Bulbs for T5/LED Hybrid

[BigJim]

You may not feel your tank is like Diesel’s... but lol... it’s none too shabby to say the least!!

So you have an extra 2 feet on my tank and use 1 additional Kessil, and go to 90% for 8 hours instead of being between 70% & 80% for 10 hours, and you also give the tank a half hour extra with the T5s. Interesting. I really do need to get my PAR meter back in there and get some measurements during different times in the day.

So if I went two “Blue Plus” equivalents, a Actinic, and a Purple, where do you place them?

Mine are Blue Plus, KZ Coral Light II, Fiji Purple, Blue Plus. I don't know if there is a science to that part as the light from the T5 will blend.

 

[iemsparticus]

Mine are Blue Plus, KZ Coral Light II, Fiji Purple, Blue Plus. I don't know if there is a science to that part as the light from the T5 will blend.

But, but, there HAS to be a science!

 

[40B Knasty]

Big fan of the ATI B+,C+,B+, & TA. 2B+ 2B+ C+ & TA C+ & TA

 

[iemsparticus]

Yeah that’s nice. I’ll have to take a look at the spectrum the Coral Plus puts out.

 

[40B Knasty]

Yeah that’s nice. I’ll have to take a look at the spectrum the Coral Plus puts out.

I was late to post that last tid bit about run time of zero hours vs 100 hours. Not my stats, but someone put sometime in and money swapping out bulbs.

 

[40B Knasty]

What blows my mind is how bad the Giesemann just deflates when all the others improve or stay stable.

 

[iemsparticus]

I was late to post that last tid bit about run time of zero hours vs 100 hours. Not my stats, but someone put sometime in and money swapping out bulbs.

Interesting... the chart makes ATI bulbs look like they outperform Giesemann pretty convincingly.

 

[40B Knasty]

Interesting... the chart makes ATI bulbs look like they outperform Giesemann pretty convincingly.

I will say like many others even though I have yet to see it in person. Stay away from AquaBlue Special. I hear it washes out the tank pretty bad. Probably why I have never seen it hahaha

 

[iemsparticus]

I will say like many others even though I have yet to see it in person. Stay away from AquaBlue Special. I hear it washes out the tank pretty bad. Probably why I have never seen it hahaha

Yeah and I think the AquaBlue Special has a very similar spectrum as the Azure does... which is what I think my issue is.

 

[Esage]

Coverage is a math equation based on the angle of your fixture's lenses and the surface area that needs to be covered.

I work through an example on my Online Triangle Calculator page. Let me know if that generates any questions.

With 140º lenses, a 4.37" mounting height gives you a mathematical spread radius of 12.0 inches. "Technically perfect" for a 24" thick tank. (Yes, Kessil generically recommends 8-12", but that's without respect for the area you have to cover.)

Are you suggesting that the best spread out of a A360we over a 24x24 area is 4 inches off the water surface?

 

[40B Knasty]

Interesting... the chart makes ATI bulbs look like they outperform Giesemann pretty convincingly.

I don't know if I can post another company's video on here, but checkout Tidal Gardens ATI T5 Bulb Comparison. Part 1 and 2. 2 is great because you don't know the combo of what you like till the end. So everything is your opinion on what you would prefer.

 

[iemsparticus]

Are you suggesting that the best spread out of a A360we over a 24x24 area is 4 inches off the water surface?

Yes.

 

[iemsparticus]

I don't know if I can post another company's video on here, but checkout Tidal Gardens ATI T5 Bulb Comparison. Part 1 and 2. 2 is great because you don't know the combo of what you like till the end. So everything is your opinion on what you would prefer.

Sounds great I’ll check it out.

 

[Esage]

Yes.

Interesting, I may need to lower my Kessil

 

[iemsparticus]

Interesting, I may need to lower my Kessil

If you do, make sure you re-evaluate your intensity... lowering them will of course also increase intensity on your coral, so you risk burning the top most pieces if you aren’t careful.

 

[iemsparticus]

I don't know if I can post another company's video on here, but checkout Tidal Gardens ATI T5 Bulb Comparison. Part 1 and 2. 2 is great because you don't know the combo of what you like till the end. So everything is your opinion on what you would prefer.

So in part two I was consistently torn between choice 2 and 6... which was Blue+/Purple+ and Blue+/Actinic. I bet I would like those combinations put together...

 

[40B Knasty]

So in part two I was consistently torn between choice 2 and 6... which was Blue+/Purple+ and Blue+/Actinic. I bet I would like those combinations put together...

Glad it gave you some what of an idea. The true Actinic isn't a color popper, but it is great for the health and growth for the coral. I like how Than seemed so excited about the TA bulb. It is hard to jazz someone that is experienced as he is. So I took that into a major consideration. I suppose when my tank is fully taken over by corals. Then I will play more of the color card. For now it is promoting growth time. As you can see from my pictures. What 2 has now become 8. My Rastas went from 4 to about 55. Radio active dragon eye went from 7 to 80.

 

[iemsparticus]

After busting out my PAR meter, I decided to up my Kessils from 80% to 90% over the next 20 days... when I initially set them, I was thinking I was going to have a lot more LPS (I’ve always liked the movement), but then I got my first box from Adam at @Battlecorals, and... yeah... I need a bit more PAR. Upping it to 90% gets me between 250-350 PAR at the top of the tank, and 100-150 PAR at the bottom, which is perfect for me.

Now I just need to hammer out what to do for my spectrum...

 

[mcarroll]

Are you suggesting that the best spread out of a A360we over a 24x24 area is 4 inches off the water surface?

Yes – about 4" is ideal. You can see the visualization of 4" vs 12" in post #7 and the example math in the link on post #12.

4" is a great starting point because it takes care of some basic issues.

It's just one way to look at it....simplistic and easy to use. You can get more complicated in the model by looking at gradients of light and probably come up with a much better prediction of ideal, but to me you get a bigger payoff by keeping it simple and using it as just a starting point – experiment from there as needed.

 

[mcarroll]

On the other hand, an A360WE at 7.5” up covers a 42” spread... so there is significant spillover... which doesn’t bother per say because it’s in a hood... but efficiency is lost for sure.

Perhaps as much or more than the spill/intensity is the reduction in side lighting from the reflections off the glass. The light that would have provided that will now be bounced around the hood and it will either be lost as heat or re-enter the tank as a very low-intensity wave straight down in orientation. Much less helpful in the overall scheme even if it's not hurting anything in the short term. Long term growth of stony colonies will be different without the side-lighting. Whether that's an issue is a personal thing, of course.

If you do, make sure you re-evaluate your intensity... lowering them will of course also increase intensity on your coral, so you risk burning the top most pieces if you aren’t careful.

+1

About double the intensity for half the distance or half the intensity every time the distance doubles.

Use a lux meter like my "LX-1010B" at minimum. $10-$20, so it's a no-brainer vs guessing!