It is time to go back to T5's!!!

[duke4130]

I have decided to go back to T5's... My radion has done me well but the lps will get better coloring under T5's.... I have decided to go with aquatic life 6 bulb for my 34gl system. I had an ATI dimmable before and the 2nd channel broke within 1 week and I ended up putting my radion back on that is why i decided to go with the aquatic life fixture....

So my question is. What are your recommendations for bulb combinations? I have z/p's, chalices, sps and a couple others in the tank. Overall a mixed reef... Yes i do like the blue look in the tank...LOL Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated

Thanks
Kevin

 

[jedimasterben]

And you didn't get your ATI light repaired under warranty why?

 

[lawnman]

And you didn't get your ATI light repaired under warranty why?

+1 brotha

 

[Sfgiants55]

I think all delights t5 bulb combo is nice. He uses 3 blue plus, 2 giesemann actinic plus, and 1 korallen-zucht purple plus!

 

[lawnman]

I like my new combo 4 Blue+ 1 Ati coral 1 KZ Fiji

 

[JohnC]

I use ATI 2 blue, one purple, one 10k I like it, but I might go back to 3 blue, one 10k

 

[jason142]

4 ATI blue +, 1 ATI purple plus, and 1 ATI Aqua blue special. Or instead of the aqua blue special and purple plus you could use 1 giesseman Agua blue + and 1 KZ figi purple.

 

[duke4130]

And you didn't get your ATI light repaired under warranty why?

$500 light fixture breaking after 1 week of use.... I was pretty much disgusted with it and returned it

 

[duke4130]

Thanks everyone.... I am going to put the order in for some ati bulbs

 

[NanaReefer]

Love my AquaticLife fixture! 2+yrs running and never an issue ( knocking on wood)


Sent from my iPhone 4s via Tapatalk.

 

[kingator]

good choice Duke now u can get better pics lol and your chalices are going to love you lololol cause for awhile they hated you lol

 

[duke4130]

good choice Duke now u can get better pics lol and your chalices are going to love you lololol cause for awhile they hated you lol

When i had the ati unit on there I saw a noticeable difference in the colors with just a week of use.... I am sure i am going to be happy...

 

[Fragtastic Reef]

For ATI bulbs I would go with Coral + and Blue +. Those bulbs combined look awesome.

 

[Lonelyreef]

I had a radion gen2 and people that aren't even in the hobby would come to my house and tell me how they liked the way the tank use to look better. I have an 8 bulb dimmable ati sunpower and I will tell you that I had to take out 2 blueplus and switch them over too atinics because it was to much par. I may even put another one in to balance it out a little more. The atinics really do give you some nice pop. And with your size tank even if its sps dominant 6 bulb is overkill you could easily get away with putting in at least one atinic if not two.

Hot5 bulbs are deceptively high in par and can really can light your tank well. The argument that LEDs cost less to run is almost a non starter. The savings you get from LEDs vs the high initial cost puts you out about 4 years on radions before you will actually start saving money. I personally like t5 with some atinic and if you can a blue led power strip to get that extra pop. It's just an opinion but We have members who are analysts and have done cost break down on initial price, power consumption, and saving for each lighting setup even figuring in bulb replacements. LEDs will save you money but not until after about the fourth year. I'm a huge fan off t5s

 

[Catra2030]

You'll love the aquaticlife fixture. I'd recommend 4 ATI Blue plus, kz Fiji purple, and an ATI Coral Plus. I have an ATI 6 bulb fixture and had to drop an actinic in there to decrease the par. I've had an aquaticlife fixture, and they're great for things like chalices, good amount of light while not blasting everything with a high amount of par.

 

[Rob&Gab]

4 blue+
2 purple+

perfect combo.

 

[duke4130]

The first fixture I purchased when I got back into the hobby a few years back was the aquatic life 4 bulb fixture.... Honestly it worked great and that is why I decided to go with the aquatic life fixture.... I know 6 bulb is a little over kill but I plan on upgrading one these days and I would be able to use this light. I ended up ordering the following bulbs all ATI.

1 actinic
2 blue plus
2 aqua blue specials
1 Fiji

We will see how this goes... I have a feeling I am going to need to take out one of the aqua blue specials....

 

[duke4130]

The new fixture will be here today... I will get some before and after pics so everyone can see the difference

 

[k2parkstar]

Good call I love my T5's I'm getting great color and growth from all types of coral

 

[duke4130]

Strange, as soon as I turned on the new t5 fixture things started to open up. I may need to call ecotech and get a date for the radion they gave me... The fan burnt out in the first radion I had causing it to over heat, I sent it in under warranty and they sent me another one.. Great customer service but what are the chances that it was refurbished and the lights were older than expected giving me bad lighting in the tank??? I have had a cyano outbreak and some algae which honestly is very strange for my system. Every single parameter in my system is perfect so it is not from excess nutrients or anything like that... I think it may all been coming from bad lighting