T5HO... whatcha think about this bulb selection?

[NeveSSL]

Hey all!

For those of you with T5HO setups (and those who have had in the past), what do you think about this bulb setup?

I'll be running 4 bulbs, and here are my primary candidates:

ATI Blue Plus
UVL Super Actinic
UVL Aquasun
ATI Aquablue

I'm probably also going to get a GE6500k and I thought about getting an ATI ProColor, too, but I may not as the AquaBlue and Aquasun both have a bit of red/orange in them.

What do you guys think? What do you guys use?

Thanks!

Brandon

[crumbletop]

I think that'll be too yellow for a 4 bulb setup with an aquablue and an aquasun/6500K

I'd maybe get an additional blue plus or an actinic and ditch the aquasun so you can get a bit more blue in there.

[NeveSSL]

Ok, thanks Jack. What I will do, then, is order an extra Blue Plus instead of an extra ProColor.

Brandon

[fishdoc11]

I would swap the aquasun for an atinic white. Then you would have the same combo I've been running for year and I'm very happy with it. JMO and I'm sure others know more than I do about it.
Chris

[crumbletop]

Originally posted by fishdoc11
I would swap the aquasun for an atinic white. Then you would have the same combo I've been running for year and I'm very happy with it. JMO and I'm sure others know more than I do about it.
Chris

Sounds reasonable to me. I'm not a big fan of the UVL T5 bulbs -- but the actinic white is a "12K" bulb, I think compared to the aquasun which is "10K". I've not seen an aquasun in action, but if it is a lower kelvin bulb then it would be more yellow. Part of this is definitely a matter of taste. Mine tend towards the blue, though not as blue as others.

[fishdoc11]

The aquasun is very pink and hasn't represented an advantage, at least as far as I could tell, over the atinic white when I used them in VHO setups.
Yes very much a matter of taste. I try to get a good representation of the 420nm spectrum ( a true atinic) for good flourecsence and a good 450nm bulb (a "blue atinic) with a couple of mixed bulbs as well. That gives the look of a good 14K bulb with true atinic supplimentation.
Chris

[DMBillies]

I hate the aquasuns that I recently ordered. I had tried a GE6500K with some luck. It was a very yellow bulb and needed to be heavily supplemented with actinic, but it seemed to pull out a few different colors in some of my corals. The aquasun is VERY pink in color and really seems to overpower the blues a lot more.

I've always thought that having a little bit of output at the redder end of the spectrum would be beneficial for pulling out certain colors, but I've never been able get a balance that I've really liked. In a 4 bulb fixture, I think you're definitely going to come out with a much to yellow/pink look if you try lower K bulbs like that.

[NeveSSL]

Hmmm... maybe I should stay away from the more yellow bulbs then.

I really wish I just knew what would look great to me... I guess we all do, though.

Anyway, I really like the look of the bulbs the critter is running. Personally, I like more of a white color of light, maybe a little on the blue side. I was thinking 10k might be good from the Aquasun (I know its spread out, though... I think thats the average, maybe?). Ultimately... I wish I knew more about lighting... without having to spend a ton of money... Oh well... time to learn now!

What I think I may do is get the following:

2 blue plus, 1 super actinic, 1 aqua blue, 1 aquasun,and 1 actinic white. I think between those, I should be able to find a combo I'm happy with... I hope. I've budgeted for buying two extra bulbs, anyway. I may order 3, though, just so I don't have to later. So if you have any suggestions for a 3rd extra, let me know... especially if its something you'd need should I not like it!

Brian: Is there a particular reason you hated the Aquasuns? You mentioned it seems to overpower the blues... that may be because (according to the T5 Q&A Thread) it has quite a bit of output.

Thank you guys so much for your input. This is helping me a lot.

Brandon

[NeveSSL]

Here we go... I found a picture.

I think this is the color I'm looking for... or something close to it. This is a 120 with 2 150w 10k MHs and PC Actinics. To give credit where it is due, this is dobber99's tank.



Brandon

[gsusfreak]

thats the type of color i like as well.....i like the 10K

[chadfarmer]

i suggest getting a few extra bulbs cant hurt to tweak your color one way or another

[NeveSSL]

Definitely Chad... thats what I'm planning on doing. I could even keep the colors I don't like just in case I loose a bulb, or if someone else in the club needed it... but I don't think there are too many of us with 36" T5s, if any! Maybe Brian... but I think he used 24".

Thanks guys!

Brandon

[meintn]

Hello all, I will be adding to the reefgeek club order and have been reading and trying to decide the best combo til my head has started hurting. I want to put a blue hue to the tank but for it also be white and crisp. I have a 4 x 54W T5 HO light set and am looking for input which to choose for a good bulb list:

Primary
- ATI Sun Pro
- ATI BluePlus
or
- (x2) ATI AquaBlue

Actinic
- (x2) Giesemann Pure Actinic
or
- UVL Super Actinic
- UVL Actinic White


Thanks for the input.

[NeveSSL]

Hmmm... my knowledge is limited, but I'll share what little I have.

You could order maybe one each of the three actinics you mentioned and one each of the primaries you mentioned, then mix and match to see what you want.

I think it would be fun to (and plan on ) trying maybe two blue pluses, a SuperActinic, and an AquaBlue. That would give a nice 12k look methinks.

Ok... someone elses turn. I think I may just be rambling now.

Brandon

[gsusfreak]

brandon, i finally order my lights....and decided to go with 2 12000k actinic white....im gonna try it out as a stand alone setup.....hopefully its the white color i want

[NeveSSL]

I saw some 12ks at EBay today... I think you'll like it.

What did you order? I thought you were going to order with us?



Brandon

[gsusfreak]

i ordered the icecap retrofit

remember i posted in your thread that i was gonna have to go solo becuase i wanted my lights setup before the swap

[NeveSSL]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever. :P

So much for YOUR 9%!

What bulbs did you get specifically? I may have to come check them out before I get mine.

Brandon

[gsusfreak]

i decided to get the 39W 12000K Actinic White (50/50) T5 HO Fluorescent.....if i dont like them, i can still make it on your order....

[rsteagall]

Please make sure you post pictures of the resulting lights you got.

[gsusfreak]

will do

[meintn]

for those interested, I found this information on another site:

PAR readings

ATI

Sun Pro 357 no longer available
Aquablue 336
Blue Plus 311
Actinic 137 no longer available

D&D/Giesemann

Midday 325
Aquablue 324
Actinic Plus 264 (latest version appears to have better output)
Pure Actinic 157

UVL

Aqua sun 345
Actinic White 293
Super Actinic 210

AquaZ

Sun Pro 285
Ocean Pro 323
Blue Pro 266

Helios

Daylight 309
Super Blue 225

Current Sun Paq

Daylight 10K 272
Blue 252

GE Daylight 340
GE 3000K (was slightly higher than the Daylight in a different test)

KZ Coral Light appears to be the same lamp as the ATI Aquabue in color and PAR output
KZ Fiji Purple Looks like a aquablue style lamp with red spectrum added so the hue is slightly purple. PAR output is between an Aquablue and Blue Plus ATI.

Aquascience 15000K Duo appears to be close to Giesemann Aquablue
Aquascience 22000K Blue seems to be very close to the G-Mann Actinic Plus
Aquascience 15000K Special lamp is Ice white and has PAR slightly less than an Aquablue. (Both Aquascience and Giesemann lamps are made by Narva)

[gsusfreak]

......ahhhh, im blind!.....these suckers are bright!!!....i'll snap pics later this weekend when i find my camera

[NeveSSL]

There's a reason they compete with MHs!

Brandon

[jennmac415]

interested in seeing pics of those actinic whites also...