The T5 Q&a Thread - split

[mhucasey]

thanks sahin! the more i think about it i think i might go with 4 b+ and either 3 coral+ or 2 c+ and 1 new gen.
do you guys like the look of the kz new generation?

I like the New Gen quite a bit. To my eye its a lot like a Coral plus but a bit brighter and a bit less red. The bulb puts out very high PAR. When you look at the bulb itself it looks like a grey-white where the coral + looks like lavender to me.

 

[r2odie]

Thanks. So I'd probably be happy with 4 b+ 2c+ 1 new gen?

 

[sahin]

I have an ati 8 bulb and have these bulbs on hand

6 blue plus
2 purple plus
3 coral plus

What combo for best color in an sps tank and in what order?

Front:
ATI Blue+
ATI Blue+
ATI Blue+
ATI Purple+
---LED---
ATI Coral+
ATI Blue+
ATI Purple+
ATI Blue+

If you find that too blue, then go with:

Front:
ATI Blue+
ATI Blue+
ATI Blue+
ATI Coral+
---LED---
ATI Purple+
ATI Blue+
ATI Coral+
ATI Blue+

 

[sahin]

Thanks. So I'd probably be happy with 4 b+ 2c+ 1 new gen?

That would be a nice white appearance. You can replace one of the Coral+ with a Purple+ as well. I always use a Purple+ in any T5 combo.

 

[mhucasey]

That would be a nice white appearance. You can replace one of the Coral+ with a Purple+ as well. I always use a Purple+ in any T5 combo.

+1. Please report back on how you like it

 

[TropTrea]

thanks sahin! the more i think about it i think i might go with 4 b+ and either 3 coral+ or 2 c+ and 1 new gen.
do you guys like the look of the kz new generation?

With the KZ new Generation it is not a mater if any one person likes it or not as for every individual that likes it there is one that will not like it. Personaly I think it falls between a ATI Coral Plus and an ATI Aqua Blue Special on color.

For you tank with seven bulbs my thought would be

Front
ATI Blue Plus or KZ Super Blue
ATI Purple Plus or KZ Fiji Purple
ATI Blue Plus or KZ Super Blue
See note Below
ATI Blue Plus or KZ Super Blue
ATI Purple Plus or KZ Fiji Purple
ATI Blue Plus or KZ Super Blue
Rear

For that middle bulb you want to add the fuller spectrum from the bulbs below. Personal taste will determine which you pick. From the blues to the brightest the selection would be
ATI Coral Plus
KZ New Generation
ATI Aqua Blue Special
KZ Coral Light
GE 6,500K

 

[TropTrea]

I have an ati 8 bulb and have these bulbs on hand

6 blue plus
2 purple plus
3 coral plus

What combo for best color in an sps tank and in what order?

Not knowing what your personal color taste is I'll start with the brightest combo with what your have.

Front
1. Blue Plus
2. Coral Plus
3. Blue Plus
4. Coral Plus
5. Blue Plus
6. Coral Plus
7. Blue Plus
8. Blue Plus
Rear.

If it is to bright for you then swap #4 for either a purple plus or a blue Plus. The purple might make it too pink for some people and if it does for you then use a blue plus here.

 

[Av8bluewater]

Happy to say I've read most of this thread.

120g mixed reef, acropora galore, clams, etc. 8x80w Sunpower.

Current bulb arrangement is as follows:

Front
BuildMyLED Custom Strip (see below)
ATI Blue+
ATI Purple+
ATI Blue+ [dawn dusk]
GE6500k
ATI Blue+
ATI Blue+ [dawn dusk]
ATI Purple+
ATI Blue+
Back

The BML strip is a 2-1 ratio of 450 nm blue and 405 nm violet. When just the strip is running everything glows that nice actinic-y glow, especially greens.

My question pertains to bulb order and the GE6500k. I'm loving what it's doing to my SPS, specifically acropora. They've all colored up with lots of PE and growth has taken off dramatically. Oregon tort is a nice deep blue with purple edges and is showing signs of growth, which is saying a lot for an acro that grows so slow.

That all being said, I'm not totally in love with the color from my LPS, zoanthids and palys etc that live low and in the front of the tank. While the SPS look great with all the bulbs burning, that other stuff looks best during the dawn/dusk period (2 Blue+) I realize I'm probably asking for the best of many worlds here, but I'm wondering if the order / arrangement of bulbs, especially what's nearest the GE6500k would help shut me up some My rock work is such that the acropora are mostly under bulbs 4-5-6, probably more the latter 2. Up front are all the LPS and z/p etc. Picture below to illustrate (badly, sorry) The rock work with the acro are mostly obscured behind the overflow in this profile shot, but trust me they are there. Heh I wanted to show a profile shot to illustrate the arrangement of corals/rocks in relation to the individual bulbs.

I had seen a bulb layout in this thread with the ATI Purple+ immediately on either side of the GE6500k. I don't do that, at least not in adjacent slots. (IIRC this was one of TropTea's layouts?) Would that help any in my situation/specific desire? Secondly, would I perhaps we better off front loading the fixture with Blue+ and even moving the GE back a slot so that it's more over the acro and less over the sandbed stuff? I realize all the bulbs are going to mix thanks to the effectiveness of the ATI reflectors, but would this matter? Also would it matter having a Purple+ directly in front of the GE - would this help "neutralize" the GE's tendency to make red zoas, bleeding apples etc look less red and more brownish...or at least less vibrant red?

I've even been tossing around just going with 1 Purple+ and adding an actinic in the front most position, or 1 purple+ and 1 coral+ (i have a bunch of spares of everything) Possibly something like

Front
BML
Actinic
Blue+
Blue+
Purple+
GE6500k
Blue+
Blue+
Blue+
Front


TIA...sorry for all the "maybe this and that" just curious what the experts here have to say.

How do you like your BML unit? Is it the XB model?
I'm thinking about getting the super actinic or custom mix of 405, 420, 450. with same bulbs you have.
Right now I have
Front
B+
C+
Actinic Dusk
B+
P+
B+ Dusk
C+
B+

 

[TropTrea]

jedimaster1138

Switching the bulbs between having the blue or purple next to the GE will not make a fantastic amount od difference. I have run both combination with the determination being which of bulbs are on during dawn to dusk as the big determination of which a pick.

Looking at your picture your acros are in the rear and your lps are more in front. So what might help is putting the GE further to the back and forgetting the Atinic bulb.

Rear
Blue Plus
Blue Plus
GE 6,500K
Blue Plus
Purple Plus
Blue Plus
Blue Plus
Blue Plus
LED Strip
Front

The other solution could be switching out the GE 6,500K for something slightly bluer

Bluest first
ATI Coral Plus
KZ New Generation
ATI Aqua Blue Special
KZ Coral Light
GE 6,500K
Brightest last

But yes your playing a balance game
more florescence - less reflective colors.
More Reflective Colors = less florescence.
Personal color taste is something only you can determine.

 

[dcmartinpc]

I'm re-setting up a tank to dedicate to LPS, specifically rainbow acans. It is a 35 gallon corner "hex" design. Basically a shorter 60 cube stuck in a corner and 1 of The corners partially chopped off I have a 4 bulb T5 retrofit with standard 2x24 ballasts, not overdriven. Lights are about 6 inches off the water. These are the bulb combos I am contemplating. Need some advice. I am going to play around a little, but I am looking for insight. All ATI bulbs. I have all but the Purple+. Forgot to order it

Thanks in advance!!!
Blue+
Blue+
True Actinic
Blue+

Blue+
Blue+
Purple+
Blue+

Blue+
True Actinic
True Actinic
Blue+


Blue+
Coral+
True Actinic
Blue+

Blue+
Blue+
Coral+
Blue+

Blue+
Purple+
True Actinic
Blue+

 

[TropTrea]

I'm re-setting up a tank to dedicate to LPS, specifically rainbow acans. It is a 35 gallon corner "hex" design. Basically a shorter 60 cube stuck in a corner and 1 of The corners partially chopped off I have a 4 bulb T5 retrofit with standard 2x24 ballasts, not overdriven. Lights are about 6 inches off the water. These are the bulb combos I am contemplating. Need some advice. I am going to play around a little, but I am looking for insight. All ATI bulbs. I have all but the Purple+. Forgot to order it

Thanks in advance!!!
Blue+
Blue+
True Actinic
Blue+

Blue+
Blue+
Purple+
Blue+

Blue+
True Actinic
True Actinic
Blue+


Blue+
Coral+
True Actinic
Blue+

Blue+
Blue+
Coral+
Blue+

Blue+
Purple+
True Actinic
Blue+

There is a key word in your description and that is ACAN's. Acans have the widest range of florescent proteins which generally means that their florescent pigments take up the widest range of wave lengths of any corals. They are also vary, Yes there are some ACANS that wil look great with a strong blue spectrum. But others will look drab under this type of spectrum. All the combos you listed are strong in the blue end.

Forget the Atinics you will have enough atinic light from even just 2 Blue Plus bulbs. The Acans are not low light corals so usung an Atinic Bulb with only a 4 bulb combo could leave you with insufficient total PAR for the Acans. The combos I would consider would be

2 Blue Plus 1 coral Plus 1 Purple Plus
2 Blue Plus and 2 Coral Plus
3 Blue Plus and 1 Coral Plus

 

[jedimaster1138]

How do you like your BML unit? Is it the XB model?
I'm thinking about getting the super actinic or custom mix of 405, 420, 450. with same bulbs you have.
Right now I have
Front
B+
C+
Actinic Dusk
B+
P+
B+ Dusk
C+
B+

I'm very happy with the BML. I would have made my own (I've made a few nano fixtures and just did a refugium light), but it was more soldering than I wanted to undertake these days. The BML is not the XB...I missed those coming out by about a week. I actually thought about canceling the order and re-doing it, but it had already shipped. Anyway my model is a 2:1 ratio of 450nm to 405nm. When just the BML is on the tank GLOWS. It's nuts. Bleeding apple scoly is so bright I could read a book by it Makes me feel better about how much I spent on it. LOL

If you're buying one, a 1:1:1 ratio of 405:420:450 would probably kick butt too. I would say the BML stuff is very high quality and they are good to deal with. It also mounted seamlessly onto the front of the Sunpower. It was easy sauce. I wound up using two angle brackets and a couple washers. Looks like it was meant to be there.

jedimaster1138

Switching the bulbs between having the blue or purple next to the GE will not make a fantastic amount od difference. I have run both combination with the determination being which of bulbs are on during dawn to dusk as the big determination of which a pick.

Looking at your picture your acros are in the rear and your lps are more in front. So what might help is putting the GE further to the back and forgetting the Atinic bulb.

Rear
Blue Plus
Blue Plus
GE 6,500K
Blue Plus
Purple Plus
Blue Plus
Blue Plus
Blue Plus
LED Strip
Front

The other solution could be switching out the GE 6,500K for something slightly bluer

Bluest first
ATI Coral Plus
KZ New Generation
ATI Aqua Blue Special
KZ Coral Light
GE 6,500K
Brightest last

But yes your playing a balance game
more florescence - less reflective colors.
More Reflective Colors = less florescence.
Personal color taste is something only you can determine.

You're correct with that description of my layout. The front of the tank is dominated by the LPS and zoanthids/palythoas. The SPS - and thus the high parts of the rock structure - are in the back half of the tank. Clams are also middle to back too, sorta, the big one in a gully. They certainly aren't up against the front glass. My main complaint was that the up front stuff didn't have that glow and the reddish zoanthids looked more brown than red, but then during dawn dusk (2 Blue+), they glowed from across the room. Conversely, the SPS all looked GREAT under all 8 bulbs - Oregon tort has a nice deep blue, as opposed to when nothing but blue+ bulbs were on it was more turquoise-y blah.

Changing the arrangement, as well as a bulb wound up making me a bit happier. I messed around a few times but have been running this for 2 weeks and I dare say I'm happy now. I seem to found enough of the best of both worlds that I might stop tinkering for a few months and just let the corals grow.

FRONT:
LEDs
1 - Blue+
2 - Blue+
3 - Blue+ (dawn /dusk)
4 - Coral+
5 - GE6500k
6 - Blue+ (dawn /dusk)
7 - Purple+
8 - Blue+

When I first posed this question, the GE was at position 4, which was too far forward for sure looking back now. I moved it to position 5 right away and that helped, but I still wasn't liking the Purple+ up front in position 2. Eventually I had the Purple right in front of the GE in #4, but still wasn't totally happy. Now with the Coral+ there I think I'm in about as sweet of a spot as I can get.

SSC, PL, Oregon Tort, Tri Color are all looking good and growing well.

I think in the future I might ditch the GE for one of your above options there Dennis. Thank you A LOT for posting that list of "white" bulbs in order - you have no idea how useful that is to me. *applause* For now I'm going to stick with the GE just because it's been such a growth monster, (seriously i put that bulb in and things just took off) but come bulb change time, we'll see.

Personal color taste is something only you can determine.

That right there is the key. There really is no right or wrong answer when it comes down to fine tuning the look.

 

[quantim0]

Two quick questions

1. My tank is 48x24x16 and sps/clam only. I currently have an 8 bulb tek with 5 b+, 2 c+, 1 p+. I tested my par and was only getting around 390 in the middle of the tank in the center down to 200 and under at the sides. My rocks only go about halfway up.

Will switching to an 8 bulb ati be too much light? I am really interested in getting better light on the sides. I also don't want to have a tank with a 4 hour main photoperiod, so that's a factor.

2. Assuming you have the same par, does spectrum matter for growth? Does 500 par at 20k do anything different than 500 at 10k?

 

[reefEng10]

Hi guys,

I have a 50g cube mixed reef and just picked up a used 24" 6 bulb ATI PM, that has reefbrite led strips on either side. Looking for nice growth with a relatively blue color, but nothing too silly. I am switching from an AI sol blue where I like to run the blue and royal blue led at 2x the whites.

The reef brites probably complicate the decision a little, as I imagine they will add great pop for dawn/dusk and could even be used on their own.

Is this a good 6 bulk combo given my preference for a 20K ish look:

(Reef brite)
Actinic +
Blue +
Blue+
Coral+
Blue+
Blue +
(Reef brite)

Can I expect good sps growth with this combo ?

 

[TropTrea]

I think in the future I might ditch the GE for one of your above options there Dennis. Thank you A LOT for posting that list of "white" bulbs in order - you have no idea how useful that is to me. *applause* For now I'm going to stick with the GE just because it's been such a growth monster, (seriously i put that bulb in and things just took off) but come bulb change time, we'll see.



That right there is the key. There really is no right or wrong answer when it comes down to fine tuning the look.

An interesting thing is that Sanjay foir year has been considered the expert on MH lighting. To this day he uses 6,500K MH's for the maximum growth on his corals. So I suspect anything else in T-5's would decrease your growth rate. However unless you want to be constantly trimming your corals back optimum growth is secondary to a good color scheme from the corals you have.

 

[tegee]

Quick questions.....

I believe I have a bad ballast in my ATI PM 6 x 24w fixture.

Does anyone know the warranty period on the ballasts? My is just over 2-years old and feel it should not have failed.

Secondly, can I buy an aftermarket ballast online or do I have to buy an ATI ballast?

Many thanks in advance for any help.......

 

[TropTrea]

Quick questions.....

I believe I have a bad ballast in my ATI PM 6 x 24w fixture.

Does anyone know the warranty period on the ballasts? My is just over 2-years old and feel it should not have failed.

Secondly, can I buy an aftermarket ballast online or do I have to buy an ATI ballast?

Many thanks in advance for any help.......

I'm not sure on there Ballast warrantee.

You can get an ATI ballast for around $40.00 but you can get other brands for around $30.00. I would recommend using the ATI ballast though as they seem to give slightly better performance. I had gone through ballasts in 3 years from other brands but the ATI ones I have all are working for 8 plus years.

Before changing the ballast though check the wire connections especially at the sockets and the sockets themselves. These usually go way before the ballast goes.

 

[DragonWarriorPo]

I have a 48x24 tank. It's SPS dominated. How much PAR can I expect to get towards the outside if I buy an ATI 36" 8 bulb? Can I keep SPS towards the outside, past the fixture? Or do I need to buy a 48" fixture and have light spillage towards the sides?

 

[tegee]

I'm not sure on there Ballast warrantee.

You can get an ATI ballast for around $40.00 but you can get other brands for around $30.00. I would recommend using the ATI ballast though as they seem to give slightly better performance. I had gone through ballasts in 3 years from other brands but the ATI ones I have all are working for 8 plus years.

Before changing the ballast though check the wire connections especially at the sockets and the sockets themselves. These usually go way before the ballast goes.

Thanks Dennis,

I think it is the ballast because it is bulbs 2 & 5, which run on the same ballast/plug.

I will check the wiring through......what a pita to take the unit apart. I watch a couple of YouTube videos last night and it does not look easy to work on these fixtures.

Anybody else have any thoughts???

Many thanks again...........

 

[TropTrea]

I have a 48x24 tank. It's SPS dominated. How much PAR can I expect to get towards the outside if I buy an ATI 36" 8 bulb? Can I keep SPS towards the outside, past the fixture? Or do I need to buy a 48" fixture and have light spillage towards the sides?

I'm running a custom 8 bulb 48" fixture. ATI type Reflectors and ATI ballasts. but different fans more powerful than ATI's. The fixture 5" above the surface gives me an average 120 PAR at the Substrate and 240 at 14. above the substrate, and 500 at the surface. Note the top reading of the meter we used was 500 PAR so it could have been even higher.

Moving to a 36" fixture my suspicions would be your rating will be about 72% of what I'm getting with more difference between the edges and the center of the tank but it should not a drastic cut off.