straydum Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 (edited) i'm currently running a diy 4x24w set with single reflectors. back ati blue plus ati purple plus ati actinic ati blue plus font tank depth is only 14" and i keep my fixture less than 3" off the water surface. inhabitants are mainly sps and they seem to do quite well but not extremely well. i have encrusting monti's on the sand bed and no issues so far. any thoughts whether i should change out the actinic for a blue plus to put more par in? i want to be able to support a clam on the bottom but currently i think its not enough light. Edited February 6, 2011 by straydum Quote Link to comment
plainrt Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 i would ati actinics kind of suck.i wish i tested the one i have.......... Quote Link to comment
straydum Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 (edited) the par on actinic is low compared to blue plus. perhaps around 1/3 of it if i'm not wrong. it was around 137 vs 311. but would actinic help for coral growth? it seems like it targets a certain spectrum essential for growth or thats what i thought. if only there was a clear answer if actinic does in fact help/boost growth Edited February 7, 2011 by straydum Quote Link to comment
thadscottmoore Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 (edited) currently been running 3 ati aqua blue specials and 1 KZ fiji purple with a 150 pheonix 14000 mh bulb.. thinking about 2 ATI Blue+, ATI Aquablue Special, and ATI Purple plus and maintain the 14000 MH bulb.... Edited February 7, 2011 by thadscottmoore Quote Link to comment
Zer0 Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 Could anyone do me a favor and post some pictures of their zoanthids under a T5 fixture? I'm looking for a bulb combo that will give my zoanthids the best morph colors possible, while still keeping the entire tank a 14-15k color overall. Also looking at a 24" fixture so yeah.. if anyone could hook me up with some pics, that would be awesome. thanks. Quote Link to comment
problemman Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 (edited) okay i like this combo. where do i find the bulbs at a good price with no bulb handling charge like marine depot does. "2 blue+ and aquablue special and a aquascience 15k...the 15k bulb is a 100% identical spectrum and color of the aquablue. so it will look the same if I had to aquablue" -------------------- Edited February 24, 2011 by problemman Quote Link to comment
AABatteries Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 Does anyone have a 4 bulb set up with: 10000k Coral Wave Reef Wave Super Blue Wave Quote Link to comment
bbkm331 Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 This is a great thread. Does anyone have suggestions for an 18" - 4 bulb combination? This information is why we decided to go T5 but we're now struggling to come up with the ideal bulb configuration. Quote Link to comment
lakshwadeep Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 reefgeek.com has one of the biggest selections for T5 bulbs, and there wasn't any handling charges (at least for four bulbs. For 18", you should look at the UVL bulbs and find UVL-only combinations and/or find which UVL bulbs are equivalent to other brands' models. Quote Link to comment
disaster999 Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 just changed half the bulbs on my fixture and thought ill give a little review on them this is what i was running before front ati blue+ ati blue special ati blue+ kz fiji purple ati blue+ ati blue special ati blue+ back wanted to try something different, i decided to try some other KZ bulbs. this is what im running now front ati blue+ KZ coral color KZ superblue kz fiji purple KZ superblue ati blue special ati blue+ back both these pictures are taken with exactly the same color temp, same tint, same exposure setting and same "black" setting in photoshop. as you can see with the new KZ bulbs, it gave the tank a bluer look keep im mind that i am trying to compare bulbs that are 1 year+ old and fresh bulbs, so this comparison isnt 100% valid. i will another shot of the tank with all new bulbs next month (bulbs are bloody expensive and i dont want to shock the corals with new bulbs all at once) Quote Link to comment
CoralWhisperer Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 This seems to be the "go to" for advice on t5s, and I need some advice before spending money. I just got 2x 2 bulb fixtures, so 4 bulbs total, 48" if that matters. I also have a 15k MH light Ill be using. I like the look of 15k or so, blue but not TOO blue. I have a LFS that stocks ati bulbs. I was thinking 2 blue+,1 aquablu, and 1 purple+ or figi purp(whatever ati calls their purple bulb) or should I just go with 3 blue+ and the purp? Any advice would be greatly appreciated, as the bulbs arent exactly cheap and Id wager not returnable. Oh- the aquablue is much whiter than the blue+, right? I dont wanna be looking at darkness, but nice bright, whitish blue, 15k . . . Thankyou for your time Quote Link to comment
disaster999 Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 2 blue+, 1 blue special and a fiji purple will give you a 12000k look with a bit of purple. if you want a bluer look, 3 blue+ +1 blue special would be better, you can look into the kz coral color instead of the blue special if you want an even bluer look Quote Link to comment
CoralWhisperer Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 thankyou, I really wasnt sure about the purple bulb. Quote Link to comment
eksblenny Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 Here is my tank with 1 Fiji Purple, 1 Purple Plus, 2 ATI Blue Plus. Fiji Purple and Purple Plus are basically identical in terms of color. 2 Quote Link to comment
CoralWhisperer Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 ^^^Looks really nice, a bit too purple for me. Could you take out 1 of the purple bulbs, and/or replace it with either another blue or a white(if you have them) and post a pic? There are just so many choices and combos, makes choosing really difficult. Quote Link to comment
encore Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 am having a 70G display tank, 20" deep. my lights are just 6" away from water level. i have all T5. till today i have been using four bulbs (2 ati blue+ and 2 ati blue special). i was thinking of upgrading it to 6 T5 bulbs. could you recommend me the bulb settings. my current setup is as follows. front ati blue special ati blue+ ati blue+ ati blue special back *now i have 3 ati blue+ and 3 ati blue special. * all my corals are LPS and other types of softies. i have recently got two 2" clams. Appreciate your idea on how to arrange bulbs. Thanks. Quote Link to comment
Weetabix7 Posted March 10, 2011 Author Share Posted March 10, 2011 Just alternate them, starting with a Blue+ in the front. Quote Link to comment
syris1377 Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 Hello everyone! I need some advice I have a 6x 39w ati fixture over my 40g breeder. I mainly keep acan's, rics, and zoas. The current bulb selection I have is: Front ATI B+ ATI B+ ATI Atinic Fiji Purple ATI B+ ATI Atinic Back This has given me a nice bluer color that I was looking for but, I'm not seeing very good growth. It has come that time again to replace the bulbs. What do you recommend for a nice blue color but with growth? Quote Link to comment
Weetabix7 Posted March 29, 2011 Author Share Posted March 29, 2011 Hello everyone! I need some advice I have a 6x 39w ati fixture over my 40g breeder. I mainly keep acan's, rics, and zoas. The current bulb selection I have is:Front ATI B+ ATI B+ ATI Atinic Fiji Purple ATI B+ ATI Atinic Back This has given me a nice bluer color that I was looking for but, I'm not seeing very good growth. It has come that time again to replace the bulbs. What do you recommend for a nice blue color but with growth? Honestly, considering your livestock I would only make one bulb change, and that would be to take one ATI Actinic out and replace it with one ATI Aquablue Spezial. I suspect most ppl would be inclined to tell you to switch out a couple of bulbs BUT The corals you have are not high light corals and under most conditions I would say that a 6 bulb T5HO fixture over them would be too much light. Your strong use of blue/actinic bulbs helps to balance that out. The recomendation I made should give you good results. Quote Link to comment
syris1377 Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 Thanks Weetabix! Ya my fixture is overkill for sure and I have learned the hard way of burning the hell outta my zoas. I now have to have my fixture about 18" off the water! thanks again for the suggestion I will try it out! Honestly, considering your livestock I would only make one bulb change, and that would be to take one ATI Actinic out and replace it with one ATI Aquablue Spezial. I suspect most ppl would be inclined to tell you to switch out a couple of bulbs BUT The corals you have are not high light corals and under most conditions I would say that a 6 bulb T5HO fixture over them would be too much light. Your strong use of blue/actinic bulbs helps to balance that out. The recomendation I made should give you good results. Quote Link to comment
jnelson Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 Gonna be getting a Nova Extreme Pro shortly (6x18W). Thinking of going with UVL bulbs. I was thinking: - 3 UVL Super Actinic - 2 UVL Indigo Sun - 1 UVL Actinic White Definitely want to get that purple tint in there but not really a deep looking purple. Was thinking I should go with 2/2/2 but I'm not sure if the extra white bulb would overpower the purple. I'm running an Aquapod 24G (I believe 18" deep) and am keeping LPS/softies. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment
Weetabix7 Posted March 31, 2011 Author Share Posted March 31, 2011 Gonna be getting a Nova Extreme Pro shortly (6x18W). Thinking of going with UVL bulbs. I was thinking: - 3 UVL Super Actinic - 2 UVL Indigo Sun - 1 UVL Actinic White Definitely want to get that purple tint in there but not really a deep looking purple. Was thinking I should go with 2/2/2 but I'm not sure if the extra white bulb would overpower the purple. I'm running an Aquapod 24G (I believe 18" deep) and am keeping LPS/softies. Thoughts? I honestly think that combo would look really bad and you wouldn't like it. I would do -2 Super Actinic -2 454 Blue -2 Indigo Sun Quote Link to comment
jnelson Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 It looks like the 454 only comes as 12"? Unless I'm missing something, haha. Quote Link to comment
Weetabix7 Posted March 31, 2011 Author Share Posted March 31, 2011 It looks like the 454 only comes as 12"? Unless I'm missing something, haha. Are you sure? Mebbe they're just out of stock. Quote Link to comment
sogreedy23 Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 Are you sure?Mebbe they're just out of stock. Yea they've been out of the 454 18"ers for a bit now and they don't know when they're getting more in Quote Link to comment
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