerely visable by most human eyes. But corals do need light at 420nm to grow. The Aqua Blues do provide some of this 420nm light but it is debatable if they furnish enough on there own. With 4 or 6 Aqua Blues there probably is enough 420nm light provided but with only 2 there probably is not.

On the purple bulbs remember purple is a combination of red and blue. Red light is needed however in excewss it can be more detrimental than benificial. Adding multiple bulbs that produce red light is realy walking a thin line tword bleaching out your corals.

It appears someone has an 8 bulb fixture and 4 on dawn to dusk and 4 on midday. I can recommend one purple and the rest of the dawn to dusk bulbs as blues. For the Mid Day do not add another purple but one or two full spectrum bulb of your liking either 6,500K, 10,000K or Aqua Blue, and the rest again plue plus bulbs.

Now if you want to suplement atinics than use one to replace a blue plus in your dawn to dusk but remember it will make the tank look slightly darker than a blue plus snce it does not give off as much visable light.

Please see above. Grim hit the nail right on the head!

Your response was a major fail. I am sorry to be so rash and bold but I have been running T5s for 6 years at this point.

I have more posts in this thread than you do all together. I have been helping people in THIS thread for over 3 years now.

I KNOW what combos work and what doesn't. A mix of Blue Plus and Purple Plus lamps will keep colors better than adding in a day light bulb. Multiple local reefers all run 4 blue and 2 purple on their T5 setup because that is what I recommended. ALL of them love it!

I value your expertise and your help on this thread. Your points and opinions are valid. I can tell you know what you are doing in keeping tanks.

I just question your knowledge on bulbs and different setups.

Off my soapbox now....