T5 for frag tank

[CoralWealth]

Hello!

I bought one of those china T5 fixtures for my frag tank and I love it so far.

It came with 8 of those 6400k T5 bulbs which are way too white for my liking, however I do want great growth.

I have switched 4 of them out with 2 blue plus and 2 actinic bulbs. I do like the blue look of a tank but I also want great grow.

Would I be okay to switch 3 with a purple plus, blue plus and actinic and leave one 6400k T5 in the middle or what is the best route to go?

Thanks!

 

[CC13]

Hello!

I bought one of those china T5 fixtures for my frag tank and I love it so far.

It came with 8 of those 6400k T5 bulbs which are way too white for my liking, however I do want great growth.

I have switched 4 of them out with 2 blue plus and 2 actinic bulbs. I do like the blue look of a tank but I also want great grow.

Would I be okay to switch 3 with a purple plus, blue plus and actinic and leave one 6400k T5 in the middle or what is the best route to go?

Thanks!

Depends on what your growing in your frag tank and what the PAR levels are in the different areas of the tank. Try to get a PAR meter from the LFS or a fellow reefer and track what the PAR is and at what areas/depths. This is really the only way to know what range your hitting and what ideal PAR you have for specific corals.

 

[CoralWealth]

Depends on what your growing in your frag tank and what the PAR levels are in the different areas of the tank. Try to get a PAR meter from the LFS or a fellow reefer and track what the PAR is and at what areas/depths. This is really the only way to know what range your hitting and what ideal PAR you have for specific corals.

It is all SPS. I will try to get a par from someone but it may be hard so I was hoping I could find out more information on here if I couldnt find one

 

[CC13]

It is all SPS. I will try to get a par from someone but it may be hard so I was hoping I could find out more information on here if I couldnt find one

I know my response wasn't super helpful but it really all depends on what PAR your hitting. You can try and gain some idea with watching some of the more famous coral sellers and see what they use. Jason Fox talks about what lights he uses and why in this video. Just note that a lot of guys who sell corals have the goal to colour up corals as nice as possible and also have them grow out as fast as possible.... after all time is money.

But it gives you an idea on what they are running and the bulb selection behind their methods.

 

[jda]

This is all up to you. Bluer will be less growth, but you will like the color better. More 6500k is more growth, but you don't like the color as much. Only you can decide what to do here. Sorry.

Most of these units are not as much output at a ATI - I have one that is about 80-90% of an ATI. Some are better than others, but even the lower output ones are plenty fine over a shallow tank. I would buy the unit again, however since it is good enough for my application as a frag tank. The issue with these is that nobody can really guess - if it was ATI, I could give you a good guess between a Blue+ and a 6500k. I am lost with these since each generation and type is different.

I use half 6500k and half Actinic in mine. Actinic to balance the 6500k which are in there for the growth. Blue Plus is riding the middle too much for me - I prefer to be all-in on one or the other... so I am all in on the 6500k and then all in on blueing them up a bit.

FWIW- GE 6500k or Giesemann Tropic has more output than the Chinese hydro bulbs. GE 6500k are cheap if you want to up your output a bit.

 

[CoralWealth]

I know my response wasn't super helpful but it really all depends on what PAR your hitting. You can try and gain some idea with watching some of the more famous coral sellers and see what they use. Jason Fox talks about what lights he uses and why in this video. Just note that a lot of guys who sell corals have the goal to colour up corals as nice as possible and also have them grow out as fast as possible.... after all time is money.

But it gives you an idea on what they are running and the bulb selection behind their methods.

Thanks for that! I have 6 blue plus and 2 coral plus over my DT and everything seems to be good so I was thinking of something similar but maybe a little different for my frag tank

 

[CC13]

Thanks for that! I have 6 blue plus and 2 coral plus over my DT and everything seems to be good so I was thinking of something similar but maybe a little different for my frag tank

No problem.

Like I said, it gives you sort of a baseline. You will have to tweak here and there until you get the color, growth and health of the corals at a point where you like them best.

 

[CoralWealth]

This is all up to you. Bluer will be less growth, but you will like the color better. More 6500k is more growth, but you don't like the color as much. Only you can decide what to do here. Sorry.

Most of these units are not as much output at a ATI - I have one that is about 80-90% of an ATI. Some are better than others, but even the lower output ones are plenty fine over a shallow tank. I would buy the unit again, however since it is good enough for my application as a frag tank. The issue with these is that nobody can really guess - if it was ATI, I could give you a good guess between a Blue+ and a 6500k. I am lost with these since each generation and type is different.

I use half 6500k and half Actinic in mine. Actinic to balance the 6500k which are in there for the growth. Blue Plus is riding the middle too much for me - I prefer to be all-in on one or the other... so I am all in on the 6500k and then all in on blueing them up a bit.

FWIW- GE 6500k or Giesemann Tropic has more output than the Chinese hydro bulbs. GE 6500k are cheap if you want to up your output a bit.

Awesome, thanks for this. I was thinking of doing something like this. I will probably change out 2 more of the 6500k for actinic. My light is only 12 inches over my 10 inch frag tank, so I am blasting my SPS with light which is what I want to do. I have low alk, 7 so I do not have to worry about giving them too much as I have nutrients too

 

[jda]

I would say "whatever keeps your eyes on the frag tank" is the right choice. I feel that with all of the automation and "auto pilot" stuff going on today that people's tanks suffer because they do not look at them as much... I mean really look at them. If a bluer look will keep your eyes on the frag tank, then you might catch when a frag gets upended by a snail, or see some onset of STN that you can dip or clip. Even 20% extra growth is probably not worth it if you just walk by and do not see the upended frag that is dying from being face-down on the sand, or whatever.

 

[CoralWealth]

I would say "whatever keeps your eyes on the frag tank" is the right choice. I feel that with all of the automation and "auto pilot" stuff going on today that people's tanks suffer because they do not look at them as much... I mean really look at them. If a bluer look will keep your eyes on the frag tank, then you might catch when a frag gets upended by a snail, or see some onset of STN that you can dip or clip. Even 20% extra growth is probably not worth it if you just walk by and do not see the upended frag that is dying from being face-down on the sand, or whatever.

That is true and I get that but my frag tank is connected to my DT that is in my living room and I am constantly looking at that so I am not as concerned about that. I am more concerned about what will give the best colors and growth

 

[Dlealrious]

I am going to run 4 b+ 4c+ on my new grow out tank. There are so man opinions on tube options but I guess just choose 1 and stick with it for 3-6 months and see how you like the growth and colour