Dusk/Dawn bulbs with T5... Should I just add ReefBrites?

[Potatohead]

I have an eight bulb Sunpower and have been using a blue+ and true actinic as my d/d bulbs for a couple years. I kind of miss having the major glow of some corals, is there another bulb combo I can use to help (two blue+?) or will I never get there without LED?

If the latter, I don’t need any more par and would use it solely for a couple hours at the end of the photoperiod only, so I don’t need an XHO. Has anyone done this with a Lumi Lite or should I just go straight to the Tech? If it matters the tank is 20” tall.

Thanks

 

[Reefing Madness]

 

[Daniel Waters]

I have an eight bulb Sunpower and have been using a blue+ and true actinic as my d/d bulbs for a couple years. I kind of miss having the major glow of some corals, is there another bulb combo I can use to help (two blue+?) or will I never get there without LED?

If the latter, I don’t need any more par and would use it solely for a couple hours at the end of the photoperiod only, so I don’t need an XHO. Has anyone done this with a Lumi Lite or should I just go straight to the Tech? If it matters the tank is 20” tall.

Thanks

2 blue plus or another bulb combo isn't going to give you that same pop / deep blue you get from LEDs. That's one of the main reasons I run LED with my 6 bulb ATI fixture is that awesome dawn / dusk look I can get with my LEDs. If you're using the ATI actinic bulb, I have heard others say they prefer the Giesmann pure actinic, so that might help somewhat.

As far as led strips, you could look at the reefbrite, SB reeflights, and I know Orphek has an actinic LED bar. If I was doing an actinic bar, I'd want one that ran deep blue with some violet. I'm not sure how you were planning on mounting them, so that may be a consideration on what you choose to go with. If you go with the reefbrites, you won't need the xho, but you might want one on each side of your fixture for the most balanced look. Hopefully others that have added LED strips can comment whether just one gave proper viewing or looked uneven. I have 4 kessil A360s on articulating mounts with two in front and two behind my ATI, so I don't have any first hand experience with LED bars.

 

[Potatohead]

I was hoping to mount one to my ATI fixture. The Orphek looks nice, but is not dimmable and I don't really need any more par. I checked with BRS and the RB LumiLite does not come with ATI mounts, but I'm sure I can figure something out. The Tech is the easiest option but the most expensive and will add some more par as well. Also no violet.

 

[Bpb]

No t5 bulbs will look like blue LEDs. Unfortunately there’s no combo that will produce that same look.