ATI T5 Bulb Combination

[armandoarturo]

Ive been reading all over the forum and cant decide for a good combination of 24" - 4 bulb hybrid Aquatic life fixture.
I wont be having the LED for now... So the four bulbs will do until I earn a couple of more bucks for the LED.

Blue+ seems to be the popular one, so I was thinking about getting at least 2 of them...
What other two bulbs would you recommend me to get?

Thanks a lot!!!

 

[Montiman]

The combo completely depends on your preferences. I would likely do 2 Blue+, 1 Coral+, and 1 True Actinic. I personally might find this a little too white for me but with only 4 bulbs I think you need at least 1 white. Others would call this too blue.

The blue plus is a balanced blue, the coral plus is a balanced white, and the true actinic is good for UV and a bit of color pop.

 

[rtparty]

Loads of variables here but the biggest being your own preference. A good starting point is 2 Blue Plus and 2 Coral Plus. Then you can figure out if anything is missing that you prefer

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Here is good guide from ATI for color and what bulb mix gets there.

Best ATI Bulb Combinations for Your 4 Bulb Fixture - ATI North America

Choosing the right bulb combinations for over your tank can seem like a daunting task. It can be hard to visualize just how each sequence of bulbs will look like in your fixture. While some parts of choosing your bulb colors is personal preference, here’s a general guide to help you select bulbs...

www.atinorthamerica.com

 

[Skynyrd Fish]

I run six blue plus. My tank is packed with large sps. It is blue. I would recommend two or three blue plus and coral plus. Once you get your LED you will more than likely run all blue plus then tune the led for color.

 

[nereefpat]

Coral + and Blue+ combo is great, if you are sticking to ATI.

If you are going with those bulbs, I would recommend buying 3 blue+ and 2 coral+, that way you can see for yourself if you like the look of 2&2 or 3 B+ to 1C+.

 

[Variant]

Front
ATI Blue +
ATI True Actinic
GE Tropic 6.5k
ATI Blue +
Back

Assuming you can group 2 bulbs each, have one Blue + and True Actinic come on before and after all lights on.

Will give you crisp white with slight blue tint during day time and nice pop before and after.

The whiter light helps bring out reds, pinks and blues as well as color rendition on fish.

 

[armandoarturo]

Thanks a lot for all your advice.
Seems like Im gonna have to get 5 bulbs and see what combination works best...
Im gonna get 3 blue plus, 1 coral plus and 1 True actinic
And then sort them to see what looks better.
I might be adding one led orphek bar on may, and that way Ill have more options to play with.
Thanks a lot everyone!! I truly appreciate everything I learn from all you.

 

[SamMule]

You may want to consider an Aquablue Special if you want just a little more white than the coral +. (I have a feeling you will if you add an LED strip)
I'm currently running 3 ATI bulbs with a ReefBrite actinic strip.
Back to front:
Blue plus
Actinic
Aquablue Special
ReefBrite actinic strip.

Looks great with another blue+ in the 4th T5 slot, but it was too much PAR and torching my corals.

I had a coral + in the third spot, but switched to the Aquablue special.
I feel like the red, yellow, and oranges appear much brighter with the Aquablue special in place of the coral +.

With the whiter spectrum, if your tank has an algae problem or brown stuff like diatoms, it will become much more apparent.

Lot of people suggest the purple + to fill that void in the spectrum, but I didn't like the purple hue it gave the tank.

At the end of the day, it all comes down to personal preference, right?
IMO, get 2 or 3 blue+
2 coral+
1 ABS
1 Actinic,
1 purple+

Play with em until you find the spectrum that YOU like.

As far as LED bars go, I don't know the price range on the orphek, but maybe look into the ReefBrite. Another member here did a comparison between the ReefBrite and orphek strips.
Sounds like the ReefBrite was a much better light.

 

[Rmckoy]

I’d do 1 coral plus
1 actinic
And 2 blue plus .

But depends on what you prefer and plan on stocking .

I’ve used blue plus , 10000k and actinic

I currently use coral plus , actinic , blue plus , purple plus

I have 8 bulbs 48”

 

[Bacon505]

I’d do 1 coral plus
1 actinic
And 2 blue plus .

But depends on what you prefer and plan on stocking .

I’ve used blue plus , 10000k and actinic

I currently use coral plus , actinic , blue plus , purple plus

I have 8 bulbs 48”

That setup is not 10k, that’s more 18-20k snd would be very blue. 10-12k would be 1 bluebplus, 2 corals plus and maybe actinic