The T5 Q&a Thread

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Is "Tek not makes..." a typo? Sorry to be a dork but I'm confused.

Also I noticed that the Aquatinics Constellation is pretty pricey compared to some of the others and it doesn't have bulbs. What would be the reason to consider it over the ones that Rod gave me links to? I would think being able to control multiple lights and not all on or all off would be a big plus.

here is the quote from Rod:


BTW, thanks Rod for all the good information to go along with the NOVA. I'm still worried about the 60" on the 72" aquarium. with all the live rock I have I'm worried that the corners will be darker than the picture above. Am I worried about nothing?

Now. Typo

The Aquactinics is spendy but has 3 stage light control which is sweet. The 60" fixtures will do the same job except at the ends and lamp changes are cheaper as well.

ATI Sunpower 6x80 watt would be good too.
 
I was just at my LFS and they cautioned me about the "yellow" of the GMidDay. Per their suggestions I went with 4x Actinic plus and 4x Aquablue. How will a clam, SPS, and zoas handle this lighting? Should I go back and get the GMidDay's?
Thanks in advance for all your help,
B

Another reefer saved by the "genius" of the LFS. :rolleye1:

If you like the look of what they gave you great but I personally think that mix is washed out. If you have any yellow or pink critters in the tank the blue light tends to really make it look dirty. Personally, I'd try at least one midday. With all the blue the only way you are going to see yellow is if you have the midday in the front slot.
 
Another reefer saved by the "genius" of the LFS. :rolleye1:

If you like the look of what they gave you great but I personally think that mix is washed out. If you have any yellow or pink critters in the tank the blue light tends to really make it look dirty. Personally, I'd try at least one midday. With all the blue the only way you are going to see yellow is if you have the midday in the front slot.
thanks so very much, I'll be changing them tomorrow.
 
Hey Grim so what would you get for a good mix for both growth and color for sps?

Aquablue
Blue
Actinic White
Blue
GE Daylight
Blue
Blue
Aquablue
 
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Bulb Recommendations for 48"Lx18"Wx24"H

Bulb Recommendations for 48"Lx18"Wx24"H

Hi Grimm,

I have been looking thru this thread for any possible setups for my type of tank til my eyes crossed so I would sincerely appreciate your grand advice. I currently have a 6x54 retro with an Icecap 660 and my tank inhabitants are and will mostly be LPS (frogspawn/hammers), mushrooms, xenia, zoos, and some leathers. I really like to have a blue tint to my tank. I currently have 14k MH bulbs (borrowed) and like the look but would like a little more blue tint without negatively affecting coral growth. Any suggestions as to what bulb combination to purchase would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for all you do on this thread,
 
Hello!

I started a thread about this but dont seem to get any answers :S..
I am building a new acrylic lighting fixture for my 48" 42gal aquarium... Im thinking about using 4 (48" x 54w) T5 bulbs... Im looking to have some corals and anemones that need some moderate light... I like the 14000k look so if u can suggest around that spectrum...

My question is what bulbs would be best?

What combination should i use? I was thinking about 2 x 14000k bulbs + 2 x pure actintic. But mostly i have found different bulbs like, aquablue, fiji etc...

I dont want to use MH because the space is limited and the bulb will heat up my aquarium...

THANKS!
 
Hi Grimm,

I have been looking thru this thread for any possible setups for my type of tank til my eyes crossed so I would sincerely appreciate your grand advice. I currently have a 6x54 retro with an Icecap 660 and my tank inhabitants are and will mostly be LPS (frogspawn/hammers), mushrooms, xenia, zoos, and some leathers. I really like to have a blue tint to my tank. I currently have 14k MH bulbs (borrowed) and like the look but would like a little more blue tint without negatively affecting coral growth. Any suggestions as to what bulb combination to purchase would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for all you do on this thread,

Front
ATI Blue Plus
UVL Actinic White
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Aquablue
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Blue Plus

Going to be bluer than 14K but not as blue as some 20K's
 
Hello!

I started a thread about this but dont seem to get any answers :S..
I am building a new acrylic lighting fixture for my 48" 42gal aquarium... Im thinking about using 4 (48" x 54w) T5 bulbs... Im looking to have some corals and anemones that need some moderate light... I like the 14000k look so if u can suggest around that spectrum...

My question is what bulbs would be best?

What combination should i use? I was thinking about 2 x 14000k bulbs + 2 x pure actintic. But mostly i have found different bulbs like, aquablue, fiji etc...

I dont want to use MH because the space is limited and the bulb will heat up my aquarium...

THANKS!

Front
ATI Blue Plus
KZ Fiji Purple
ATI Aquablue
ATI Blue Plus

will look nice and have enough PAR to grow about anything you want if you use good reflectors in the fixture
 
Front
ATI Blue Plus
UVL Actinic White
ATI Blue Plus
GE 6500K Daylight
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Blue Plus

What if I swapped one of the ATI Blue Plus bulbs to a KZ Fiji Purple? Would that bring out more color and if so where should I put it? The reason I ask is all of my friends are hyping this bulb saying I should add one.
 
Nope. Go with Aqua Illumination reflectors from Reefgeek.

Reflectors go in this order:

Aqua Illumination
Aquactinics
Ice Cap
Tek

http://home.comcast.net/~stevelarsen00/site/?/home/

I was actally confused about what I had... I have three tek's and just ordered a Aqua Illumination for the 4th. I have two brand new Icep Caps i was going to sell...what should I do here? I will have 4 overdriven T5's on a 8" deep prop tank so maybe it doesnt' too much on the reflectors?
 
I was actally confused about what I had... I have three tek's and just ordered a Aqua Illumination for the 4th. I have two brand new Icep Caps i was going to sell...what should I do here? I will have 4 overdriven T5's on a 8" deep prop tank so maybe it doesnt' too much on the reflectors?

Overdriving on an 8" deep tank is not the greatest of ideas IMO. You will more than likely fry everything that goes in there unless the lights are like 20 inches away. JMO though

I would use the Ice Cap's over the Teks.
 
Fixtures!!

Fixtures!!

Grim,

I havent seen many questions asked about fixtures them self. Are you familiar with the various fixtures out there?

I was told by a LFS that CurrentUSA's fixtures have had NUMEROUS problems recently. Is this true? Or, is it the possiblity that the LFS lost a vendor (i know you dont know that one).

I am looking at a 60" Current USA Outer Orbit 2x150w 10k HQI-MH, 4x54w T5 HO and 18 Lunar lights.

Ideas??

TY
Jason
 
Hey guys,

I currently have a 4 bulb ATI Sunpower fixture with the following bulbs-
blue+
aquablue special
UVL 75/25
blue +

i'll be upgrading to a six bulb ATI Sunpower. I want a lil bluer look. What bulbs do you recommend? Thanks!
 
Hey guys,

I currently have a 4 bulb ATI Sunpower fixture with the following bulbs-
blue+
aquablue special
UVL 75/25
blue +

i'll be upgrading to a six bulb ATI Sunpower. I want a lil bluer look. What bulbs do you recommend? Thanks!


4 Blue Plus, 1 KZ Fiji Purple and 1 GE 6500K. Grab an extra Aquablue to play with also.
 
Thanks Ryan,

What bulb should I replace if I want to try the aquablue? Also, in what order should I put the bulbs?

The GE 6500K. I think that Aquablues wash colors out. The GE helps bring out greens and yellows nicely.

I can't remember the firing order but try:

ATI BP
KZ FP
ATI BP
GE 6500K
ATI BP
ATI BP
 
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