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

[rockmp]

Dylan try this link to RC in the "lighting, filtration & other equipment" thread. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....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!

[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