Another T5 Bulb combo question.

[Eder]

Want some opinion on bulbs. Right now we have a 10 bulb ATI fixture with two kessil 360WE. Really not loving the colors I’m pulling from my SPS. I feel some of the bright greens and reds yellow etc are lacking. I’ve attached a picture of my setup as well as my bulb configuration. The numbers on the right help me remember which switch they are on. Not the amount of bulbs, of course.

In storage I have some gesimann 6500K, bulbs some blue plus, actinic bulbs, aquablue special bulbs and a few others. Any help and opinions welcome and appreciated.

 

[blackizzz]

Highly personal, but I'd change out 2 of the actinics to B+.
Your kessils should provide "pop" enough without them.

Might not be related to lighting either, could it be that something is lacking in the trace elements?

 

[Eder]

Highly personal, but I'd change out 2 of the actinics to B+.
Your kessils should provide "pop" enough without them.

Might not be related to lighting either, could it be that something is lacking in the trace elements?

I’m looking for personal opinions. So thanks!

Maybe I am lacking trace elements. But i do dose aquavitro fuel daily. Most of my colors are not struggling at all. Hence why I haven’t blamed aminos or trace elements yet. We’re actually quite happy with most colors except a few like named above.

 

[Bpb]

I concur. I like actinic bulbs but I wouldn’t run 4 of them. You should have plenty of red spectrum in there to develop red chromoproteins, but I’d probably do a different arrangement. If it were MY tank and I had blue LEDs to go with it. I’d do this

Back

Blue+
6500k
Blue+
Purple+
Actinic
Blue+
6500k
Purple+
Actinic
Blue+

Front

This way your spectrum will be more evenly spread out. You have plenty of light outside the blue range to develop a full range of colors, your par will be fantastic. Honestly your current bulb combo shouldn’t be a problem, but if it were me I would change to this layout. I tend to favor a more 12-14k look though for my daytime spectrum. This combo is basically identical to what I currently run just with an extra 6500k and an extra actinic. Mine is an 8 bulb but no LEDs

How are your parameters? Let’s have your most recent full test result. How’s you flow? IMHO those impact color every bit as much as lighting.

I’d look elsewhere for colors honestly.

 

[SDboatguy]

Wow 10 bulbs ... So many options. I'd probably move a few around and add some more B+ and C+. Front to back -B P A B C B C A P B . That has your Actinics as "dawn/dusk". Also having the purple lamp closer to the front should help bringing out some color. You could also mix in a 6500k bulb or another C+ instead of a second P+. There also some non ATI lamps that might mix in well.

 

[SDboatguy]

@Bpb I think that would look really good also.

 

[Eder]

I concur. I like actinic bulbs but I wouldn’t run 4 of them. You should have plenty of red spectrum in there to develop red chromoproteins, but I’d probably do a different arrangement. If it were MY tank and I had blue LEDs to go with it. I’d do this

Back

Blue+
6500k
Blue+
Purple+
Actinic
Blue+
6500k
Purple+
Actinic
Blue+

Front

This way your spectrum will be more evenly spread out. You have plenty of light outside the blue range to develop a full range of colors, your par will be fantastic. Honestly your current bulb combo shouldn’t be a problem, but if it were me I would change to this layout. I tend to favor a more 12-14k look though for my daytime spectrum. This combo is basically identical to what I currently run just with an extra 6500k and an extra actinic. Mine is an 8 bulb but no LEDs

How are your parameters? Let’s have your most recent full test result. How’s you flow? IMHO those impact color every bit as much as lighting.

I’d look elsewhere for colors honestly.

This is a great combo. I think I’m going to try this.

Parameters
Ph 8.01
Salinity 1.026
Calcium 450
Mag 1320
Alk 7.1-7.5 range daily running calcium reactor
Haven’t measured phos of nitrates because I am not having trouble with actual coloration of corals. I feed 3x a day heavy and successfully grow macro algae in the refugium.

Another question regarding the actually movement of bulbs around. I was under the impression that the position of the bulb doesn’t really matter. Does it? As long as it’s in the lineup it should be fine. Correct? Like a member said move coral + to front, would that actually make a difference?

So far I think I like this idea the best.

 

[jda]

6500k should fill in what you are looking for. The daylight really brings out blues, red, yellows and actually colors the corals.

UVL Actinic White is a nice bulb with a pinkish hue that really can bring out some colors as well.

Bulbs in the front will spill outside of the tank more than ones in the middle... assuming that you do not have angled reflectors.

 

[Eder]

6500k should fill in what you are looking for. The daylight really brings out blues, red, yellows and actually colors the corals.

UVL Actinic White is a nice bulb with a pinkish hue that really can bring out some colors as well.

Bulbs in the front will spill outside of the tank more than ones in the middle... assuming that you do not have angled reflectors.

Correct. No angled deflectors. Makes sense!

 

[SDboatguy]

Placement does matter,IMO. Think about the way they blend, if all you blues are together in front your looking thru a" solid block" of color. If you alternate the different lamps they should blend better. As far as using a C+ or P+ up front, it's how you like the look, personally ,I like a B+ then a P+ or C+. After reading MANY pages on this and other forums and playing with my lights I think having a lamp with a bit more red in it up near the front helps the way you see reds in the tank. Correct me if I'm wrong @rtparty

 

[rtparty]

Position definitely matters with what we see and what the corals receive. A bulb at the front isn't doing anything for the corals at the back.

A perfect example is both purple bulbs in the middle currently. Their red light is blasting the middle of the tank. They should be separated so the whole tank benefits from their spectrum.

If I had 10 bulbs I'd probably run 6 Blue, 2 Purple and 2 full daylight. I think @Diesel runs 10 bulbs and his tank looks amazing.

 

[Eder]

Position definitely matters with what we see and what the corals receive. A bulb at the front isn't doing anything for the corals at the back.

A perfect example is both purple bulbs in the middle currently. Their red light is blasting the middle of the tank. They should be separated so the whole tank benefits from their spectrum.

If I had 10 bulbs I'd probably run 6 Blue, 2 Purple and 2 full daylight. I think @Diesel runs 10 bulbs and his tank looks amazing.

Awesome info! Making a lot more sense!!!
So if you did have 10 bulbs in whichborder which you run them?

 

[rtparty]

Awesome info! Making a lot more sense!!!
So if you did have 10 bulbs in whichborder which you run them?

Something like

Blue
Purple
Blue
Daylight
Blue
Blue
Daylight
Blue
Purple
Blue

That will be whiter than you're used to but will help with reflective colors. Look at Big E's SPS tank for a perfect example of reflective coloration. He runs a straight 50:50 mix of ATI Blue Plus and ATI Coral Plus. It's not my favorite look personally but it blends the spectrum super well. On my 120g upgrade I am going to run the 6 bulb T5 unit that came with the tank. I will be going with a more white look than I have in the past with something like 4 Actinic Blue and 2 Aquablue Coral from Giesemann. I'll also grab a Super Purple to try out.

I'm really liking what I'm seeing from others with Gmann bulbs so I'm going to give them a shot.

JMO of course

 

[Eder]

Something like

Blue
Purple
Blue
Daylight
Blue
Blue
Daylight
Blue
Purple
Blue

That will be whiter than you're used to but will help with reflective colors. Look at Big E's SPS tank for a perfect example of reflective coloration. He runs a straight 50:50 mix of ATI Blue Plus and ATI Coral Plus. It's not my favorite look personally but it blends the spectrum super well. On my 120g upgrade I am going to run the 6 bulb T5 unit that came with the tank. I will be going with a more white look than I have in the past with something like 4 Actinic Blue and 2 Aquablue Coral from Giesemann. I'll also grab a Super Purple to try out.

I'm really liking what I'm seeing from others with Gmann bulbs so I'm going to give them a shot.

JMO of course

Daylight = 6500k. Correct? I’ve got some geismann bulbs as well in the closet. I don’t mind if the tank look is whiter than I like as long as I can get some of my bright colors to pop more

 

[rtparty]

Daylight = 6500k. Correct? I’ve got some geismann bulbs as well in the closet. I don’t mind if the tank look is whiter than I like as long as I can get some of my bright colors to pop more

Daylight could be 6500k or ATI Aquablue Special or Giesemann Aquablue Coral. I haven't looked recently but I think Home Depot or Lowe's may carry the GE6500K still. It is/was a great bulb and super cheap.

 

[Bpb]

I think daylight should reflect what hue you like the tank to be. If you like a super blue look then opt for the aqua blue coral or coral+. If you like it a bit whiter then try an aqua blue special or aqua blue azure, if you appreciate a 10-12k shallow water high noon look at 15 feet on the reef, go for the 6500k.

 

[Skynyrd Fish]

What size is your tank? That amount of bulbs is a nuclear reactor.

 

[Eder]

What size is your tank? That amount of bulbs is a nuclear reactor.

Haha. This made me laugh! It’s a 150 but it’s 31” deep hence the amount of light and bulbs.

48x24x31

 

[Eder]

I think daylight should reflect what hue you like the tank to be. If you like a super blue look then opt for the aqua blue coral or coral+. If you like it a bit whiter then try an aqua blue special or aqua blue azure, if you appreciate a 10-12k shallow water high noon look at 15 feet on the reef, go for the 6500k.

Honestly I don’t care so much about what my tank “looks like” as much as I care as hitting the most of the light spectrum I can for coral coloration.

 

[Skynyrd Fish]

It is a good looking tank. You have a lot of choices with your bulbs. The combo of
B+
B+
Purple+
6500K
B+
B+
Is the old school combo that worked great. I ran it for years. I am running;

B+
B+
Coral+
Purple+
B+
B+

And I Like it. I think you May want to move some B+ in the middle. Sounds like your going to be moving bulbs around. Remember your corals will take a while to settle into a light bulb change.