BEST T5 HO 4 BULB COMBINATION???

[SirFragalot]

I'm almost certain that I have seen this discussed here before but for the life of me, can't find it.

I have a 4 bulb 48" T5 HO fixture over my 55. I know its time to replace the bulbs because its been at least a year and I am starting to put a little more corals and effort into the tank. I would like to know what the best combination is. I am not afraid of a little blue and want the most light penetration I can get. I am currently running the stock 10k and 2 actinics that came with the fixture.

What brand?

What type?

Where to find?

 

[Edwardw771]

Come to MACNA and see them all for your self.

 

[SirFragalot]

Come to MACNA and see them all for your self.

I had planned on going but I will be in SC at that time.

 

[JRWOHLER]

Here are a couple links.

Explanation
http://tfivetesting.googlepages.com/bulbs
Suggestion
http://tfivetesting.googlepages.com/combinatio
Par readings
http://tfivetesting.googlepages.com/par

My personal preference for color/par would be.
Giesemann Pure Actinic, Aquasun, Actinic White, Ice Cap Twilight Blue
If you look here
http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5_Fluorescent/Bulbs/
You can see the spectrums of the lights.
Basically I like the Giesemann Pure Actinic as my actinic bulb.
Aquasun for par at 10K or you could go with the GE daylight 6500 gives good growth.
Actinic White is 12K or you could go with a 14K bulb
Ice Cap Twilight Blue .. I have this as replacement bulb at the moment I have a Coralife 460nm bulb

So you can make a choice on bulbs but my suggestion is Actinic, 10K (or 6.5), 12k or 14K, and blue 460nm.

The reefgeek sight is excellent because you can actually see all the spectrums.
ATI has excellent par values for their bulbs.
The actinic and blue bulb combo gives you great pop. I only have one blue bulb in my 8X54 at the moment but will probably bump it to two with the basic setup I gave you there.
Hope that helps.

 

[JerseyWendy]

It it were my fixture I'd do the following combo (front to back)

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

I'm not saying it's the "best" combo...I'm only saying that's what I would use.

 

[SirFragalot]

It it were my fixture I'd do the following combo (front to back)

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

I'm not saying it's the "best" combo...I'm only saying that's what I would use.

Thanks. Now is that shooting for looks, growth or both?

 

[SirFragalot]

Here are a couple links.

Explanation
http://tfivetesting.googlepages.com/bulbs
Suggestion
http://tfivetesting.googlepages.com/combinatio
Par readings
http://tfivetesting.googlepages.com/par

My personal preference for color/par would be.
Giesemann Pure Actinic, Aquasun, Actinic White, Ice Cap Twilight Blue
If you look here
http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5_Fluorescent/Bulbs/
You can see the spectrums of the lights.
Basically I like the Giesemann Pure Actinic as my actinic bulb.
Aquasun for par at 10K or you could go with the GE daylight 6500 gives good growth.
Actinic White is 12K or you could go with a 14K bulb
Ice Cap Twilight Blue .. I have this as replacement bulb at the moment I have a Coralife 460nm bulb

So you can make a choice on bulbs but my suggestion is Actinic, 10K (or 6.5), 12k or 14K, and blue 460nm.

The reefgeek sight is excellent because you can actually see all the spectrums.
ATI has excellent par values for their bulbs.
The actinic and blue bulb combo gives you great pop. I only have one blue bulb in my 8X54 at the moment but will probably bump it to two with the basic setup I gave you there.
Hope that helps.

Thanks for this reply as well JR. Great info there.

 

[JerseyWendy]

It it were my fixture I'd do the following combo (front to back)

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

I'm not saying it's the "best" combo...I'm only saying that's what I would use.

Thanks. Now is that shooting for looks, growth or both?

Both. For sure. Unless you're an absolute "blue" fanatic.

 

[SirFragalot]

How do the blue plus's look? Will they work well for dusk/dawn?

 

[JRWOHLER]

Those are the equivelent to the 460nm wavelength bulbs like the Ice Cap Twighlight Blue or the Coralife Blue. The actinic bulbs are further into the purple wavelenght.

The answer is yes. Sorry I have mine with my actinic for sunrise/set.

I believe the Aquablue is either 12K or 14K so she is just going with two different bulbs, which is hard to argue with her results. I like the combo of actinic and blue bulb but I bet that it is preference and to a degree corals.
At one point she had
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Actinic 03
ATI Aquablue Spezial
GE 6,500
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Aquablue Spezial
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Blue Plus
teehee...I kept a list as her tank is fab.

 

[mnat]

Not that I am an expert on T5 bulbs, but we did just order new bulbs for our 4 bulb setup through the premium aquatic group buy. After doing some research we decided to go with giesmann bulbs, we ordered two actinic plus bulbs for the color and two midday bulbs for growth. We also bought a fiji purple as a wild card just to see what it looks like. We may swap one of the blues for the purple depending on color.

 

[SirFragalot]

Those are the equivelent to the 460nm wavelength bulbs like the Ice Cap Twighlight Blue or the Coralife Blue. The actinic bulbs are further into the purple wavelenght.

The answer is yes. Sorry I have mine with my actinic for sunrise/set.

I believe the Aquablue is either 12K or 14K so she is just going with two different bulbs, which is hard to argue with her results. I like the combo of actinic and blue bulb but I bet that it is preference and to a degree corals.
At one point she had
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Actinic 03
ATI Aquablue Spezial
GE 6,500
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Aquablue Spezial
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Blue Plus
teehee...I kept a list as her tank is fab.

The Aquablue is 12k. I have just two different ones as well. 2 10k and 2 actinic. Nothing special as they are the ones that came with the fixture from Current.

 

[Audi0s]

I went with an ATI Aquablue special, Fiji purple, geisenmann pure actinic, and a current actinic. I put the current back in because I also ordered another ati aquablue, and it was too white. I love the glow the blue gives. Ill prob replace the current with another geisenmann or ATI soon. Something more quality.