8 Bulb T5 Combination

[HTXReefer]

This question is for those of you that have SPS dominant tanks and run T5s.

What combination of bulbs do you run and why?

I have an 8 bulb 60w Teknik Light
I bought 4 of each ATI:
Coral Plus
Blue Plus
Aqua Blue Special
Actinic
Purple Plus

I am also planning on ordering two SB Reef Actinic bars. I have been in the garage for an hour trying to find the right combination. Pics would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Skynyrd Fish]

Depends on the look you want . A great combo to start with would be:

B+
B+
P+
B+
Coral +
B+
B+

I’m running six blue plus on my tank. This is unfiltered iPad pic. The tank is a lot less blue in real life. I will be adding a p+ and coral+ soon or two orphek bars. Due to getting some shading.

 

[Bpb]

I’d do 4 blue+ 4 coral+ equally staggered. All on for 8 hours. Use blue LEDs for dawn dusk

 

[HTXReefer]

Thank you for the input. Now I need to order the actinic bars.

 

[Velcro]

Thank you for the input. Now I need to order the actinic bars.

Get reef Brite xho bars. Their spread is by far the best.

 

[Midrats]

50/50 Coral+ Blue+

 

[Velcro]

You really can't go wrong to be honest. I would say at least do 50% blue+ and then play with the other 4 bulbs til you like what you see. With XHO blue reefbrites I prefer 50/50 b+ and c+. Just know that as long as you aren't doing something weird like 8 purple plus you're in good shape.

 

[piranhaman00]

4 B , 2C , 2A, I don’t like the purple and aqua blue special is like coral plus V1

 

[Potatohead]

I use six blue, an actinic and a purple, which is not as blue as it sounds. I would say 15k. You could replace one of the blues with a coral if you want it more like 13-14k. The temperature does whiten over time as the bulbs age a bit as well.

 

[ATI North America]

Bulb choice is really personal opinion. For me all those stated above are way to blue for my liking. I am not into the "windex" look like so many newer hobbyists. I prefer the natural look of corals in the ocean at say 20'. With that said many now shoot for the dark tank with glowing corals almost like us old schoolers used to do with moon lights a decade or two ago.

I always use a AquaBlue Special which I feel brightens the tank and makes it look like a reef not a rave party.

To each his own! That is the nice part of it, you can choose what bulbs you want while successfully growing corals.

Here are some suggested popular combinations:

Best ATI Bulb Combinations for Your 8 Bulb Fixture - ATI North America

It’s easy to spend hours deciding which T5 bulbs to use over your tank. It’s challenging to visualize how your combination of bulbs will look in your fixture. While a lot of aquarium lighting is based on personal preference, here’s a general guide to help you select bulbs for your 8 bulb...

www.atinorthamerica.com

Cheers

 

[Reef Tripp]

4b+ 4c+

 

[sfin52]

I would run 3 coral+ 3 blue+ 2 purple+

 

[Privateye]

I do 3 Blue+ and one 10,000k on a 90 gallon mixed reef

 

[sfin52]

Bulb choice is really personal opinion. For me all those stated above are way to blue for my liking. I am not into the "windex" look like so many newer hobbyists. I prefer the natural look of corals in the ocean at say 20'. With that said many now shoot for the dark tank with glowing corals almost like us old schoolers used to do with moon lights a decade or two ago.

I always use a AquaBlue Special which I feel brightens the tank and makes it look like a reef not a rave party.

To each his own! That is the nice part of it, you can choose what bulbs you want while successfully growing corals.

Here are some suggested popular combinations:

Best ATI Bulb Combinations for Your 8 Bulb Fixture - ATI North America

It’s easy to spend hours deciding which T5 bulbs to use over your tank. It’s challenging to visualize how your combination of bulbs will look in your fixture. While a lot of aquarium lighting is based on personal preference, here’s a general guide to help you select bulbs for your 8 bulb...

www.atinorthamerica.com

Cheers

I love it thanks for sharing

 

[ryshark]

4 B , 2C , 2A, I don’t like the purple and aqua blue special is like coral plus V1

Is this the combo you’re currently using? It is exactly what I plan to try next.
I’ve also thought about switching one of those Coral Plus for an aquablue, to get more daylight spectrum. However, I don’t like the white/yellow look so maybe not.
Right now I’m using:
XHO
4x Blue Plus
2x Coral Plus
1x Actinic
1x Purple Plus.

 

[ATI North America]

My personal reef is:
3x Blue Plus
2x AquaBlue Special
2x Coral Plus
1x True Actinic

Granted it is an LED Powermodule, so I have LEDs as well, however they are heavy on the white too.
for reference, my tank (multiple years ago) pictured in this blog:

Acclimating Corals to a New Light - ATI North America

Congrats on your new light! Today, we are going to talk about keeping your corals safe when upgrading your lighting. Typically, people choose to upgrade because they do not have lighting powerful enough to grow the coral they wish to keep. This blog is going to address upgrading to lighting...

www.atinorthamerica.com

 

[Turd Ferguson]

Are you using a coralife fixture ?

I do 3 Blue+ and one 10,000k on a 90 gallon mixed reef

 

[Privateye]

Are you using a coralife fixture ?

No, I haven't had much success with Coralife fixtures to be honest. It's a Wave Point. Their fixtures are pretty good in my experience, but I'm not a big fan of their lamps.

I do also have 2 of those Marineland blue hidden LED strips (on each side in the front). They don't add a ton of light though.

 

[uhupong]

My personal reef is:
3x Blue Plus
2x AquaBlue Special
2x Coral Plus
1x True Actinic

Granted it is an LED Powermodule, so I have LEDs as well, however they are heavy on the white too.
for reference, my tank (multiple years ago) pictured in this blog:

Acclimating Corals to a New Light - ATI North America

Congrats on your new light! Today, we are going to talk about keeping your corals safe when upgrading your lighting. Typically, people choose to upgrade because they do not have lighting powerful enough to grow the coral they wish to keep. This blog is going to address upgrading to lighting...

www.atinorthamerica.com

How much do you depend on LED of your powermodule?

 

[ATI North America]

How much do you depend on LED of your powermodule?

My LEDs are near 100% (they are at 100%, but due to the various color choices not all LEDs are actually at 100%). I rely on total output. Most people in my opinion blame issues on "too much light" when really they are just giving coral too much too fast.