Which Reefbrite to supplement my T5 bulbs?

[lastlight]

Hello,

Been a while since I was on Reef Central. Search no longer works for me! There are likely many related threads but without the search it's easier to just ask.

My tank is 84x24x24 and is currently lit with 8 rows of T5. A mix of mostly About half Blue+ and a mix of Coral+ and actinic. I'd like my corals to fluoresce some. My tank looks very bright but I'd like some pop. Budget is really a concern for me at this time.

I've been looking at the Lumilite actinic blue (not pro) fixtures and was thinking of getting 2 x 36" to either mount in the middle (in-between each group of 4 rows of T5), or at the very front angled into the tank. These units are much cheaper than the XHO and don't have the 3W LEDs... will these still provide a noticeable colour boost or am I wasting my money? Open to suggestions on placement and fixture selection thanks!

 

[moondoggy4]

I would get at least one 6 foot XHO, you can run them for the majority of the time, and use the T-5's for growing. Look for a used one.

 

[mfinn]

I use a pair of XHO's blues on both my T5's fixtures. One is a 8 x 80 watt and the other is a 6 x 24 watt and I use the same length led strips on both fixtures.
When the T5 fixtures are just on the 2 bulb cycle, there is a visible difference, but once the other bulbs kick on ( on both fixtures), the T5's completely wash out any led pop.

 

[lastlight]

Thanks for the input. I've ordered a 72" actinic blue to see how it goes. I currently have all my T5s come on and go off at the same time but I may stagger them to end with fewer bulbs running. That way when I'm actually viewing the tank at night the pop might be visible.

 

[moondoggy4]

I am part of a club and one of the member has about 15 tanks at this office and he grows SPS, all the lights are ATI with dual Blue XHO's.