T5 bulb question

Tbird165 · Mar 6, 2017

I'm having trouble picking what 2 t5 bulbs to use. I need 2 bulbs that are good for growing coral like a couple chalices and mushrooms to start with.

saltnewb · Mar 6, 2017

is it a two bulb fixture? what is the tank the bulbs are over? My first fixture was two bulbs and I had an actinic and a 10,000k. I now have a quad t5ho setup with 2 actinic, 10,000k and a super blue.

LetItReef · Mar 6, 2017

Used to have dual t5's with Ati bulbs to supplement Current Orbit- Actinic and Aqua blue.
These might help:

Tbird165 · Mar 6, 2017

Its a 2 bulb fixture. Its over a 75 gal cube.

Tbird165 · Mar 6, 2017

saltnewb said:
is it a two bulb fixture? what is the tank the bulbs are over? My first fixture was two bulbs and I had an actinic and a 10,000k. I now have a quad t5ho setup with 2 actinic, 10,000k and a super blue.

Would a super blue and an actinic work good together?

hpimichael02 · Mar 6, 2017

Does anyone know the penetration depth of a t5 bulb ? 4bulb or 8 bulb fixture

tjnorthdakota · Mar 6, 2017

I would go with ati blue+ and coral+, blue+ still gives you pop and coral+ brings out some of the other colors and they are both stand alone bulbs so you will get max par. I'd stay away from actinic and purple+ because they dont give any real par and you would basically be running one bulb for growing corals over a 75gallon tank and that is not enough

Rakie · Mar 6, 2017

Blue+ & Coral+ are the best performing ATI bulbs. Blue+ gives a *little* pop but hardly much. Geisemann Super Actinic is the best actinic T5 bulb IME.

I would add a Blue+ & Coral+ to start. But it depends on what other lighting you also have.. If you have say, Radions or Hydra's and can adjust color however you want, you may experience better growth and possibly color under a Geisemann 6500k tropic bulb, or GE 6500k/5000k.

The Actinic bulbs put out low PAR high PUR, the difference is PUR is the "Usable Range". That said, IMO, ATI Actinics aren't worth it. Geisemann super actinic are.

ATI ABS is a nice fuller spectrum bulb, also worth considering.

saltnewb · Mar 6, 2017

Tbird165 said:
Would a super blue and an actinic work good together?

here is a pic of what my tank looks like with just the actinic and super blue on. I like the 10,000k with either the actinic or the super blue, but for a better spread you may want to upgrade to a fixture that has more bulbs in it. This tank is a 29g.

Tbird165 · Mar 6, 2017

Thanks for the input. Everyone has been helpful. For now I'll be running a 10,000k and a ati blue+

pdt7361 · Mar 6, 2017

Do you have any other lighting over the tank, or will it just be the 2 T5s?

Tbird165 · Mar 6, 2017

I have another light but its no help with coral that I'll be changing out later on

pdt7361 · Mar 6, 2017

You should definitely look at adding more light eventually...upgrade to a 4 bulb T5 or add something like a Reefbrite XHO LED strip to the T5s.

Tbird165 · Mar 6, 2017

I'm going to add another set of t5s to the tank later on

Rakie · Mar 6, 2017

If you only have two bulbs I STRONGLY suggest NOT using a 10,000k -- Go with an ATI Blue+ & Coral+, it covers a much wider spectrum and is beneficial to the coral. 10,000k does not benefit corals. If you want a whiter look, I would HIGHLY suggest a Coral+ or Aqua Blue Special..

There is a reason ATI and Geisemann DON'T make 10,000k T5 bulbs -- They're useless to corals.

Ty Hamatake · Mar 6, 2017

I just set up my T5 retrofit with ATI Aquablue Special and the Blue+, one thing I didn't anticiapte was the rather poor blending. It doesn't help that my lights are only about 8" AWL, but it still quite noticeable.

Tbird165 · Mar 6, 2017

Rakie said:
If you only have two bulbs I STRONGLY suggest NOT using a 10,000k -- Go with an ATI Blue+ & Coral+, it covers a much wider spectrum and is beneficial to the coral. 10,000k does not benefit corals. If you want a whiter look, I would HIGHLY suggest a Coral+ or Aqua Blue Special..

There is a reason ATI and Geisemann DON'T make 10,000k T5 bulbs -- They're useless to corals.

I'll be add the coral+ and removing the 10,000k. I already had the 10,000k on hand

Tbird165 · Mar 6, 2017

Ty Hamatake said:
I just set up my T5 retrofit with ATI Aquablue Special and the Blue+, one thing I didn't anticiapte was the rather poor blending. It doesn't help that my lights are only about 8" AWL, but it still quite noticeable.

I like how it looks even if the lights don't blend right