What 4 T5 Light Bulbs Do I Get? The Best Combination for The Greatest Spectrum

[Reefer4ever]

What 4 bulbs are best? Right now I have 2x24w T5HO ATI blue plus and 2x24w T5HO ATI aquablue special bulbs with all four of them being 4 months old. I am looking into changing the lighting combination I currently have. I will post a link at the bottom of this post to reefgeek.com.

What do you all think of the new purple plus bulb? Is it better that the fiji purple or have a better spectrum?

Is there anywhere that has has a red lighted spectrum bulb for yellows, oranges, pinks, and reds?

Here are some of my bulb combinations. Tell me what you think and give your combonations or what you think is the best combo for a 4 bulb fixture. I have heard that mixing and mingling brands is not a problem as long as they are all the same style(T5HO). Brands are ATI, Giesemann(GM), Korallen Zucht(KZ), and UV lighting(UVL).

1. ATI purple plus/ATI pro color/ATI true actinic 03/ATI aquablue special
2. ATI purple plus/ATI true actinic 03/2x ATI aquablue special
3. ATI purple plus/2x ATI aquablue special/GM 11k aquablue plus
4. ATI purple plus/UVL super actinic/ATI blue plus/GM 11k aquablue plus
5. KZ fiji purple/KZ 10k coral life/2x KZ 14k new generation
6. KZ fiji purple/KZ new generation/2x GM 11k aquablue plus
7. ATI purple plus/ATI pro color/2x 75/25 14k aquablue

I am too tired right now to think of some more possibilities so give your current bulb combo and or which bulb combo I should use.


Here is a link to reefgeek.com where I found all of these bulbs.

http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/Replacement_Bulbs/T5_Fluorescent/24_Watt/

Thanks in advance!

[ErikH]

Go search ReefCentral for GrimReefer. He is the T5 guru.

[Reefer4ever]

Thanks. I will see what he has to say.

[ErikH]

Just search his posts, he has posted for every possible type of T5 rig. :)

[Reefer4ever]

It says that his last activity was 6-21-09...

[Reefer4ever]

I have been looking on reef central for grim reefer and did not find anything on him, however I did find The Grim Reefer that seems like a light guru...

[ErikH]

yep

[Reefer4ever]

Ya. I asked him too. Now I just go to bed and find out in the morning if he answered or not.... It would be good to hear the locals here on MAAST to know what you all have and what you all think is the best 4 bulb T5HO combination.....

[ErikH]

Grim is the man, his words are like gold. All you need to do is search his posts for a 4xT5 combo. You'll find the answers you are looking for, you just have to actually look, rather than just post. Alot of this hobby is research, and when people give you gems, you should use them for what they are worth. :) I don't think any MAASTARD could compare in the T5 field to what Grim would have to offer. Just a thought, take it with a grain of salt. :p

[alton]

ATI Aqua Blue Special (love the color)
UVL Super Actinic (420nm)
UVL either 50/50 or actinic white (I can't remember and with wiping the lamps the writing is gone)
Giesemann Actinic + (looks to be in the 460nm range because it is blue)
I have this combination on my 29 and coral growth is good along with I just like the color

[rockmp]

Dylan try this link to RC in the "lighting, filtration & other equipment" thread. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1706461

[FireWater]

Alot of us run t-5 lighting and have done extensive research on different combos. Choice comes down to what you prefer to look at. Alton's combo looks and sounds good. I currently run a 4 bulb combo of Ati Blue+, Uvl Aquasun, and Uvl Actinic White, and an another Blue+. Grim has alot of corporate backing and time to play with lights - something most MAAST folks don't have. I did the reading he produced, talked to a bunch of others running t-5, researched the web, and bought several lights to find combos I liked for my 30g and old 90G.

[Big_Pun]

with all the options of t-5, its going to come down to personal prefrence. are you looking for very fast growth or do you want all the colors to pop from your corals, so keep that in mind as you do research.

[Reefer4ever]

Okay. So I know what I am going to go with. I did some research and found that blue plus dulbs have good PAR as well as giving your corals "POP" in the neon blues, yellows, and greens. It is combined of a blue bulb with a rating 420nanometers(nm) and an actinic bulb with a rating of 460nanometer(nm) to produce an intense PAR and color. Not recommended as a stand-alone bulb but is the most used bulb due to its great color "pop" and great PAR.

I also looked at reviews of the purple plus bulb on forums and online stores and it says that they bring out the purples, reds, and pinks that are lost with only having the spectrum of the blue bulbs. It has the properties of a full spectrum bulb combined with strong red and blue components to produce an excellent return of color. It is not good for a stand-alone bulb but adds good color and while not great, has a decent PAR.

As for the last bulb, I will be using the aquablue special as my daylight bulb. It has a color temperature rating of 15000K and is composed of a full spectrum bulb and an elevated blue color. It has a good PAR reading and is good as a coral growing bulb. It is good as a stand-alone bulb but is better used in a multi-bulb fixture.

Here is the bulb configuration:

Front
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Aquablue Special
ATI Purple Plus
ATI Blue Plus

Tell me what you think of this! :D

[FireWater]

The combo is going to be really blue. If you are able to I would look into purchasing a true daylight bulb along with the Aquablue special.

[Reefer4ever]

How blue are you talking about? I like it kind of blue.I currently have this:

Front
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Aquablue Special
ATI Aquablue Special
ATI Blue Plus

For me its too white and that is why I want to change it to this:

Front
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Aquablue Special
ATI Purple Plus
ATI Blue Plus

[FireWater]

Try it.

You are the one that is looking at the tank so it has to appeal to you. You should have plenty of usable PAR for growth.

[cbianco]

Buy six bulbs and play with them to find the right combination.

3xBlue Plus
1x6500k
1xTrue Actinic (Preferably Giessman)
1xAqua Spezial

JMO

Christopher :)