bigmatt1992
New member
with the bulbs i have now its equal antic to 10k 4,4 each . witch is fine but i was wondering the more antic you go does it effect your coral.and do you guys have any suggestions
want a bluer look to the tank
- Thread starter bigmatt1992
- Start date
well you can get bulbs that are a higher k that will give a bluer tank... i use mhs though with no actinic support so you need to talk to someone else about that... the one thing i do extra though is i run 6 led pendants... i bought them at home depot 40 for a three pack of pendants... i use them so my light cycle goes from dawn to high noon to dusk... i want to add some t5s to make this cycle more fluid
Tswifty
New member
Post here to get a recommended bulb layout. Be sure to post your unit as far as the number of bulbs, what you're keeping, and the look you want. (The Grim Reefer) is the person who's response you want.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=14418490#post14418490
My guess is that you're going to get back a mix of ATI and UV Lighting bulbs. ATI for color... UV Lighting for growth/PAR.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=14418490#post14418490
My guess is that you're going to get back a mix of ATI and UV Lighting bulbs. ATI for color... UV Lighting for growth/PAR.
Matt,
It all depends on what corals you have and plan on having. 10K's are probably the best for coral growth. The more towards the actinic side you go the better your corals look to your eyes. That doesn't mean that your corals actually have more color and over time they will probably lose color without the proper level of par.
Now lower light corals and/or zoas could do well under more actinic bulbs but it not because of the coloration it's just because they don't need the higher PAR levels of say SPS's.
Unless you can't stand the lighting I'd say your pretty good where you're at.
You're running T-5's right? I haven't run mine for a couple of years but I ran 4 11k's and 2 actinics and was pretty happy, although I think that VHO's probably have the best actinic. And the range of MH's available can suit almost anyone.
Kevin
It all depends on what corals you have and plan on having. 10K's are probably the best for coral growth. The more towards the actinic side you go the better your corals look to your eyes. That doesn't mean that your corals actually have more color and over time they will probably lose color without the proper level of par.
Now lower light corals and/or zoas could do well under more actinic bulbs but it not because of the coloration it's just because they don't need the higher PAR levels of say SPS's.
Unless you can't stand the lighting I'd say your pretty good where you're at.
You're running T-5's right? I haven't run mine for a couple of years but I ran 4 11k's and 2 actinics and was pretty happy, although I think that VHO's probably have the best actinic. And the range of MH's available can suit almost anyone.
Kevin
Tswifty
New member
eh... T5's will grow just fine. The benefit with T5's is being able to tweak the spectrum to what you like without completing washing out all your growth. Basically getting a great combination of growth and color. Something I have had trouble replicating with Metal Hallides.
On my 90g (24" deep tank) I ran:
- - - - FRONT - - - -
Geisemann Actinic Plus
UV Lighting 75/25
UV Lighting Aquasun
Geisemann Actinic Plus
Geisemann Aquablue Plus
UV Lighting Super Actinic
- - - - BACK - - - -
Here were the PAR readings... the T5's were 8" off the water:
Back of the tank:
Middle of the tank:
Front of the tank:
On my 90g (24" deep tank) I ran:
- - - - FRONT - - - -
Geisemann Actinic Plus
UV Lighting 75/25
UV Lighting Aquasun
Geisemann Actinic Plus
Geisemann Aquablue Plus
UV Lighting Super Actinic
- - - - BACK - - - -
Here were the PAR readings... the T5's were 8" off the water:
Back of the tank:
Middle of the tank:
Front of the tank:
cloakerpoked
New member
TJ, do you know somebody with a PAR meter, or do you have one yourself?
bigmatt1992
New member
i have a 8 bulb t5
bigmatt1992
New member
this is what he sugested anyone know were i can get these bulbs
Originally posted by bigmatt1992
need some help with bulb layouts i have a 8 bulb t5 tek setup with indivdule reflectors i plan on keeping sps lps and softies i want the tank to be bluer i curntly have 4 antic and 4 10k any sugestions
thanks matt
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Front
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Actinic Blue
ATI Pro Color
ATI Blue Plus
GE 6500K Daylight
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Actinic blue
ATI Blue Plus
Originally posted by bigmatt1992
need some help with bulb layouts i have a 8 bulb t5 tek setup with indivdule reflectors i plan on keeping sps lps and softies i want the tank to be bluer i curntly have 4 antic and 4 10k any sugestions
thanks matt
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Front
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Actinic Blue
ATI Pro Color
ATI Blue Plus
GE 6500K Daylight
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Actinic blue
ATI Blue Plus
Tswifty
New member
ATI bulbs are hard to come by. You will need to order them online. Reefgeek stocks just about every bulb from every manufacturer.
Reefgeek T5 bulbs
Salty Critter stocks UV Lighting and Geisemann... plus since they are so close... you usually get them next day (as long as you put your order in before they send out their shipments that day).
Salty Critter T5 bulbs
Reefgeek T5 bulbs
Salty Critter stocks UV Lighting and Geisemann... plus since they are so close... you usually get them next day (as long as you put your order in before they send out their shipments that day).
Salty Critter T5 bulbs
Tswifty
New member
ReefGeek
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Pro Color
GE 6500K
ATI Actinic Blue (True Actinic)
You may want to get clarification on the "ATI Actinic Blue" bulb, and make sure he wasn't talking about the "ATI Aquablue." Also... make sure he was talking about "General Electric" and not "Geisemann" for the 6500K bulb.
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Pro Color
GE 6500K
ATI Actinic Blue (True Actinic)
You may want to get clarification on the "ATI Actinic Blue" bulb, and make sure he wasn't talking about the "ATI Aquablue." Also... make sure he was talking about "General Electric" and not "Geisemann" for the 6500K bulb.
superstein61
New member
Here is a good summary of T5 bulbs, etc - including some info from Grim Reefer as to par measurements, recommendations, etc
Click me
As to buying bulbs, Reefkgeek is probably the best - great service and packaging. Drs Foster Smith does have UVL in now and they were recently on sale. However my first order of bulbs from them arrived broken. They replaced them no problem (but they pack no where as well as Reefgeek does)
Click me
As to buying bulbs, Reefkgeek is probably the best - great service and packaging. Drs Foster Smith does have UVL in now and they were recently on sale. However my first order of bulbs from them arrived broken. They replaced them no problem (but they pack no where as well as Reefgeek does)
Tswifty
New member
That tank was torn down when I moved back to PA... so I have about 6 months worth of growth shots under T5's. I tried to only include pics that reflect the growth under the T5's, as I switched to Metal Halide lighting once I tore down the tank. I apologize for all the random sizes of the pics, and the various angles... but I think you can get an idea of the progression.
Pink Birdsnest from Ray
May 29, 2007
August 10, 2007
September 20, 2007
November 8, 2007
Bali Green Slimer from Ray
May 29, 2007
August 10, 2007
October 2, 2007
November 25, 2007
