ATi 8 bulb T5 selection

olaggie01 · Nov 30, 2017

I like a 14-16k look. Need a recommendation for 8 bulbs. KZ is on sale right now, so thinking either of the following:

ATi:
5 Blue plus
2 Coral plus
1 Purple plus

KZ:
2 Coral Light (10k)
2 Super Blue (20k)
3 Coral Light 2 (14k)
1 Fiji Purple

Bpb · Nov 30, 2017

The kz combo will be pretty white I’m betting, having seen those bulbs before. The ati combo would be about perfect. I think a comparable kz combo would be

5 kz super blue
2 kz new gen coral light 14k
1 kz super purple

juicemanatx · Nov 30, 2017

I use
4 blue Plus
2 coral Plus
1 Purple plus
1 actinic

If you want more white abs is the go to

olaggie01 · Nov 30, 2017

With you guys responding, why didn't I just stay on the ARC board.

Thanks for the input.

Rory, how do you like the actinic? I've never seen much benefit from an T5 Actinic

saltyfilmfolks · Nov 30, 2017

I belive the actinic is mostly visual pleasure. It depends on how far into the blue it goes rather than the 420 and lower. It's the "pop" bulb.

Bpb · Nov 30, 2017

I don’t know....spectrally the Actinic offers a massive amount of wavelengths that just about all bulbs and diodes are deficient in (except maybe 6500k and 10000k halides)

saltyfilmfolks · Nov 30, 2017

Bpb said:
I don’t know....spectrally the Actinic offers a massive amount of wavelengths that just about all bulbs and diodes are deficient in (except maybe 6500k and 10000k halides)

yea
I belive it depends entirely on the led and the tube
MY Ai Sols had little in the actinic range. A 5600k bulb from ati and giesmann has close to none etc.

A. grandis · Nov 30, 2017

olaggie01 said:
I like a 14-16k look. Need a recommendation for 8 bulbs. KZ is on sale right now, so thinking either of the following:

ATi:
5 Blue plus
2 Coral plus
1 Purple plus

KZ:
2 Coral Light (10k)
2 Super Blue (20k)
3 Coral Light 2 (14k)
1 Fiji Purple

I would go with
5 ATI Blue Plus
2 ATI Coral Plus
1 ATI True Actinic

Grandis.

Cjp63 · Nov 30, 2017

Best combo for color and growth is 4 blue plus 2 coral plus and 2 actinic. I have had great results with the above combo.

juicemanatx · Nov 30, 2017

olaggie01 said:
With you guys responding, why didn't I just stay on the ARC board.

Thanks for the input.

Rory, how do you like the actinic? I've never seen much benefit from an T5 Actinic

Based on the research I did, the actinic isn’t very noticeable to the human eye but it’s the only ATI bulb that hits the wavelengths for coral health and growth in its respective range.

juicemanatx · Nov 30, 2017

So for me, I’m just making sure I’m covering all wavelengths for maximum health and growth of my corals.

ksfulk · Nov 30, 2017

I run Giesemann bulbs on my 8 bulb ATI fixture. Front to back I run Actinic Blue, Tropic, True Actinic, Actinic Purple, Actinic Blue, True Actinic, Aquablue Azure (want to swap this out for another Actinic Purple I think), Actinic Blue

A. grandis · Dec 1, 2017

juicemanatx said:
Based on the research I did, the actinic isn’t very noticeable to the human eye but it’s the only ATI bulb that hits the wavelengths for coral health and growth in its respective range.

I've had great things going on after I tried the ATI True Actinic bulb.
Some of the pigments came only with it and was noticeable after like 3 - 6 months of use...
Grandis.

olaggie01 · Dec 2, 2017

If the hybrid Powermodule has LEDs, how important is the actinic T5?

And thanks for the input so far

A. grandis · Dec 2, 2017

olaggie01 said:
If the hybrid Powermodule has LEDs, how important is the actinic T5?

And thanks for the input so far

Very important IMO. I actually think the LED is a waste of space in a T5 fixture when in the middle. Just my personal opinion. The slots are precious to unify the spectrum from the T5 bulb. The LEDs won't have the qualities that any of the best T5s have to offer. Blue Plus, True Actinic and Coral Plus are among the best ATI bulbs we can have in the fixture for corals.
Not even the XHO LEDs are better than some good T5 tubes. Just not the same qualities at all.
Remember: what you see is not what your corals see.
I was looking at my polyps today and was remembering how they were before the True Actinic bulbs. There were absolutely no other changes in the system. It's just amazing. I deeply regret written my first review on the ATI True Actinic bulb. It was the only bad review and I reconsidered to try it and allow some time. Not the best pleasuring bulb to our eyes, but the touch of magic on the spectrum for any cnidarian's system, I would say.
Grandis.

olaggie01 · Dec 3, 2017

Went with 4 B+, 2 CP, 1 TA and 1 P+

juicemanatx · Dec 3, 2017

olaggie01 said:
Went with 4 B+, 2 CP, 1 TA and 1 P+

Did you get rid of the LEDs?

Bpb · Dec 3, 2017

I’m very much enjoying 4 B+, 2 TA, 2 6500k. But that’s probably a touch whiter than you’re wanting to go. The 6500k bulbs are absolutely dominant bulbs that are hard to tame.