4 Bulb T5s enough??

[haleyf1024]

My tank is currently running under the AquaticLife fixture and stock light combo. Since it's time to replace bulbs, I (finally) convinced my mother to switch to Giesemann bulbs. The tank is 60" long, 20.5" deep and 110 gals, is the 4 bulb fixture enough? The only coral in the tank consists of zoas, a leather, and a frogspawn (and 3 nems) and everyone is doing well. Upgrading to a 6-8 bulb fixture isn't really an option at this point, so hopefully a good combo of ATI or Gies. is ok. What combo would you suggest? I know the Blue+ and Purple are favorites in the community!

 

[bklynreef123]

For the time being I think you will be fine. You work with what you have. It's good you are upgrading the bulbs. The corals you listed aren't really high light demand corals and should do fine. Keep the parameters nice and enjoy. ATI Coral + are nice with blue plus. I would probably run 3 blue plus and 1coral plus for the most par out of the fixture you have. It might be a little blue for some peoples taste. You can always swap a blue plus for a purple plus. They should be good for about a year based on your use. If there is a splash guard on the fixture between the bulbs and the water keep it in place and keep it free of salt creep. There's significant par loss from a crusty splash guard. If you take it off you'll end up getting salt creep on the bulbs and reflectors. Making the fixture less efficient in the long run. I run 4blue plus and 2 coral plus on my 6bulb. Good luck!

 

[haleyf1024]

Would 1 blue+, 1 purple, 1 coral+ and an actinic be ok? My tank currently runs the actinics at night, and I prefer it compared to no light at all. The light itself does have a splash gaurd, and I actually use glass lids. I know it can lower the par, so we keep them clean!
As weird as it sounds, I like the look of the 10Ks. I'm not a huge fan of blue-tinted light over my tank, to me it looks washed out. I would worry that 2 blue+ would be too blue.

 

[bklynreef123]

The actinic bulb puts out lower par compared to the other bulbs. I understand your dislike for the blue color. Maybe try a GE 6500 t5 bulb they put out a lot of par and are more white looking. The nice thing is you can get a few bulbs now and always get another down the line to experiment with and see how your results are.

 

[haleyf1024]

The actinic is for dusk and overnight, my tank only has 2 hours of no light per day. I want to keep it that way, thus needing the actinic bulb. So the combo I mentioned wouldn't be good?

 

[star fawkes]

Almost any combination of T5 will grow coral so go with the combo that you like the most. For my 8 bulb I have 3 Blue+, 2 Coral+, 2 Actinic, 1 Aquablue special. Watch this video to see how different pairs look.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

The actinic is for dusk and overnight, my tank only has 2 hours of no light per day. I want to keep it that way, thus needing the actinic bulb. So the combo I mentioned wouldn't be good?

Hmm. That's a lot of light for an all day cycle.
I think if I may like some leds for the moon light. A simple stunner strip or even a full flown strip like an orbit. It's thin and narrow.
Then you can pic tubes for growth and have a three step ramp.
Fwiw I'm on a 14 hr light cycle but the blue prob led them ten percent of the light your giving it and looks really good right this second. As it ramps down in a few here my fish do the Spawning dance and the corals are all still out and glowing.

 

[bklynreef123]

A 22 hour light period is completely unnecessary. I would venture to say does more to stress than benefit your fish and corals. Actinic is high in UV I can't see that being a good thing at all. In addition you're going to burn through that actinic bulb 3x faster than normal. I wouldn't run more than a 10-12 hour cycle with ramping up and down but I don't believe your fixture is dimmable. 8-10 should be more then enough. Maybe get some tiny moonlights if you just can't help yourself just my .02