The T5 Q&a Thread

[jasony816]

What do you guys think is a better 5 bulb combination for sps dominated tank:
3 blue+
1 aquablue/ge65k
1 actinic white/fiji purple

or

2 blue+
2 aquablue
1 actinic white/fiji purple

or

2 blue+
1 aquablue
1 ge65k
1 actinic white/fiji purple

 

[RhetoricUni]

Grim,

(Go Raiders!...... That really hurt me as a bronco fan)

I finally got my ATI 8 bulb PM - Reefgeek did a fantastic job shipping. I purchased these bulbs please advise on best front to back set up. I read this thread for 3 days before buying the bulbs hope I did ok.

5 ATI blue plus
1 6500K GE
1 UVL actinic white
1 UVL 75/25

 

[cpllongjk]

Ok, so I now have a 24" 6 bulb Sunpower running Front to back:
Blue+
Giesemann Pure Actinic
Blue+
Fiji Purple
Blue+
Blue+

I love the colors and combo I have now. I'm thinking of upgrading to the Oceanic Illuminata Aquarium (36x18x21) and trying to see if I can get by with the same light and bulb combo. My tank now is a 20" cube and I can grow anything anywhere. I was wondering if 6" on each side will be really dim? Also, will my chalices and lower light corals still receive enough on those sides because I have to shade them now in my tank. Thanks

Im with him, I need this answered too. Im going to order a new sunpower/powermodule. I am going to buy the Illuminata tank 36x18x21 and dont know whether or not to go with a 36" fixture or 24" fixture. I plan on keeping mostly sps and clams, very few softies.

 

[PogoMonogo]

I have a 90g with 4 blue plus 2 GE 6500k and 2 75.25. Looks awesome. I have a 25 gallon refugium plumbed next to my tank that I am going to convert into a frag tank. I was thinking a 24" tek light, since I have a 48" 8 bulb and I has served me well. The question is bulb combo. I want max growth, but I do want color still. I was thinking 2 6500k GE and 2 ATI blue plus. Opinions? Should I toss Fiji purple or 75.25 in over a 6500k? Thanks in advance.

 

[reddragonette]

I'd change out the stock lamps now

Front
ATI Blue Plus
UVL Actinic White
ATI Blue Plus
GE 6500k Daylight
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Blue Plus

More POP and Better PAR

i apreciate your quick responce. after research i realized i can probably only afford to change out a few of them right now... 2 or 3. i was wondering how you would prioritize? and where would you recomend purchasing them from? i am also curious to know what PAR stands for? and im a little concerned about all those blue plus lights giving me a realy blue almost deep blue tint to my tank, will this happen? right now my stock light are as stated in the first quote alternating
10,000k
420 nm
10,000k
420 nm
10,000k
420nm
thanks again grim

 

[ECU stew]

I am setting up a 72 bow, and I have a 48" 4x54 fixture that came with it. I am thinking 2 blue + and 2 aquablue special but I intend to have mostly lps with some softies and maybe a couple sps up high. I see a lot of people with the fiji purple but most are running it in a 5 bulb setup. Should I change my plan before I order? I plan to order from reef freak so any bulb on there is an option. Thanks

 

[ECU stew]

I am setting up a 72 bow, and I have a 48" 4x54 fixture that came with it. I am thinking 2 blue + and 2 aquablue special but I intend to have mostly lps with some softies and maybe a couple sps up high. I see a lot of people with the fiji purple but most are running it in a 5 bulb setup. Should I change my plan before I order? I plan to order from reef freak so any bulb on there is an option. I want my corals to see the benefits so I'll get used to whatever color I have to.

 

[shaneh]

hey guys I starting to get a headache here thinking of lighting. I'm trying to figure out my lighting for my 180 bow measurements are 30 deep 17 wide at sides 24 wide in middle. Glass tank with two middle braces. . Here is my idea tell me what you think.

(1) lumenacr 3 SE AC reflector 250 in the middle
(1) 72 inch VHO in back super actinic
(6) (5) 24 inch T5 on the sides in place of 250 SE MH

someone told me i will get a spotlight effect with the 250 in the middle.

I love my reef but can't afford a $300 PGE let me know what you think.

Someone suggested (2) 150 DE MH instead of the t5.

What do you guys think

can you suggest a bulb suggestion if i went the T5 route on the sides?

thanks for the help

PS everything else is don I will do a great build thread soon and post it all

 

[shaneh]

Grim:

I saw your post on the 175 bow last page with:
Front
ATI Blue Plus
KZ Fiji Purple
Blue Plus
ATI Aquablue
Blue Plus
Blue Plus

do you think this will be better than a DE 150? I am trying to save watts and get better color. But more save watts 144 vS 150 DE MH. But it will cost me $120 to replace the t5 bulbs on each side of my 175 bow. What is the best choice to save money overall? Watts, and bulb replacement over a 10 year tank

 

[Jason7504]

how do you think this would look?

blue plus
fiji purple
phoenix 14k
UV super actinic
blue plus

i kind of want to try a little bluer route. do you think it would be too blue?

 

[Reefer08]

Hello Grim! Quick question,

Im running 2 36" Ati Blue+ as supplements with my MH. Im using a GLO Ballast 2 x 54w to power the 2 T5's. Do you think this is a good ballast? Im overdriving the bulbs correct?

Would I notice the bulbs brighter if I upgraded my ballast to an Icecap 430?

Thanks for the help!

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Ok, so I now have a 24" 6 bulb Sunpower running Front to back:
Blue+
Giesemann Pure Actinic
Blue+
Fiji Purple
Blue+
Blue+

I love the colors and combo I have now. I'm thinking of upgrading to the Oceanic Illuminata Aquarium (36x18x21) and trying to see if I can get by with the same light and bulb combo. My tank now is a 20" cube and I can grow anything anywhere. I was wondering if 6" on each side will be really dim? Also, will my chalices and lower light corals still receive enough on those sides because I have to shade them now in my tank. Thanks

Wouldn't be dim but you would need to stick with lower light corals at the edges

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Grim,
Awesome thread. I almost hate to ask for help because you have helped so many, but after about 30 minutes of browsing through this thread, my head hurts even more...

I have: 75g, 18 inch tall? Running 4 T5's with IceCap retro kit / 660 ballast / IceCap reflectors / ~ 4 inches above the water. (can't raise the lights due to wood canopy on top of tank)

bulb config is: (front to back)

1 x Giesemann Aqua Blue+ 48" 54 watt
1 x Giesemann Actinic+ 48" 54 Watt
2 x Giesemann Midday 48" 54 Watt

I like the color... it is white with a slight blue, but I just picked up my first corals and the colors don't really "pop" quite like I was hoping. I have a small Acan colony (green and red) and a good size piece of Frogspawn. LPS and softies are all I plan on keeping...

Sticking to the 4 bulb config, what would you do?

1 midday and 3 Actinic Plus

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Hey Grim Thank You for answering my last question so fast.
My last question was if i should use a 8 lamp for a 48x24x24 and of course the answer was yes so my wife has decieded she wants a rimless tank so the new size will be 48x24x21, 104 gallon should i still go with the 8 lamp for a sps and lps tank?
Thanks again for the help

Yep, Still 8 lamps

 

[The Grim Reefer]

I just purchased an 8x54 Icecap retro fit and the bulbs that came with it are a little to white for my liking and i would like it to look more like my 400w 20k xm bulb I have at the momment. Any suggestions? Also where is a good place to get bulbs from? My LFS just carries UVL bulbs and I would like a little more choices then just 3 different bulbs.

Reefgeek.com

I would run 5 ATI Blue Plus, 2 UVL Actinic White and a ATI Aquablue

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Holy cow, reading through all this can give a guy a headache so I will just ask the question. I am starting up a 57 gallon (Oceanic Illuminati) with a 6 bulb Tek T5 Elite light. I want to do pretty much all SPS tank and I want all the colors to pop! Which bulbs would you go with and with that combo what would the color temp look like? I'm thinking I like the 14 to 15k look? Thanks for the info.

4 ATI Blue Plus, 1 ATI Aquablue and a UVL Actinic White. Should look like a bluer 14K Halide with actinics running

 

[The Grim Reefer]

I'm in the process of switching from MH back to T5 and wanted to get some feedback on which fixture to choose. My tank details, 48"x24" footprint, SPS dominated, 21" deep, from water surface to sand bed is 18" max. Tank is minimilistic so most of the corals sit 1/2 down or further as far as depth. I'm going to order a Sfigoli Stealth, but I'm not decided on what number of bulbs to get. All of their fixtures use the same housing, so the physical size of the fixture doesn't change, they just pack in more bulbs or space them apart further depending on how many they want to fit.

The 8x54 fixture is 20" wide, and their 12x54 fixture is also 20". Both will look the same over my tank, I'm just trying to decide if the additional bulbs are just too much or not. Cost doesn't really matter, their stuff is expensive either way. I figured with the 12 bulb I could use more color enhancing lower par bulbs (Fiji purples, actinics) in addition to my array of Blue + and AB Special.

What do our resident T5 gurus think?

Buy an 8 lamp Powermodule and spend a weekend in Vegas with the price difference

Hey, you asked what I would do :mixed:


I'd go 10 lamps and use a couple of actinics in the mix

5 ATI Blue Plus
2 UVL Super Actinics
2 UVL 75/25
1 GE 6500K Daylight

Placed along the lines of

Front
Blue Plus
Super Actinic
75/25
Blue Plus
GE
Blue Plus
Super Actinic
Blue Plus
75/25
Blue Plus

 

[The Grim Reefer]

What do you guys think is a better 5 bulb combination for sps dominated tank:
3 blue+
1 aquablue/ge65k
1 actinic white/fiji purple

or

2 blue+
2 aquablue
1 actinic white/fiji purple

or

2 blue+
1 aquablue
1 ge65k
1 actinic white/fiji purple

top one

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Grim,

(Go Raiders!...... That really hurt me as a bronco fan)

I finally got my ATI 8 bulb PM - Reefgeek did a fantastic job shipping. I purchased these bulbs please advise on best front to back set up. I read this thread for 3 days before buying the bulbs hope I did ok.

5 ATI blue plus
1 6500K GE
1 UVL actinic white
1 UVL 75/25

Sucking up to the teachers doesn't help, doesn't hurt either

Front
Ati Blue Plus
75/25
Blue Plus
GE
Blue Plus
Actinic White
Blue Plus
Blue Plus

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Im with him, I need this answered too. Im going to order a new sunpower/powermodule. I am going to buy the Illuminata tank 36x18x21 and dont know whether or not to go with a 36" fixture or 24" fixture. I plan on keeping mostly sps and clams, very few softies.

If you haven't ordered yet it really depends how you want to stock the tank but generally speaking a shorter fixture looks cool over a tank where you have the fixture hung a bit higher above and allows the light to spread a little better.