The T5 Q&a Thread - split

[solareclisped]

I am going to go back to t5s and am going to get an ATI 8 bulb fixture. What is a good bulb combo for a nice blueish look that will cause good growth for mainly zoas and acans. I also have some chalices and birdsnests and the like.

 

[Mark426]

5 blue+, 2 coral +, 1 purple+ will give you a 18-2w20k look and high PAR.
Might want to order an actinic or two and try one or two in any of the other lamps slots and see how that looks to you.as well. I am not crazy about actinic but in a zoa tank they can really make them pop. Lower PAR, but that may not matter in your mainly softie tank.

 

[mhucasey]

Question for T5s gurus :
Witch bulbs is better as far as PAR, color, effect on SPS and so on:
1. ATI Coral+
2. KZ GEN 2
3. Giesmann -AquaBlue Coral
4. Giesmann- Azure

group 2:

1.ATI Blue +
2. KZ Super Blue
3. Giesmann Actinic Blue

Basically this is most popular and whats available for US reefers.

I think that the ATI Blue+ and Coral+ are the best of the bunch for long term performance.

 

[MSHUR]

Matt
Most likely you right, but have you try KZ bulbs? From my search i see everyone really loves them. Except they cost more .

mike

 

[HippieSmell]

Will 60" fixtures cover a 78" long tank, 6" off the water?

 

[mhucasey]

Matt
Most likely you right, but have you try KZ bulbs? From my search i see everyone really loves them. Except they cost more .

mike

I have tried them all- the KZ Fiji purple is the best purple bulb in my opinion- but I measured big par drop offs in several new gen and superblue bulbs that I had been using for around 8 months. Same thing with Giesemann. All the ATI bulbs had remarkably consistent and high par no matter how old they were.

 

[mhucasey]

Will 60" fixtures cover a 78" long tank, 6" off the water?

Not if you want anything to grow at the ends that aren't covered. The light spread will cover maybe 6" beyond the fixture on each end, then PAR drops to almost nothing.

 

[HippieSmell]

Not if you want anything to grow at the ends that aren't covered. The light spread will cover maybe 6" beyond the fixture on each end, then PAR drops to almost nothing.

Thanks. I don't think anything will be that close to the sides of the tank, but i don't want it to look obviously darker, either. Will it still look lit to the eye?

 

[MSHUR]

I have tried them all- the KZ Fiji purple is the best purple bulb in my opinion- but I measured big par drop offs in several new gen and superblue bulbs that I had been using for around 8 months. Same thing with Giesemann. All the ATI bulbs had remarkably consistent and high par no matter how old they were.

Hm.. interesting. Thats good to know. Assuming you were running them of ATI ballasts?. Wonder why PAR would drop if both bulbs made in the same factory..

 

[kc350twin]

The T5 Q&a Thread - split

Opinions on my bulb combo please. I have a custom 12 bulb ATI PM. I have it wired that 4 bulbs are one channel and 8 the other channel. I also have two 24" Reefbrites on the outside.

B+
AB special
B+
Actinic
C+
B+
B+
C+
Actinic
B+
AB special
B+

Just added the AB specials
And I like them a lot. They added a whiter look to the tank and made it livelier. I just now wonder if there's a better combo.






Kc3

 

[Bpb]

If it were me...I would actually swap the POSITION of the ABS and C+, and actually swap out the ABS for Giesemann Tropics. They'll warm up the tank just a hair more as well color wise. I use one in my 8 bulb combo and it's just a hair too blue still, but 2 would be overpowering. 2 on a 12 bulb would be perfect to me anyway. I think the rest is just as it should be


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[MSHUR]

The T5 Q&a Thread - split

Here is what i am thinking for my 10 bulbs PS Diuna.
Tank is72-36-24, predominantly SPS i say 95%. In the front i have some acans and some other LPS

Front to back

KZ Super Blue
Giesmann Azure. 17k bulb
Kz Super Blue
KZ new gen
KZ Fiji P
KZ Super Blue
KZ New Gen
KZ Super blue
KZ New Gen
KZ Super Blue
ATI Coral +

Reason i add C+ on the end is to bring a little of red spectrum since in the front i have FP

What you guys think?


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[itz frank]

I have a LEDZeal S300 and 3x54watt over my tank now. Tank is about 26" tall and 5ft wide.

I currently run B+ LED C+ B+. The T5 has a 4th T5 but it doesn't fit in the canopy no matter what I do. With current Wattage, I could run 2x54 and 1x80 in the front.

My question is, what bulb combo would you run on this and would you do a 80watt in front? I run my t5s for 5 hours a day in the middle of my lighting cycle.

Here's a photo. I didn't edit the photo at all and it was taken with an iPhone with poor white balance.

 

[itz frank]

I have a LEDZeal S300 and 3x54watt over my tank now. Tank is about 26" tall and 5ft wide.

I currently run B+ LED C+ B+. The T5 has a 4th T5 but it doesn't fit in the canopy no matter what I do. With current Wattage, I could run 2x54 and 1x80 in the front.

My question is, what bulb combo would you run on this and would you do a 80watt in front? I run my t5s for 5 hours a day in the middle of my lighting cycle.

Here's a photo. I didn't edit the photo at all and it was taken with an iPhone with poor white balance.

bump.

 

[Bpb]

If it were me I would definitely add the 1x80 watt. No reason not to. I would continue using the 2 blue+ bulbs but instead of the coral+, I would use a Giesemann Tropic 6500k. It's very white but you can dial in the blue LEDs to compensate. It'll be a lot more effective at whitening up the color than the white LEDs will be. But if you like the windex water look you could instead do 2 blue+ and a true actinic bulb to fill in the 400-430 nm gap and deepen the color a bit


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[itz frank]

If it were me I would definitely add the 1x80 watt. No reason not to. I would continue using the 2 blue+ bulbs but instead of the coral+, I would use a Giesemann Tropic 6500k. It's very white but you can dial in the blue LEDs to compensate. It'll be a lot more effective at whitening up the color than the white LEDs will be. But if you like the windex water look you could instead do 2 blue+ and a true actinic bulb to fill in the 400-430 nm gap and deepen the color a bit


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Ok. That photo gives it more of a blue look because of no white balance. Here's a better photo for color example. But if what you said rings true and still feel that way... the 80w would probably be in the front of the tank. b+ tropic b+ combo?

 

[Bpb]

Yep that's exactly what I'm thinking.


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[rogergolf66]

Little help with bulb placement in the fixture.

I have a 240 gal tank. Current lighting is

4 kessile 360we in front tilted to back/middle of the tank
Then a 72 inch reefbrite 50/50 then a 6x80w Ati
Then behind that another reefbrite 50/50

I think my bulbs will be...

1 purple plus
1 aqua lie special
4 blue plus
I plan on one purple and blue plus on the 2 bulb socket. So what should the order be? Will the order make a difference?

Or r there better bulbs out there now a days?
Roger

 

[sittnon18s]

I'm running a 6x24 dimmable sunpower on my jbj 30g rl and was wondering how high to hang the light. It is a mixed tank 15" from water to sand. Thanks

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[Bpb]

8-12" is a good spot if you can handle the light spread


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