ATI bulbs worth?

big deddy · Aug 13, 2015

My local buddy has 2 ati coral plus, ATI 2 blue plus, and 2 ati actinic bulbs brand new. Also has around 10 rubes that have been used slightly. Would these be worth the $80 asking price? I was considering switching to leds, but a t5 6x54 is pretty powerful light. He pretty much has no use for them right now.

Flashy Fins · Aug 13, 2015

The price is good. Just a matter of whether you really want T5 or LED light. I love my T5 fixture and use ATI bulbs, but considering bulb replacement costs, I can see why so many people switch to LED. Personal preference, really.

hybridazn · Aug 13, 2015

The price is pretty good. Figure new they run about $24 a piece.

Russ265 · Aug 13, 2015

yeah its a good deal

Akida17th · Aug 13, 2015

Running them with a cheap fixture would be pointless though. Go with a more premium fixture if you want optimum par levels.

Russ265 · Aug 13, 2015

Akida17th said:
Running them with a cheap fixture would be pointless though. Go with a more premium fixture if you want optimum par levels.

just curious why. watts are watts right?

sorry ive never run a reef on pure t5

Flashy Fins · Aug 13, 2015

Russ265 said:
just curious why. watts are watts right?

One reason is that some fixtures are built with much better reflectors than others, in terms of how they are angled and whether or not they span the entire unit. I have 3 Aquatic Life brand fixtures, 2 of which I bought new (30" reflectors on 30" fixtures) and 1 of which I bought used (reflectors are only 24" long like the bulbs, even though the unit is 30"). Could be different years of manufacture, or maybe just a difference between models (used one has more bulbs). I bought mine before I knew much about lighting and had not heard all the praise for ATI, which I'm sure is better, but I've been really pleased with the Aquatic Life fixtures. I did switch out the bulbs for ATI because they looked much nicer and made the coral colors pop more.

Russ265 · Aug 13, 2015

tbh i think ati blue+ are crap and wash my tank of it's natural colors.

ill be going gisseman pure actinic in the future.

these are supplemental, as my tank mainly relies on LEDs

hybridazn · Aug 13, 2015

Russ265 said:
just curious why. watts are watts right?

sorry ive never run a reef on pure t5

The difference between a cheap fixture and a more expensive one is night and day. Biggest is the ballast, take for instance a odessey ballast. It will fire and run a ati bulb but it severely under drives it killing its par output and shortening its life. An ati fixture will drive the bulb accordingly, perhaps even over drive a bit but you get max par and the bulb does what it was designed to do with a longer life than the cheaper fixture. Then you have the reflectors, cheaper lights usually run one single large reflector blending all the bulbs together while a better fixture has individual reflectors and gives better results.

Russ265 · Aug 13, 2015

hybridazn said:
The difference between a cheap fixture and a more expensive one is night and day. Biggest is the ballast, take for instance a odessey ballast. It will fire and run a ati bulb but it severely under drives it killing its par output and shortening its life. An ati fixture will drive the bulb accordingly, perhaps even over drive a bit but you get max par and the bulb does what it was designed to do with a longer life than the cheaper fixture. Then you have the reflectors, cheaper lights usually run one single large reflector blending all the bulbs together while a better fixture has individual reflectors and gives better results.

http://www.growwurks.com/sunblaster...flector.aspx?gclid=CIjVh5Gmp8cCFdgPgQodq0INsQ

i couldnt find single strips to fit between my leds. not sure if these are cheap but they do they job. if you have a better recommendation for strip t5 i am all ears.

(sorry op for hijack)

hybridazn · Aug 13, 2015

Russ265 said:
http://www.growwurks.com/sunblaster...flector.aspx?gclid=CIjVh5Gmp8cCFdgPgQodq0INsQ

i couldnt find single strips to fit between my leds. not sure if these are cheap but they do they job. if you have a better recommendation for strip t5 i am all ears.

(sorry op for hijack)

I've seen those on amazon, cant recall a price though. Probably close to what they want.

You could always just use a pair of tin cutters to trim the reflector to fit where you want it.

Flashy Fins · Aug 14, 2015

Russ265 said:
tbh i think ati blue+ are crap and wash my tank of it's natural colors.

ill be going gisseman pure actinic in the future.

Blue + itself is indeed unnatural and washes colors out; the key is to balance it with additional T5 bulbs, like the coral plus and purple plus, so you bring out every shade of the rainbow.

I have seen tanks that use way too many blue + bulbs, and you can't spot a shade of orange or red anywhere in the tank, even when they have red corals. I don't care for that at all and only have 1 of the blue + bulbs in my 4-bulb fixture.

ATI does make an actinic bulb, which is different from the blue + bulb, and I image very comparable to the Giesemann actinic