The T5 Q&a Thread - split

[Michigan Mike]

QUOTE=warnutts;21524605]Hi I have an ati 4' 8 bulb t5 fixture.

My bulbs are

4ati blue +
2 purple +
2 aquablue special

I'm looking to get more pop out of my blues and oranges. Colors seem washed out a tad.

Should I add a single pure actinic bulb? What bulbs should I replace?
[/QUOTE]


I would remove the aquablue specials and try a ge6500 & blue plus.
.

 

[ReefGeek79]

I could use some advice. I'm running a 36" 6 bulb fixture with ATI bulbs. I'm not happy with the colors of some corals. Some of my acros are browning out and my orange and green bird's nest is more orange and purple. Not sure what I should do.

My current bulb configuration is:

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

with 2 and 4 the bulbs that are on during my dawn/dusk cycle. All bulbs are on for 8 hours with the 2 bulbs on for an hour in the morning and 3 hours in the evening. Do I need to change up the bulb configuration, timing, do I have too much blue? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[db1317]

ATI 6x54 and have the current lineup F-B: 2Blue+, Fiji Purplle, Coral+, 2Blue+. Bulbs are 10 months old and I have the following replacement bulbs on hand to play with: 4Blue+, Coral+, KZ New Gen, KZ Coral Light, and KZ Fiji Purple. The tank looks a little brownish with all lights on. Dusk/Dawn are 2&5. What would be a good lineup w/o the Purple bulb in the mix?

Correction - I don't have a new Coral+ on hand to play with. Also will mention that I have an SPS dominated tank. What would be a good lineup out of 4-Blue+, New Gen, Coral Light, and Fiji Purple. Was thinking(F-R), but I'm concerned it might be too much red:

Blue+
Blue+(dusk/dawn)
Purple
Coral Light
Blue+(dusk/dawn)
New Gen

Other options:

Blue+
Blue+(dusk/dawn)
Blue+
Coral Light
Blue+(dusk/dawn)
New Gen

or

Blue+
Blue+(dusk/dawn)
New Gen
Coral Light
Blue+(dusk/dawn)
Blue+

or


Blue+
Blue+(dusk/dawn)
New Gen
Coral Light
Blue+(dusk/dawn)
Purple

Thanks in advance!

 

[TropTrea]

I could use some advice. I'm running a 36" 6 bulb fixture with ATI bulbs. I'm not happy with the colors of some corals. Some of my acros are browning out and my orange and green bird's nest is more orange and purple. Not sure what I should do.

My current bulb configuration is:

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

with 2 and 4 the bulbs that are on during my dawn/dusk cycle. All bulbs are on for 8 hours with the 2 bulbs on for an hour in the morning and 3 hours in the evening. Do I need to change up the bulb configuration, timing, do I have too much blue? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

I would look at swapping out the coral plus with ether an Aqua Blue or GE 6,500K. The Coral Plus and the Purple Plus both have a very strong red component and exceess red can cause browning in a few corals. The Aqua blue has a very little red component and the GE 6500 has less red than the the Coral Plus.

 

[TropTrea]

Correction - I don't have a new Coral+ on hand to play with. Also will mention that I have an SPS dominated tank. What would be a good lineup out of 4-Blue+, New Gen, Coral Light, and Fiji Purple. Was thinking(F-R), but I'm concerned it might be too much red:
Thanks in advance!

I would not use both the coral light and the New Generation together in a 6 bulb fixture. They are both full spectrum lights and that would give you too much white in relationship to your blue levels. Personal choice would determine which of the two your better off using.

 

[Michigan Mike]

I could use some advice. I'm running a 36" 6 bulb fixture with ATI bulbs. I'm not happy with the colors of some corals. Some of my acros are browning out and my orange and green bird's nest is more orange and purple. Not sure what I should do.

My current bulb configuration is:

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

with 2 and 4 the bulbs that are on during my dawn/dusk cycle. All bulbs are on for 8 hours with the 2 bulbs on for an hour in the morning and 3 hours in the evening. Do I need to change up the bulb configuration, timing, do I have too much blue? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

I really don't think there is anything "wrong" with your lighting per say, if you like the look but browning coral is a sign of too little light, with SPS.

How high are the bulbs, how old are the bulbs, where are the corals located from the bulbs. Good flow & low nutrients/phos helps.

A pic would help greatly.

 

[warnutts]

Anyone have a link to par numbers for an ati 8 bulb t5 tank?

I know it's dependent on the bulbs, just want to get an idea how strong t5s are I'm hesitant to put coral way up in the tank.

 

[Michigan Mike]

Anyone have a link to par numbers for an ati 8 bulb t5 tank?

I know it's dependent on the bulbs, just want to get an idea how strong t5s are I'm hesitant to put coral way up in the tank.

One of my fav threads.

Figure your average uncooled TEK will produce around 25% less PAR (give or take) than a equal 8 bulb ATI Sunpower/powermodule.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1641235

 

[warnutts]

Awesome thread thanks dude

 

[DiscusHeckel]

Hi all,

I have an ATI sunpower unit (6 X 39W). My current T5 configuration is as follows:

Front

ATI Blue plus
KZ Fiji purple (dawn to dusk)
ATI Blue plus
6500K (Sylvania)
ATI blue plus (dawn to dusk)
ATI coral +

back

I would like to replace the 6500K tube. I am considering either ATI aquablue special or ATI coral plus.

Can you please let me know how my tank would look with either of these choices?

I keep crocea clams towards the back of the tank and therefore like to have high par tubes over that area.

:beer:

 

[Scffvariable]

Looking for some help with my two tanks.

First is a 40br 36x18x18.

I have a 4 bulb retro over it currently. I started out with 2 b+, 1 coral+ and 1 purple + Was way too pink/purple but had pretty good growth and colors. Switched to 3 b+ and 1 coral+ currently. Tank is mixed SPS/LPS and zoas

I am adding another 2 bulbs to my canopy next week and looking for suggestions.

Second tank is a 33L 48x12x12 frag that I am just setting up. Lighting will be 48" 4 bulb retro. Looking for best growth and color.

Thanks!

 

[kpg007]

Depending how sensative your eye is in the blue spectrum you may notice a difference in your lighting between the super blues and blue plus bulbs. I notice it as the blue plus peak at a slightly longer wave lenght closer to a blue cyan compared to the super blue in the truer blue range.

Atinics are on the other side of the blue spectrum where they peak at even a shorter wavelenght than the super blues. However if measure then with a PAR meter you get a lower par reading on them.

Comparing the two spectrums you listed above the first your old one will whiter and the new set up should be more blue. On my personal choice though I would move the 10K bulb more to the front. But I'nt sure which tubes are your dawn to dusk.

front
1 blue Plus
2 Atinic
3 Purple Plus
4 New Gen 10K
5 blue plus
6 Coral Plus
7 Atinic
8 blue plus
rear

Thanks Dennis. They are for a new fixture, so I don't know which bulbs will be for dusk / dawn. I don't mind the tank a little more blue, as long as there is more florescence in the corals.

I wouldn't bother with actinic bulbs for a SPS tank, stick with blue plus & KZ super blue. The t5o actinics are weak, add more pink than blue, but they are nice for a dawn dusk look. Not great for SPS tanks. I'm running one in my avatar but its only because reefgeek sent me the wrong bulbs, they have a place, but a blue bulb does is stronger and is more blue.(duh)
I believe the KZ new gen is a 15k bulb with a bit less red than the coral plus.
The KZ KORAL light is the 10k bulb.

Thanks Mike. I decided to take one of the actinic bulbs out of my order. I replaced it with another Blue+, but may not use it. When the new fixture and bulbs come in, I will play with the color a bit more then.
You are right, the KZ bulbs are 'Coral Light' (10K) and 'Coral Light II' (14K). Although the packaging on the CL II says 'New Generation'.

 

[TropTrea]

Hi all,

I have an ATI sunpower unit (6 X 39W). My current T5 configuration is as follows:

Front

ATI Blue plus
KZ Fiji purple (dawn to dusk)
ATI Blue plus
6500K (Sylvania)
ATI blue plus (dawn to dusk)
ATI coral +

back

I would like to replace the 6500K tube. I am considering either ATI aquablue special or ATI coral plus.

Can you please let me know how my tank would look with either of these choices?

I keep crocea clams towards the back of the tank and therefore like to have high par tubes over that area.

:beer:

The sylvenia bulb used to be extremly close to a GE 6,500. If you change it out to a Coral Plus You will get more of blueinsh purle tint. If you cange in for a an Aqua Blue Plus you will bet more of an aqua blue effect, That is with your other bulb combination.

 

[SeedlessOne]

Im running a 6 bulb ati sunpower and need to change my bulbs. I would like a tad more blue I think. I don't want to lose any par if at all possible. Not sure how much par my bulb combo even is to begin with. Im up to a whole new combo if needed. Thanks

Bp
Purple figi
Bp
6500k ge
Bp
Bp

 

[DiscusHeckel]

The sylvenia bulb used to be extremly close to a GE 6,500. If you change it out to a Coral Plus You will get more of blueinsh purle tint. If you cange in for a an Aqua Blue Plus you will bet more of an aqua blue effect, That is with your other bulb combination.

Thanks.

Im running a 6 bulb ati sunpower and need to change my bulbs. I would like a tad more blue I think. I don't want to lose any par if at all possible. Not sure how much par my bulb combo even is to begin with. Im up to a whole new combo if needed. Thanks

Bp
Purple figi
Bp
6500k ge
Bp
Bp

Your combination is very similar to mine (assuming bp are of ATI brand) except that you have a Bp at the back instead of Cp like in mine. If you replace the 6500k ge with a Cp, then your tank will look blue. However, you will lose some par, but not necessarily pur.

I am curious to know if fish like yellow tangs would be OK with my proposed combination.

Anyone?

 

[jdraider75]

Hey Mike and Dennis do you think I will have enough purple/red with these lineups?
Front
blue+
coral+
blue+
ge 6500k
blue+
blue+
purple+
blue+
back
or if I don't like the ge 6500k
Front
blue+
blue+
blue+
coral+
blue+
blue+
purple+
blue+
back
Its on a 120 gallon sps dominate tank 48x24x24 with nova fixture but getting ati sunpower very soon. Looking for good color and growth with blue look. Thanks

 

[TropTrea]

JD Rider

With the GE I would substitute another Purple Plus for the Coral Plus.
Without the GE I would substitute another Coral Plus for the Purple Plus.

The Purple Plus puts out a little more Red than the Coral Plus. With the GE I find 2 Purple Plus bulbs is an ideal balance.

Without the GE the Purple Plus seem to put out a little to much red unless you have a bulb with a lot of Aqua in it like the Aqua Blue Special. Others like a combo of the Purple and Blues especial in the dawn to dusk. So it come out a lot to personal preference on how much red e=is enough. One coral plus will put out enough red to make corals happy but will it be enough red for your color taste?

 

[Michigan Mike]

Hi all,

I have an ATI sunpower unit (6 X 39W). My current T5 configuration is as follows:

Front

ATI Blue plus
KZ Fiji purple (dawn to dusk)
ATI Blue plus
6500K (Sylvania)
ATI blue plus (dawn to dusk)
ATI coral +

back

I would like to replace the 6500K tube. I am considering either ATI aquablue special or ATI coral plus.

Can you please let me know how my tank would look with either of these choices?

I keep crocea clams towards the back of the tank and therefore like to have high par tubes over that area.

:beer:

Changing to a aquablue spec won't be as much of a change but a coral plus will be more blue.

 

[Michigan Mike]

Looking for some help with my two tanks.

First is a 40br 36x18x18.

I have a 4 bulb retro over it currently. I started out with 2 b+, 1 coral+ and 1 purple + Was way too pink/purple but had pretty good growth and colors. Switched to 3 b+ and 1 coral+ currently. Tank is mixed SPS/LPS and zoas

I am adding another 2 bulbs to my canopy next week and looking for suggestions.

Second tank is a 33L 48x12x12 frag that I am just setting up. Lighting will be 48" 4 bulb retro. Looking for best growth and color.

Thanks!

Tank 1- Maybe another blue & coral plus?
Tank 2- what would you do different, compared to 3 blue & 1 coral?

 

[Michigan Mike]

Your combination is very similar to mine (assuming bp are of ATI brand) except that you have a Bp at the back instead of Cp like in mine. If you replace the 6500k ge with a Cp, then your tank will look blue. However, you will lose some par, but not necessarily pur.

I am curious to know if fish like yellow tangs would be OK with my proposed combination.

Anyone?[/QUOTE]

What do the fish care about the bulb combo:fish2:? :inlove:?

The ge bulb will pop the greens & yellows with the purple bulb helping also.
I like 4 blue, 1 GE, & 1 purple for a 6 bulb combo that's not too blue.:thumbsup: