Reccomend T-5 Bulbs.

[KingRicky]

It's time to change my T-5 bulbs. I currently have 2-10K and 2-TRU Actinic. This will be the first bulb change for me, the current bulbs came with the retro fit kits. What bulbs would ya'll reccomend? The tank is a mix of LPS and Softies with a couple of SPS. Thanks for any help that ya'll can give.

 

[dude]

I like the ATI aqua spizels or aqua special. they are really good & i would do i UVL actinic. I hear they are the best actinic bulbs

 

[kozmo]

Try KZ, though they are sometimes hard to get locally.

 

[Poseidon]

50/50 mix of ATI Blue + and ATI Aquablue Specials. Simple, yet very effective!

 

[mevstheworld]

Aquascience bulbs all the way !!!!!

 

[KingRicky]

Has anyone tried the 54W T5 Pure Actinic Giesemann PowerChrome.

 

[Poseidon]

Yes, they are a nice actinic bulb, but very low in PAR and visible brightness compared to other bulbs.

 

[KingRicky]

Thanks

 

[JR's Reef]

50/50 mix of ATI Blue + and ATI Aquablue Specials. Simple, yet very effective!

I like it bout 75/25 I like it to be a bit on the blue side.:nerd:

 

[cultivatedcoral]

The Giesemann Pure Actinic is more of a purple color bulb. It's good to throw 1 or 2 of those in the mix for effect.

We use them as well as Giesemann Aquablue+ and Actinic+.

 

[BigBoy69]

It all depends on how you want it to look in your tank more blue or crisp white?

 

[joesfiddy]

blue +
aquablue special
aquasun 10k lots of par from this bulb
blue +

 

[dbarker]

Hey KingRicky,

These are the bulbs I use Giesemann Aquablue+ and Actinic + 54w 20K.

I ordered mine from Premium Aquatics. They were very nice and easy to work with. I also bought some halides from them and one did not fire up and the other was verrry yellow. No problem with the exchange.

Good luck with your decision. Debbie

 

[gilmour01]

depends on the look you want. giesemann, ati, kz all make nice bulbs in a variety of color temps. i usually like to run 1 daylight bulb, some ati 14k bulbs, and then the giesemann actinic plus bulbs which are a 60/40 mix of 460/420 actinic (ati makes a similar bulb to this as well).

 

[iani]

blue +
aquablue special
aquasun 10k lots of par from this bulb
blue +

Aquasun is not a 10k bulb. Its about a 6500k bulb. That setup will make a tank look pink. The aquasun par level is not much higher than the aquablue special.

 

[iani]

50/50 mix of ATI Blue + and ATI Aquablue Specials. Simple, yet very effective!

+1, I like this setup too.

 

[mojo]

ok I have owned almost all the bulbs talked about already here. From those who dont know me I am Mojo~ from RC. Hi all.

OK wit h4 bulbs it kinda hard. to blend alot of colors. The ATI blue + bulbs are a must in any t5 setup. The aquascience bulb, and the geismann actinic plus are basically the same bulb. the ati holds it light to the edge of the bulb better than the aquascine and the giesmann though. The ATI blue plus puts out par around 311 per bulb. Not much less than the whit bulbs. The aquasun is a 10k bulb but it has some pink in it. Same with the 75.25 and the actinic white by uvl.
I would suggest 2 ati blue plus for sure.and a ATI aquablue special 12k bulb. It is white. And the actinic white by UVL. That will give you some nice color pop and hint of pink in the mix too. It will be very bright. Alot of people dont realize that only one white bulb can change the look of the blue bulbs totally. I would say you could run 3 blue to one white if you like more of a 20k look.
For example I ran 4 ati blue plus a kz fiji purple and a ge 6500 and it was a very high par setup. the ge has a par of around 340 and hte kz is almost the same. Very high output bulbs. The pure actinic bulb by giesmann is a waste of mony in my opinion. I have a brand new one sitting here. No color pop like the ati blue plus. Just not in the same league of bulbs. Might be ok if you were running 6 or bulbs and wanted to ad a purple hue to your tank.

Good luck with your purchase.
Stick with good names. I would get like I said 2 ATI blue +, a uvl actinic white(50/50), and a ati aquablue special.
Or two aquablue specials and two ati blue plus will make it more crisp white blue around 14k as well.

Good luck
Mojo~