Picking T5 Bulbs for the first time

[divetoday]

im switching from an all LED fixture to an ATI Hybrid fixture for Black Friday. My next question, how do you pick the T5 bulbs?

The tank is 72” w x 36” t x 18” d., and my goal is to transition from a mixed reef to a more SPS dominant tank. Any suggestions would be appreciated, as I haven’t bought T5 bulbs before and the variety has me baffled.

 

[._Z_.]

I just picked bulbs for the first time! I watched tidalgardens YouTube video on t5 bulb colors and combinations, I also did plenty of looking around the forums here.

From what I could gather most bulbs will grow coral and hit the correct spectrum points to keep coral healthy and happy. The difference seemed to be how much of other parts of the light spectrum a bulb utilized, which makes it look different to our human eyes.

I ended up going with 2 Blue+, 1 Purple+ and 1 Coral+. I upgraded my LED to a hybrid though, so I’ve still got the LED there for tweaks to the aesthetic color if I want.

Hope this helps.

 

[BigJim]

I have Kessils and T5 on my tank. I currently use two ATI Blue Plus , one Korallen Zucht Coral Light II and one ATI Purple Plus. I am almost due for replacements and I think I am going to swap out the Purple Plus for a True Actinic and keep the others the same. Many people use at least half Blue Plus bulbs in their combination.

 

[TessGlo]

Ditto on checking out the tidal gardens video. Also, try to find a LFS that may run some T5 bulbs so that you can check out what YOU like visually. It's expensive to buy a set of bulbs so if you can find some to see in real life it helps, I wasted money figuring out what I liked.

I've settled on 4 blue + and 2 Coral +, because it's not hyper blue but still has some pop and pinks/reds show nicely. I much prefer ATI blue + over their Actinic blub.

 

[divetoday]

I just picked bulbs for the first time! I watched tidalgardens YouTube video on t5 bulb colors and combinations, I also did plenty of looking around the forums here.

From what I could gather most bulbs will grow coral and hit the correct spectrum points to keep coral healthy and happy. The difference seemed to be how much of other parts of the light spectrum a bulb utilized, which makes it look different to our human eyes.

I ended up going with 2 Blue+, 1 Purple+ and 1 Coral+. I upgraded my LED to a hybrid though, so I’ve still got the LED there for tweaks to the aesthetic color if I want.

Hope this helps.

Thank you so much for recommending that video. Now all that I have to do is make a choice!

 

[._Z_.]

Thank you so much for recommending that video. Now all that I have to do is make a choice!

Glad I could help

Show us some pictures once you’ve got it all installed!

 

[vinnyol]

I have the 60" Hybrid system running qty 4 - 26HD AI lights with
The following
2 coral
1 actinic
1 purple

 

[cracker]

Hello dive today, You will like the ATI fixture ! I chose my bulbs according to the chart on the ATI website. They have 3 .white blue , blue with white & mostly blue hint of white. If You want real blue call the guy at ATI ,he's real helpful.

 

[T-5unsystem]

The nice thing about the ATI Hybrid is you have a lot of flexibility to change the color of the tank using the LEDs. Hence the bulb choice is less important. +1 for ATI bulbs, thats what I recommend for our fixtures.

I'd also recommend picking up a few extras, probably duplicates so you can try different combinations before making a decision. I also find looking at them for at least a few days makes a massive difference. Initially you may think "wow thats why to white" but a day or two later you love it and don't want to go back. Changes is hard, so give your eyes a chance to adjust.