Qty Item # Description Manufacturer Color Our Price Line Total Delete
4 ATI1009 24W Blue Plus T5 HO Fluorescent ATI None $18.95 $75.80 Delete
1 ATI1041 24W Pro Color T5 HO Fluorescent ATI None $19.95 $19.95 Delete
2 ATI1001 24W 12000K Aquablue Special T5 HO Fluorescent ATI None $19.95 $39.90 Delete
1 KZ0001 24W Fiji Purple T5 HO Fluorescent Korallen Zucht None $27.95 $27.95 Delete
Subtotal $163.60
*Estimated Shipping: Ground ($9.95) 3 day ($25.95) 2 day ($29.95) 1 day ($44.95) $9.95
Estimated Total $173.55


So that is going to be blue and good growth?

sux when bulbs cost more than the fixture

Here's the underside of my fixture with the bulbs lit... The UVL Aquablue 14,000K 75/25 is on the left side... I agree with Masterbuilder that the Aquablue 75/25 is not terribly bright and IS pink in color when lit, the pic doesn't represent it accurately but DOES represent the other 3 bulbs quite accurately.

I have two of the ULV 75/25's over my tank, and they are in no way "pink", they're way bluer than tye UVL Actnic Whites, but not as blue as the UVL actinics (but they're still pretty damn blue)...that's weird.

now the UVL AquaSun, now that's a pinkish bulb...the people in my reef club call them pepto's.

I just upgraded my 15g to a 20H, here's the pics. Same light fixture and bulb combo.







EDIT (Fixture type and bulb combo):
CurrentUSA Sundial 4x24w
2 x 24W Blue Plus T5 HO Fluorescent by ATI
1 x 24W Super Actinic T5 HO Fluorescent by UV Lighting
1 x 24W Fiji Purple T5 HO Fluorescent by Korallen Zucht

^^^^ Thanks a lot, now I'm feeling undecided again on my bulb combo that I want to use!

I'm going back and forth between your combo and a combo of 2 Aquablue, 1 Blue+, and a Fiji Purple.
I like the blue in your setup, but was concerned that that amount of blue would wash some colors out.
What do you think Travis, do all of your coral colors POP, or are a few colors slightly washed out?
Does it look even a little bit dim because of the amount of blue?

All of the colors that I have do "pop", but I don't have any coral that is yellow so I don't know how the yellows look but greens are amazing.

I don't find the tank dim at all.

That should look the way you wanted...Will be very blue, but corals should really glow.



Hahahaha...might as well accept it. Your gonna have to buy an extra lamp so you can go both ways.

Mark

p.s. So...these T5's save money.............. NOPE

Bah.
I was also thinking about getting 2 Blue+ and one KZ Coral II.
Hmm, now where could I get that from?

Mark, thanks for the recommendations. I talked with Tom at AGE today about my custom cube.

AGE! I hate you now!

Replaced one of the 10K bulbs with an actinic:

So now:
2x Current 24w 460nm actinics
1x Sunpaq 24w 460nm actinic
1x Current 24w 10K

Before:

Lalani,

Like both. Hard to say which one I like most. Sometimes I like a Sunny Day and other times I like Moody Blue. What say you?

Mark

I really hate people that frag up threads .......but, I couldnt resist adding this quote.
Sorry...will refrain from now on.

Easy now. I don't have a price quote yet, may have to look elsewhere.

Mark - Not sure what I think of it yet. I only changed out the bulb yesterday so I'm hoping that some of the blue fades in the next few days.. we'll see then.

wooo Lani I like the additional actinic better. The greens are really grean now and that ric is saying "give me a kiss". My light still isn't here and now I'm thinking like Weetie.

Steve

Watch out, thinkin like me today might get you in trouble!

Check out this dude who was using 6 x ati aquablue specials for a tank full of sps.



linky

Wow! that is an awesome tank!

I would have thought that 6 x aquablue specials would have made a really blue tank..I stand corrected

aquablue special are a 12K bulb. They look white in color with good PAR

yeah, but those colors look kinda washed out...

Just placed my order for my bulbs.
I'm going with a combo of:
2 ATI Blue+
1 KZ Fiji Purple
1 KZ Coral Light II (supposed to have a 14k look)

I'll try to post a pic of how they look over my tank when I get them in.

Im working with a 4x39w Tek fixture and I am looking for a bluer tank. Current specs are

ATI Blue+
ATI BLue SPecial
UVL Aquasun
ATI Blue+

What should I replace the aquasun with? Another blue special or maybe even an actinic <<<blah OR a fiji purple? I would still like to keep a good PAR rating though since I plan to get clams.

Why not replace it with a Fiji Purple?
Check out the pic masterbuilder posted (on the first pg. I think) of that exact combo and see if you like it.
Or you could replace it with a KZ Coral Light II which is supposed to have a 14k look to it.

I am a bit surprised by the fiji purple combo with the blue+'s and special because the colors actually pop out and bring more vibrant colors than the blue+ special combo with only a slight change in PAR rating... I'm speechless Thanks for the quick response wheetie, I'm going to order a fiji bulb friday!

I just switched to T-5's. These are 2 24" 4 bulb fish need it fixtures. Bulbs are 6x's ATI Blue Plus, 1 ATI Pro Color and 1 Fiji Pink.

NICE. ^^^^

That looks good! do you have a before pic?

Looks like a naked clown. Somebody was playing with the red balance

Click to view attachment

if i ever upgrade the biocube stock lighting im going T5-HO woot


lmao

lol pwnt

How often is everyone changing their bulbs? Annually? Every 18 months? Something else?

I'm going to replace mine every 12 months, but I don't really know when output or the spectrum becomes really bad.

I'm debating MH vs. T5HO as a replacement for my aging 220w PC fixture on my 75 gallon. At the moment I'm leaning toward T5HO because it's so darn much cheaper than MH; like half the cost. Less heat, probably no fans (in the open canopy on my tank anyway), wide array of bulb color, etc. all combined to lean me that way. After a lot of reading, the only thing left pulling me back toward MH is the shimmer effect. It's certainly a great look.

The products from HelloLights.com (including this 48" T5HO light for $125) seem to have unanimous approval here at NR and I respect that. That said, there are some other cost effective options out there including this $139 model from FishNeedIt.com. You get what you pay for and I'm guessing a significant amount of the savings is in the ballast. I can replace the bulbs, but I've (recently) learned how big an impact the ballast has on lamp output, at least in the MH world. Does the ballast impact the lumens produced by T5HO bulbs as much as it does MH bulbs? Does anyone have experience with the FishNeedIt light? Thanks.

Travis, the only thing I did was use white balance on my PNS camera. No photoshop though. The naked clown did come out bright for some reason.

I have a new-style 24" 4-bulb fishneedit fixture. It is nice, and does have reflectors that are similar to the hellolights model.

But the fishneedit fixture is actually lacking in the ballast department. They are non name-brand, chinese ballasts from what I can tell. They are also a bit on the loud side- a small hum, I would say. The ballasts used in the hellolights T5's are actually great, and used elsewhere in the hobby.

Price tags aside, the hellolights fixtures are actually a better buy. And they are cheaper.

Great thread! Lots of useful info for us T5'ers. I would just like to add that I think some of the problems people have with the workhorse ballasts is they can run pretty hot in those cheap hoods. I use them to overdrive my bulbs but have them mounted remotely where they barely get warm. Under a hood that does not have active cooling the bulbs can really contribute to them possibly overheating. Active cooling is so important with regard to running fluorescent tubes. It is for this reason that I favor retro fitting T5s because some high end fixtures like the TEK unit do not properly cool the bulbs and ballasts IMO. Many of them also need splash guards because the endcaps are not water proof. I prefer to run my bulbs open for cooling and constant penetration. Splash guards degrade quickly especially on a high flow tank. I believe its easier to wipe down the bulbs once and awhile. I think that retro fitting is the best way to go with T5s because even many of the high end units have their short comings with regard to cooling.

do you know how long the bulbs last if you overdrive them?

Good point Goby. Have you tried buying an assembled light like the Hellolights one above, then disassembling it to retro into a canopy? It doesn't seem that involved and the assembled lights cost significantly less than the retro kits. Go figure.

That's exactly what I did. I stretched the hood from front to back added Icecap water proof endcaps and rewired the ballasts so they could be mounted remotely. If I want I could add individual reflectors but I am afraid I would cook some of my LPS.

Here are some pictures of the unit:



Note: camera exposure was greatly reduced to show bulb config. (from top to bottom; GE 6500K, UVL Superactinic, ATI Aquablue special, ATI Blue Plus):



Cold cathode moonlight:





I am getting 18 months from the GEs and 12 from everything else. The ones shown pictured are around 10 months and they still don't have any sign of darkened ends.

awesome! i am thinking of getting the 24" 2 bulb w/ 660 icecap ballast from reefgeeks. then add 2 more bulbs later when i can afford. that should give me 40w a blub w/ that ballast

Now I see where I got the idea one ballast could drive two bulbs. They're fluorescent bulbs, not MH bulbs. Dooh! So Ima, using an IceCap 660 to drive just those bulbs means they are overdriven, right? And is it safe to assume that using an IceCap 430 would mean they were less overdriven? I think I'm getting the hang of this.

Another thing is registering with me. The fixtures don't come with water tight end caps. Is it safe to assume that those end caps are required for retrofits?

on reefgeek it says the 660 can overdrive up too 4 bulbs at 40w each (for 24" bulbs). i cant find where it says the 430 can do.....

GobyInPeace, I have the HelloLights 24" 4 bulb fixture with the two workhorse ballasts. I have a little computer fan that I was planning to have blow across the ends of the T5 bulbs.
Do you think that would cool them adequately?

it should

I'd try to put one on each side for a push pull config. One fan might be good enough for a 24" length though.




They have to be wired correctly. Contact your Icecap rep for more info. Water proof endcaps are a real good idea if you are running them with-out a splash guard.

Actually the reds look pretty accurate. I think the solid color of the naked clown and the sketchyness of most PS ability for AWB and then trying to adjust most likely threw off the color in the goby. It doesnt look to me like anything was edited to make it look better..the WB looks on and the colors look correct

However, the sandbed is nearly glowing with the yellow coris wrasse looking orange. I don't see how that can happen when 6 of 8 bulbs are ATI blue pluses. I have three ATI blue pluses and one UVL aquasun, and my tank is very blue.