Aquatic life T5 hybrid

Drew D.

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Seriously thinking about buying this fixture in the next couple of day and I'm just curious of which ATI lamps to supplement my 2 a360we. How did you all go about deciding which colors to get?
 
Seriously thinking about buying this fixture in the next couple of day and I'm just curious of which ATI lamps to supplement my 2 a360we. How did you all go about deciding which colors to get?

My 48” is coming on wed... cant wait!!! Got 2 g3 xr15 pros and 1 g4 xr15 pro thats gonna mount on fixture and I went with 2 B+ and 2 C+. Gonna see how well it looks... Might even try 2 B+ 1C+ and 1P+... check out my build thread when I get it up
 
Blue Plus and Coral Plus is a very nice color blend for pop and growth!!
 
Seriously thinking about buying this fixture in the next couple of day and I'm just curious of which ATI lamps to supplement my 2 a360we. How did you all go about deciding which colors to get?

Visually speaking, it's best to use a combination of bulbs that produces an overall color you like in the tank. With only 4 bulbs of T5s, you will have less ability to refine that to an exact color you prefer, so I typically recommend staying slightly bluer (versus whiter) on your T5 bulb selection. You can then use your Kessil color control to add in additional white to get the exact color you like. Going the other direction doesn't work very well, i.e. if you have T5 bulbs that are too white, you can't really tune the color to make it bluer looking with your LEDs. The white T5s tend to dominate too much.

Now if you're adding T5s because you want to maximize growth and get full spectrum and don't care as much about visual appeal, consider a couple of ATI blue plus bulbs (or pure actinic) paired with 2 full spectrum bulbs such as 6500K, 10K, or ATI aquablue special. Those are very white bulbs, so if you want a less extreme white bulb, the ATI coral plus bulb is a good alternative that is still full spectrum but less so.

If you tell me what color % you are running on your kessils and prefer, I could give you a better idea of a more specific T5 bulb combination to closely match what you like.

Here are some popular 4 ATI bulb setups in order of deep blue to slightly blue:
  • 2 blue plus and 2 actinic
  • 3 blue plus and 1 actinic
  • 4 blue plus
  • 2 blue plus, 1 actinic, 1 coral plus (or purple plus)
  • 3 blue plus and 1 coral plus (or purple plus)
  • 2 blue plus and 2 coral plus
  • 2 blue plus (or actinic) and 2 6500k / 10k type bulbs --> very white
 
Seriously thinking about buying this fixture in the next couple of day and I'm just curious of which ATI lamps to supplement my 2 a360we. How did you all go about deciding which colors to get?


its mostly a matter of taste unless you are going "full science" on your reef. :D



I have the 48" (I use mine with 2 Radion xr15s) with 3 Blue Plus and 1 Purple Plus......but have 4 actinic bulbs on the way to try another look....ill report back after the switch. :)
 
Visually speaking, it's best to use a combination of bulbs that produces an overall color you like in the tank. With only 4 bulbs of T5s, you will have less ability to refine that to an exact color you prefer, so I typically recommend staying slightly bluer (versus whiter) on your T5 bulb selection. You can then use your Kessil color control to add in additional white to get the exact color you like. Going the other direction doesn't work very well, i.e. if you have T5 bulbs that are too white, you can't really tune the color to make it bluer looking with your LEDs. The white T5s tend to dominate too much.

Now if you're adding T5s because you want to maximize growth and get full spectrum and don't care as much about visual appeal, consider a couple of ATI blue plus bulbs (or pure actinic) paired with 2 full spectrum bulbs such as 6500K, 10K, or ATI aquablue special. Those are very white bulbs, so if you want a less extreme white bulb, the ATI coral plus bulb is a good alternative that is still full spectrum but less so.

If you tell me what color % you are running on your kessils and prefer, I could give you a better idea of a more specific T5 bulb combination to closely match what you like.

Here are some popular 4 ATI bulb setups in order of deep blue to slightly blue:
  • 2 blue plus and 2 actinic
  • 3 blue plus and 1 actinic
  • 4 blue plus
  • 2 blue plus, 1 actinic, 1 coral plus (or purple plus)
  • 3 blue plus and 1 coral plus (or purple plus)
  • 2 blue plus and 2 coral plus
  • 2 blue plus (or actinic) and 2 6500k / 10k type bulbs --> very white
When my lights peak I have my color at 40%. They drop down to 20% around the time I get home so I guess that's my preference as far as the color goes. I'm looking to get some good color out of my coral as well as growth but it just seems like I shouldn't have to dail my color down to 20% for my coral to start looking attractive. Kinda why Im supplementing the T5s. I was thinking maybe specific lamps brought specific colors in coral. I noticed that blue is pretty much the favorite or a must in this fixture but how much more blue would I actually need in my T5s when I have the a360's and I can dail in the blue pretty well just with them? Got some orange, red, and pink in my tank thats not really "popping" to my satisfaction
 
When my lights peak I have my color at 40%. They drop down to 20% around the time I get home so I guess that's my preference as far as the color goes. I'm looking to get some good color out of my coral as well as growth but it just seems like I shouldn't have to dail my color down to 20% for my coral to start looking attractive. Kinda why Im supplementing the T5s. I was thinking maybe specific lamps brought specific colors in coral. I noticed that blue is pretty much the favorite or a must in this fixture but how much more blue would I actually need in my T5s when I have the a360's and I can dail in the blue pretty well just with them? Got some orange, red, and pink in my tank thats not really "popping" to my satisfaction
For someone who likes a deep blue look (which 20% on the kessil color is), you most likely would not like a 6500K, 10k, or aquablue special bulb. I'd recommend trying 2 blue plus, 1 pure actinic, and one purple plus bulb. The purple plus bulb is going to give you a whiter look, but it should help pop your pinks and reds like you are wanting. The actinic and blue plus bulbs blended with it should help keep the whiteness of the bulb toned down for you. Run the blue plus bulbs in the outer slots and the actinic and purple plus in the inner slots.
 
Tidal Gardens has a cool video comparing how the popular T5 bulbs look on corals.

FWIW I am building my own version of this fixture and I ordered a coral plus, actinic, purple plus, and blue plus. I wanted a blue-moderate effect and will use my AP700s to tweak the colors.
 
For someone who likes a deep blue look (which 20% on the kessil color is), you most likely would not like a 6500K, 10k, or aquablue special bulb. I'd recommend trying 2 blue plus, 1 pure actinic, and one purple plus bulb. The purple plus bulb is going to give you a whiter look, but it should help pop your pinks and reds like you are wanting. The actinic and blue plus bulbs blended with it should help keep the whiteness of the bulb toned down for you. Run the blue plus bulbs in the outer slots and the actinic and purple plus in the inner slots.
It's not that I necessarily like the deep blue look the best it's just my coral look the best under deep blue. I'm thinking I'll try 2 blue+, 1 pure actinic, and purple +. I might grab a couple different just to play around with it and see what happens
 
I'm not into the blue look.

Kessils at 60% color
2 Blue+
1 AquaBlue Special
1 Purple+
 
I am running blue plus x 2 , 1 actinic, 1 coral plus. Like this combo so far.
 
I just set up my 48" over my new RSR 525 XL (see build thread in my signature). I will eventually run 3 XR15 G4 Pros (right now I only have one as the other 2 are on my current tank). I chose 2 B+, 1 C+ and 1 P+. I'm running the Radions on a modified AB+ spectrum (AB+ for 8 hours with a 1 hour peak in the middle of the day to about a 14k spectrum), so the C+ adds a bit of white that looks more balanced. I'm running like Daniel Waters suggests with the B+ in the 2 outer slots. I run a similar combination on my existing tank albeit without the aquatic life fixture, and get great growth and color.
 
2x B+ 2x Actinic. I dropped an actinic and went C+, tank was far too white for my liking (though I have A160's, only 30w each). Back to B+ / A, happy again.
 
I went with 2 blue+ and 2 coral + with my radions. I really like it!

AB91A208-08C9-43D1-85F5-8B80180D2DF6.jpeg
 
My 48” is coming on wed... cant wait!!! Got 2 g3 xr15 pros and 1 g4 xr15 pro thats gonna mount on fixture and I went with 2 B+ and 2 C+. Gonna see how well it looks... Might even try 2 B+ 1C+ and 1P+... check out my build thread when I get it up
How'd the combo turn out?
 
How'd the combo turn out?

Exchanged it back to Aquatic Life... They are hooking me up with the white fixture... From my understanding I will have one of thenfirst ones... Totally stoked!!! Cant wait... Just picked up a g4 xr15 pro on Saturday... So just waiting on fixture now!!!
 

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