T5 bulb selection for sunrise/sunset

[wkeliipuleole]

Hey,

I have a question. That may or may not have an answer.

Background information:

I have a 36in Geisemann stellar with
Blue +
Coral +

Blue +
Blue +

Now my coworker gave me a 24 in cheap single reflector t5 fixture because he was taking his tank down and I have a hard time saying no to free stuff and while I was browsing which LED I should get I thought why not go full T5 and see how I feel about it.

Since it is a single reflector I decided the best way to approach was to buy the same color for both bulbs.

I decided on True Actinic because I wanted something to balance the blue out during the day and it works.


Now at the moment I have the true Actinics turn on for an hour before the other bulbs turn on and I am starting to doubt that is the right one to go first.

My reasoning was I wanted the 24in on first as it is less light than the 36in and that should be easier on the corals.

However, I can be all wrong. I would love to her your thoughts on anything above.

Are my bulb choices wrong?
Should I reverse which fixture turns on and start bluer?
Am I overthinking this? (I am a reefer so I think that is part of our DNA.)

Thank you for reading my post and answering my questions.

 

[CanuckReefer]

Hey,

I have a question. That may or may not have an answer.

Background information:

I have a 36in Geisemann stellar with
Blue +
Coral +

Blue +
Blue +

Now my coworker gave me a 24 in cheap single reflector t5 fixture because he was taking his tank down and I have a hard time saying no to free stuff and while I was browsing which LED I should get I thought why not go full T5 and see how I feel about it.

Since it is a single reflector I decided the best way to approach was to buy the same color for both bulbs.

I decided on True Actinic because I wanted something to balance the blue out during the day and it works.


Now at the moment I have the true Actinics turn on for an hour before the other bulbs turn on and I am starting to doubt that is the right one to go first.

My reasoning was I wanted the 24in on first as it is less light than the 36in and that should be easier on the corals.

However, I can be all wrong. I would love to her your thoughts on anything above.

Are my bulb choices wrong?
Should I reverse which fixture turns on and start bluer?
Am I overthinking this? (I am a reefer so I think that is part of our DNA.)

Thank you for reading my post and answering my questions.

I don't think myself you are over thinking it. It makes sense to me. Ramp it up gradually.... then again you chatting with a guy who has a whopping 2 T5's on his 90 lol ....a Giessmann True Actinic combined with a 10K, and I utilize a Fluval 3.0 LED programmable to simulate the dawn/ dusk
IMO you are correct in your logic here, ramping it up as listed.

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

I have an 8 bulb unit and i am struggling as well. I want dawn. Dusk. Full light.
I also wanna keep the 4 bulbs on each side the same! Lol. Uhg.
D

 

[wkeliipuleole]

I don't think myself you are over thinking it. It makes sense to me. Ramp it up gradually.... then again you chatting with a guy who has a whopping 2 T5's on his 90 lol ....a Giessmann True Actinic combined with a 10K, and I utilize a Fluval 3.0 LED programmable to simulate the dawn/ dusk
IMO you are correct in your logic here, ramping it up as listed.

Thank you.

Do you think I am too heavy on the purple spectrum?

 

[wkeliipuleole]

I have an 8 bulb unit and i am struggling as well. I want dawn. Dusk. Full light.
I also wanna keep the 4 bulbs on each side the same! Lol. Uhg.
D

Why not get some reefbrites and agle them for your dawn and dusk?

 

[CanuckReefer]

Thank you.

Do you think I am too heavy on the purple spectrum?

Really your preference in terms of looks imo... some like it really blue/purple. I go half and half because A - i don't have a large amount of lights and B- my corals seem to do a bit better under this combo. Even my LEDS are tuned up around 75% white, with 95% blues which is likely too white for many peoples taste. Mine is also a single reflector on the T5's but seems to do it's job nicely with the two different types.

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

I will be adding led bars for shimmer so some that ramp up and down is a great idear ty!
D