suggestion on bulbs

[JaxGirl]

I have a T5 fixture with 4 bulbs. It's about time to change them out. I want a more blue look.

All ATI bulbs
Blue Plus
Purple Plus
Aquablue special
Blus Plus (should I do 2 of these?)

Does this sound ok?

 

[fastrd400]

Do you run MH with those T5 bulbs? You have not included any in your list, which willl give you nothing but blue light.

 

[Hiker4twenty]

That lighting combo you have listed will give you a super blue look. If it were me I'd go with (2) ATI Blue Plus, (1) ATI Purple Plus and (1) GE 6500k which will help to balance out the blue and also add good growth.

 

[JaxGirl]

is it the GE Starcoat bulb?

 

[JaxGirl]

Do you run MH with those T5 bulbs? You have not included any in your list, which willl give you nothing but blue light.

No MH bulbs, unfortunately.

 

[fastrd400]

Run a setup like Hiker has suggested. You will really need a daylight inthere to balance it out a bit. If you are want, you can order an ATI daylight in the same Kelvin rating as Dave has suggested.

Also, are you picking up locally, or ordering on-line?

 

[JaxGirl]

I am ordering online. local only carries geissman bulbs. I prefer the ATI bulbs. Does ATI have a bulb close to that rating?

 

[fastrd400]

Ordering from Reefgeek?

 

[Hiker4twenty]

+1 on the Reefgeek.com. They're the best for bulbs. I don't think ATI makes a bulb in the 6500k spectrum or at least Reefgeek doesn't carry them.

 

[Ulta]

IDK what you guys are talking about... the ATI Aquablue special is her daylight bulb (12k) which is white and gives off good PAR.

Also the Blue Plus give off great PAR too.

I would replace the Purple Plus tho, purely personal choice here but I don't like mine... Would rather an Actinic(for best color enhancement) or another daylight bulb(maybe the 6.5k, for best growth and variety).

 

[fastrd400]

IDK what you guys are talking about... the ATI Aquablue special is her daylight bulb (12k) which is white and gives off good PAR.

Also the Blue Plus give off great PAR too.

I would replace the Purple Plus tho, purely personal choice here but I don't like mine... Would rather an Actinic(for best color enhancement) or another daylight bulb(maybe the 6.5k, for best growth and variety).

You are right, the Aquablue Plus is a daylight bulb, 15K.

The purple is a give or take, just personal preferance depending on what corals you have in the tank. Combines with the Actinics, it will show much more red/purple than expected (at least in my tank) until my daylights turn on.

I would think with the addition of a daylight bulb in the 15K range you will achieve the more blueish look you are after.

 

[Hiker4twenty]

You are right, the Aquablue Plus is a daylight bulb, 15K.

I would think with the addition of a daylight bulb in the 15K range you will achieve the more blueish look you are after.

The 15k would definitley help to keep a much more blue look than with the 6500k. So it really depends on personal preference on the actual look you want to achieve.

 

[JaxGirl]

I was going to use aquacave, they have the skimmer I want to buy to replace my current crappy one. I will check out reefgeek though.

Ulta, I was wondering why they were suggesting another daylight bulb. Lol. With my fixture, I cannot turn the bulbs on individually. They all turn on at the same time (it's a wavepoint fixture). Would you still suggest an actinic bulb? If so, I would buy Aquablue special, 2x blue plus, and an actinic bulb?

 

[JaxGirl]

so what bulb is a good 15k bulb? I found a KZ New Generation 14k bulb. Would that be a good one? I know nothing about bulbs. LOL

 

[fastrd400]

The Aquablue Special is a 15K bulb. For some reason I read it thinking it was a Blue Plus. If you order from Reefgeek, let me know, I have a coupon for I believe 5.00 off per bulb that you can have.

 

[JaxGirl]

The Aquablue Special is a 15K bulb. For some reason I read it thinking it was a Blue Plus. If you order from Reefgeek, let me know, I have a coupon for I believe 5.00 off per bulb that you can have.

Haha, I feel special. Thanks for offering the coupon, very nice of you. I will def. let you know if I order through reefgeek. So, should I just stick with 1 aquablue special or get 2 of them?

 

[fastrd400]

They sent it to me after I just ordered bulbs, so I'm not going to use it. What is the current bulb set up you have now?

 

[JaxGirl]

I have the 4 bulbs that came with the fixture, which are 2 daylight bulbs @ 12k and 2 actinics rated at 460.

 

[Ulta]

It would be nice if you could control them because the Actinics really do give a vibrant look all by themselves.

Still they are a nice supplement, making the colors "POP" more. You can especially notice it in greens like Green Star Polyps they turn into a neon green instead of the regular green coloring. It enhances other colors too a bit.

Most of the Bright color coral pics you see in the pics section are taken with actinics on.

Daylights however are more productive in coral growth.

Ideally, I think most reefers rely on Heavy PAR values from Metal Halides (which also give a shimmer) and supplement them with Actinic Bulbs. Which is why you see a lot of Metal Halide / T-5 combo fixtures.
For the same reasons the 50/50 Daylight/Actinic combo is pretty standard with T-5 fixtures.

Outside of that I think its acclimating to your personal taste! =P

 

[Ulta]

The Aquablue Special is a 15K bulb. For some reason I read it thinking it was a Blue Plus. If you order from Reefgeek, let me know, I have a coupon for I believe 5.00 off per bulb that you can have.

Uhhh, Fast

The ATI AquaBlue Special combines the properties of a blue bulb and full spectrum daylight bulb. This unique combination produces a color temperature of approximately 12000K. This is great as a stand alone bulb or in combination with an ATI Blue Plus or an ATI True Actinic 03 BRS Note: The ATI AquaBlue Special is one of the most popular white bulbs. Has just a hint of blue.