The T5 Q&a Thread - split
- Thread starter eagle9252
- Start date
I made the switch and I think I like it. Definitely more blue.
Blue +
Purple +
KZ New Gen
Blue +
Would this combination have enough PAR for my SPS tank?
Thanks,
Ken
TropTrea
New member
Actually for corals the blue will not hurt them at all. PAR numbers are really based on terrestrial plants not corals. Terrestrial plants use the entire PAR spectrum almost equally while corals are much more dependent upon the shorter wave lengths. Actually excessive light in the 685 nm area can be more detrimental to some corals than none at all. This is especially true of the corals that come from deeper water where in nature they barely get any light that is not on the edge of the UV spectrum.
Your combination is very common with the exception that many different wide spectrum bulbs are used in place of your Aqua Sun. What you use in that slot is basically up to your personal color preference as long as the bulb does add some greens and yellows to the spectrum.
E-A-G-L-E-S
New member
I have some PAR to play with considering it is a 6 lamp over a 40 breeder....which actinic lamp(s) is superior in this regard?
TIA Grim!
The Grim Reefer
Ready for some NOBALL!!!
ATI or UVL. I would pick ATI simply because UVL's don't seem to last as long. Sfigoli or however the hell you spell it have some nice one's too.
The Grim Reefer
Ready for some NOBALL!!!
I've had the best luck with ATI and GE lamps. I suspect KZ will be equal to the ATI's. Giesemann are a step below. then as far as I am concerned you have all the others. My standard is price. There is no way to sell a good lamp for half the price what the good stuff goes for. If you aren't paying at least 17 bux for a 48" T5 that is aquarium trade specific (doesn't apply to the GE) it can't have the same quality as the good stuff.
rtparty
Raise The Reef!
It was just barely released and probably isn't even in the States yet. LOL
It looks like the KZ New Generation from what I can tell. Should be a little more blue than the Aquablue and that is a VERY good thing IMO.
TropTrea
New member
I just looked at there advertised spectrum for the coral plus. In my estimation it is 25% 6,500K and 75% of there blue plus. This may turn out to be a great full spectrum bulb but the question will be if one can get away with just one of these bulbs or it they will need two to get a good balance against additional blue plus bulbs.
They do show a strong red peak so I'd be hesitant to use it with purple plus until I knew more about this bulb. I'm very leery about manufacturers spectrum graphs after working in the industry and learning some of the sales tricks.
The Grim Reefer
Ready for some NOBALL!!!
A Purple plus is basically an aquablue with the green removed as much as possible so you are left with red and blue spectrum, Purple. I am out of the ATI loop since I dared use LED's for my new system but the 25% 6500K 75% if whatever the blue plus mix is sounds like what the New Gen has. You can see all the colors from violet to red but the blue is very dominant. With a Purple Plus in the mix it's going to depend on the so-called 6500K phosphor they use. If it's pinkish like the UVL it'll suck, If it's ivory like the old GE 6500K Daylights were it will be a great complement to the purple plus and allow you to custom tailor your color by using more or less of them in a mix of Blue and Purple Plus.
TropTrea
New member
From the spectrum I saw for this bulb the spike in the green and the spike in the red are very close in magnitude. Therefore I'd suspect that the full spectrum part of the bulb would fall in the yellow range like the GE 6,500K if you decreased the blue. But the Blue area of the spectrum almost matches perfect to the Blue Plus so the bulb will be predominantly blue. Also noting that the eye is more sensitive to green light than red light I doubt you will be able to detect any predominance of pinks. not that the advertised spectrum for the aqua blue special has a much stronger green spike than this bulb is advertised at, and the purple plus has less of red spectrum than this bulb has on its plot.
But as I said advertised power spectrum's are not always very accurate. If any peak is 10% higher and another 10% lower there still considered accurate but the final color visible to the eye can turn out other than what you would expect. Until a few people get a hold of this bulb and run it a few hours to break it in and give there opinions we have to just go by the advertised spectrum.
The Grim Reefer
Ready for some NOBALL!!!
Yeah. I have a cheap spectrometer and what is actually produced doesn't look anything like those lame graphs the companies market with. If I had a good macro lens for my camera I'd post up some of the lamps.
clevebill
New member
maybe to much light
maybe to much light
i have 4ft 8 bulb ati powermodule over my 60x18x19 tank.i have it at around 13 inches from the water.what i noticed my bubble coral that is midway down dosent inflate real big and my open brain on the sand dosnt get puffy kinda lays flat.i had a nice green milli that got nuked it was more toward the top of the tank and a red milli sps that was on the sand is gone.
i run
super actinic
b+
b+
purple +
b+
kz new gen
b+
super actinic
i love the color my tank looks now i tried running 4 bulb and it kinda looks dark.i might try six bulbs but i might not have the same color.now if i run less bulbs should i lower the light or keep at the same height.this fixture is so dam bright that it cooks stuff fast.or should i add more actinics to lower the par.
maybe to much light
i have 4ft 8 bulb ati powermodule over my 60x18x19 tank.i have it at around 13 inches from the water.what i noticed my bubble coral that is midway down dosent inflate real big and my open brain on the sand dosnt get puffy kinda lays flat.i had a nice green milli that got nuked it was more toward the top of the tank and a red milli sps that was on the sand is gone.
i run
super actinic
b+
b+
purple +
b+
kz new gen
b+
super actinic
i love the color my tank looks now i tried running 4 bulb and it kinda looks dark.i might try six bulbs but i might not have the same color.now if i run less bulbs should i lower the light or keep at the same height.this fixture is so dam bright that it cooks stuff fast.or should i add more actinics to lower the par.
TropTrea
New member
too much light is a real possibility with your tank being only 18" tall and your running 8 bulbs with one of the more efficient fixtures. The easiest solution in my mind would to raise the light fixture if possible. another possibility is put a piece of frosted Plexiglas between the tank and the light fixture only that may cut it too much. but if you don;t cover the entire area you can reduce the light in some areas.
The Grim Reefer
Ready for some NOBALL!!!
LET from reefgeek.
The Grim Reefer
Ready for some NOBALL!!!
You could go with UVL 454's instead of ATI blue plus because they have a lot less PAR. Other than that raise the fixture or add a layer of fiberglass window screen over the tank to drop PAR
Borchers
Reefer Who needs Help!!!
So I know that you guys prefer ATI bulbs but that's not what I have. I am running all Giesmann bulbs in my 48 Tek 8 bulb unit. I just bought the bulbs as this is all my LFS carries. I am looking for a good sane to dusk 20k radium look. Here is what I have. By the way my Tek runs the four outside bulbs and then the 4 inside
I have the following Giesmann bulbs.
4 Actnic +
3 Aquablue +
2 Actinic
1 miiday.
So let me know
I have the following Giesmann bulbs.
4 Actnic +
3 Aquablue +
2 Actinic
1 miiday.
So let me know
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