The T5 Q&a Thread - split

[DiscusHeckel]

I still have one of my Frag tanks running this exact fixture. For height I simply put a 2X2 piece of lumber between the tank and the legs that the fixture came with. I believe that puts it about 4" above my water surface.

Through the years I played with bulb combos for it and my best results were with
front
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Blue Plus
ATI AquaBlue Special
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Purple Plus
ATI Blue Plus
rear.

If you kept crocea clams in addition to sps corals would you add another aquablue special instead of blue plus. Blue plus lacks reds, greens and yellow, which clams normally get exposed to considering their position on the reef.

My bulbs are due for replacement next month. My current configuration is:

front
ATI Blue Plus
KZ Fiji purple
ATI Blue Plus
ATI AquaBlue Special
ATI BluePlus
ATI Coral Plus
rear.

What do you think of the following combination:

front
ATI Blue Plus
KZ Fiji purple
ATI Blue Plus
ATI AquaBlue Special
ATI BluePlus
ATI AquaBlue Special
rear.

My clams are situated directly under the last three tubes at the rear of my tank. I have 6 X 39W ATI sunpower.

Thanks in advance.

 

[TropTrea]

Do I have too much light over my tank?

Dimensions are 48x24x21 105 gallons

I have an 8 bulb ati powermodule got a good deal on it, but can't seem to get the right color combo. Too much light maybe?

No it should not be too much light. The thing is you can cut back your timing to some extent, or raise your light fixture, if you have to much light. However the question is what corals are you trying to keep? If you have low light corals then make sure they are shaded from direct light.

You mentioned dispeasure with the colr. What bulb combo are you using and what do you dislike about the color?

 

[TropTrea]

If you kept crocea clams in addition to sps corals would you add another aquablue special instead of blue plus. Blue plus lacks reds, greens and yellow, which clams normally get exposed to considering their position on the reef.

My bulbs are due for replacement next month. My current configuration is:

front
ATI Blue Plus
KZ Fiji purple
ATI Blue Plus
ATI AquaBlue Special
ATI BluePlus
ATI Coral Plus
rear.

What do you think of the following combination:

front
ATI Blue Plus
KZ Fiji purple
ATI Blue Plus
ATI AquaBlue Special
ATI BluePlus
ATI AquaBlue Special
rear.

My clams are situated directly under the last three tubes at the rear of my tank. I have 6 X 39W ATI sunpower.

Thanks in advance.

If you want to increase the red part of the spectrum swap out a Blue Plus for a purple Plus. The Purple Plus bulbs have a lot more red in them than the Aqua Blue Specials. Also the GE 6,500K has slightly more blue thatn the Aqua Blue Special. So if your main concern is the Clams I would go with:

Rear
Blue Plus
Purple Plus
GE 6500
Purple Plus
Blue Plus
Blue Plus
Front

 

[TropTrea]

Gotcha. So my lfs told me that 2 blue+ and 2 aquablue would be better than 2 BP and 2 CP?

Ill disagree with the local Fish Store. A better combination would have a purple plus with an Aqua Blue Special and 2 Blue Plus. If you want a little bluer look that the 2 Coral Plus and 2 Blue Plus would be better.

There is very little red in the Aqua Blue Specials and while you do not need a lot of red a little red does help some corals as well as balances out the visual spectrum.

 

[YoungREEFA]

IMO the ge 65k makes the reef feel live and warm and the colors look warm, just my opinion

 

[A. Grandis]

If you have to choose between the 2, would you please tell me what bulb do you prefer:
KZ new generation or ATI Coral Plus? Why?

Does anyone know how do the KZ 10000K looks like?
Any other bulb similar, so I can have an idea?

Any bulb comparison chart lately (PAR)?

Thanks,
Grandis.

?

 

[DiscusHeckel]

Ill disagree with the local Fish Store. A better combination would have a purple plus with an Aqua Blue Special and 2 Blue Plus. If you want a little bluer look that the 2 Coral Plus and 2 Blue Plus would be better.

There is very little red in the Aqua Blue Specials and while you do not need a lot of red a little red does help some corals as well as balances out the visual spectrum.

Thanks. I used to use a 6500K bulb, but found that it encouraged too much zooxanthellate on corals. The corals directly underneath the 6500K bulb looked noticeably brown. I swapped it with an aquablue special. The same corals look just fine shortly after the switch. I am going to avoid 6500k from now on.

 

[TropTrea]

Thanks. I used to use a 6500K bulb, but found that it encouraged too much zooxanthellate on corals. The corals directly underneath the 6500K bulb looked noticeably brown. I swapped it with an aquablue special. The same corals look just fine shortly after the switch. I am going to avoid 6500k from now on.

I personaly like the GE 6,500K however it does give a slightly yellowish caste compared to the 10,000K and above bulbs. As far as the health of the corals is concerned I would say getting the right balance for the specific corals your keeping is the most important thing. Ususaly it is a matter of getting the right red/blue balance as excess red will nleach some corals and yet others require some red.

 

[DiscusHeckel]

I personaly like the GE 6,500K however it does give a slightly yellowish caste compared to the 10,000K and above bulbs. As far as the health of the corals is concerned I would say getting the right balance for the specific corals your keeping is the most important thing. Ususaly it is a matter of getting the right red/blue balance as excess red will nleach some corals and yet others require some red.

My 6500K tube was actually Sylvania rather than GE because I could find any GE 6500K in 39W in the UK. The company does not supply to the UK in this particular wattage.

I may try a 10000K bulb. The only brands which I am aware of are Aquamedic and KZ (Coral light). Do you have any other suggestions for a 10000K tube please?

 

[TropTrea]

My 6500K tube was actually Sylvania rather than GE because I could find any GE 6500K in 39W in the UK. The company does not supply to the UK in this particular wattage.

I may try a 10000K bulb. The only brands which I am aware of are Aquamedic and KZ (Coral light). Do you have any other suggestions for a 10000K tube please?

If I go back about 10 years I was a a strong user of the 10,000K bulbs with Atinics. My original T-5 fixture actualy came with 4 10,000K's and 4 Atinics from the factory. However Snce then I gradually moved further away from using either of these bulbs and especialy would not recommend the ratio I initialy started with.

The big draw back is that the quality 10,000K bulbs are hard to come by and the 6,500K bulbs acailable have a higher output especialy the GE. Sulvenia is probably the next best option on a 6,500 K bulb.

The next thing is the ratio with the coral lighting need primarly in the blue range had me slowly moving to more blue bulbs.

Between the brands you mentioned I would use the KZ over the Aquamedics. Some people even consider the KZ superior to the ATI bulbs.

 

[nichthyes]

Two questions: i have been running my current four ATI bulbs gor ober a year now, and the corals are very happy but so is the green hair algae. So is it time to replace the bulbs? And should i go with a higher K rating this time for all four?

Currently running
(Front)
AB special
Blue plus
Purple plus
Blue plus

Suggestions?

 

[Michigan Mike]

Two questions: i have been running my current four ATI bulbs gor ober a year now, and the corals are very happy but so is the green hair algae. So is it time to replace the bulbs? And should i go with a higher K rating this time for all four?

Currently running
(Front)
AB special
Blue plus
Purple plus
Blue plus

Suggestions?

If you want a little more blue look you can try a coral plus instead Aquablue Special. Blue plus for a deep water look with lots of flourescence, like my avatar(3 blue & 1 purple).

Yes a year is overdue if they aren't being cooled. A year is about right for bulbs that are cooled.

 

[Bpb]

I like

Blue+
Coral+
Blue+
Purple+

The coral+
Bulb looks it better than the AB bulb and consider it a definite upgrade. Next bulb change I'm considering going

Blue+
Coral+
Blue+
Coral+

For a little more par and better growth. The purple+ is a good bulb but I'm thinking another coral+ on its place may be functionally better for par sale

 

[Swip]

How high should I hang a 6x24w Sunpower above a 13 inch deep tank for SPS?

 

[Xartni]

Hello, hopefully someone can weigh in with some opinions.

I've been using the following setup for the last 3-4 years and really like it:
(4 bulb 48")

Front
Blue Plus
UVL Aquablue 75-25
Blue Plus
Aquablue Special
Rear

It looks like the 75-25 has been discontinued. Can anyone recommend a replacement for the 75-25? Looking at the last couple of posts, possibly the Coral Plus, that was one bulb recommended by Reefgeek, the other was KZ New Gen 14k.

Maybe even go with the

Blue+
Coral+
Blue+
Coral+

Any comments would be greatly appreciated!

Jason

 

[A. Grandis]

Hello, hopefully someone can weigh in with some opinions.

I've been using the following setup for the last 3-4 years and really like it:
(4 bulb 48")

Front
Blue Plus
UVL Aquablue 75-25
Blue Plus
Aquablue Special
Rear

It looks like the 75-25 has been discontinued. Can anyone recommend a replacement for the 75-25? Looking at the last couple of posts, possibly the Coral Plus, that was one bulb recommended by Reefgeek, the other was KZ New Gen 14k.

Maybe even go with the

Blue+
Coral+
Blue+
Coral+

Any comments would be greatly appreciated!

Jason

Yeah, there is no bulb just like the UVL 75-25.
The UVL Actinic White is a little similar, I would think.
The KZ New generation is a great bulb.
Also the ATI Coral Plus is great!!! I personally prefer the KZ new gen.

I would try this first:

Front
Blue Plus
KZ New Generation
Blue Plus
Aquablue Special
Rear

Hope you can find the solution.

Grandis.

 

[Nanook]

Standard 120g tank, SPS corals. I have an 8-bulb 4 foot fixture and looking for some recs for lighting the tank. Thanks

 

[A. Grandis]

Standard 120g tank, SPS corals. I have an 8-bulb 4 foot fixture and looking for some recs for lighting the tank. Thanks

Hey Dave,

My general suggestion goes to something like this:

----BACK----
ATI Blue +
ATI Coral +
ATI Blue +
ATI Blue +
ATI Blue +
ATI Blue +
ATI Coral +
ATI Blue+
----FRONT----

Generally speaking, this will give you a nice color and still good growth by what many have noticed. This is a combo that brings a light easy to the eyes and a gentle touch with colors.

As you know this subject is huge wide and you should do a deep research if this is the first time you're dealing with T5s.
Good luck!
Grandis.

 

[Nanook]

My first time with T5's. My main concern is coloration of the corals and growth. The tank is in the back part of the basement, so color to my eyes doesn't matter.

 

[Nanook]

BTW, thanks for answering