tek t5 help

[smallreef]

two questions...

I have been working alot over the last year and havent had much time to read whats new with t5's. I have a 36" tek t5, 4 bulb unit. I need to replace the bulbs. I would like a combination that would give off a nice deep blue shade. My tank is looking a little yellow, the bulbs are old and need to go. Any recomendations for what bulbs I should get. I have soft/hard corals + maxima clam

Also, it seems the salt crept has stained the reflectors, doesnt seem to come off with water. Do you think this matters? Is there anything that will shine the reflectors back up?

[smallreef]

looking on reefgeek, there a bunch of different bulbs? I just want a combination that will give a nice deep blue shade but also have the intensity to keep my maxima clam and hard corals going.

39W 12000K Aquablue Special T5 HO
39W Blue Plus T5 HO
39W 3000K Daylight T5 HO Fluorescent
39W 6000K Midday Sun T5 HO Fluorescent
39W 11000K Aquablue Plus T5 HO Fluorescent
39W Actinic Plus T5 HO Fluorescent
39W Pure Actinic 03 T5 HO Fluorescent
39W 10000K AquaSun T5 HO Fluorescent
39W 12000K Actinic White (50/50) T5 HO Fluorescent
39W Super Actinic T5 HO

[Chipsreef]

Maybe...
2---39W 12000K Aquablue Special T5 HO
1---39W Blue Plus T5 HO
1---39W Super Actinic

and im pretty sure but maybe someone else would reply, but I would think the reflectors would lose some efficiency once they get stained possibly time to replace and get a shield or raise the light. ask reefgeek if the tek 2's would fit.

[The Grim Reefer]

I'd try this

Front
Super Actinic
Blue Plus
Aquasun
Blue Plus

[smallreef]

Grim Reefer-


do you think this will be strong enough intensity wise. The tank has been up for several years, soft corals, lps, sps, and maxima clam.

What is the difference between the aqua sun which i believe is 10K, and the 11K and 12K bulbs.

Also regarding the reflectors, do you think there is anything that will remove the salt build up stains, I can't seem to shine them up anymore.

[The Grim Reefer]

The Blue Plus lamps have quite a lot of PAR, The Aquasun has some re in the output which helps bring out pink and red colors better in corals. The 11K is a 60/40 Actinic/daylight mix. I personaly dont like the look you get from them without using a daylight or sun lamp in the mix.

What size tank do you have?

The stains don't really seem to affect the output of the Tek reflectors much. I really couldn't see a difference with the PAR meter.

[smallreef]

The tank is a standard 65 Gallon.

[The Grim Reefer]

I'd prefer 6 lamps if your doing a maxima but as long as you can keep it under the lights should be fine

Arrange the lamps like this

Front
Blue Plus
11K
Super Actinic
Blue Plus

That will put a bit more intenity over the sand for the clam

The 11K jut isn't that much more powerful than the Blue Plus, you might as well get the look you want.

[chem-e]

Grim - Any chance you've done tests on the Aquascience bulbs?

I'm thinking about a couple of aquascience 22000K and either a couple of aquascience 15000K or one aquascience 15000K with an aquascience 5400K.

smallreef - What are you currently using for bulbs? With my current setup, it's a little whiter than I'd like, so if you're looking for something on the bluer side, you might want something with more blue spectrum than the 11000K.

[The Grim Reefer]

The output of the AS lamps PAR wise is not too impresive. The ATI blue Plus had more PAR than any of the AS lamps. I am going to try a different method of reading the PAR this afternoon. The blue Aqua Science lamp had the same amount of PAR as there Aquablue style lamp and was just barely lower than the Special 15000K lamp. I am not sure I trust the results I got so I wanna try it again. I definatly want to take a closer look at the Special lamp.

[smallreef]

Grim Reefer- Thats what I'll try, thanks for the help. Wheres the best place to buy these reefgeek.com?

Also chem-e to answer your question, I am using now, 2 are actnitic +, the other 2 im not sure they are white to the look, but when the actnitic + are off the tank looks quite yellow these days.

[The Grim Reefer]

the geek