T5 help

[tangtime]

So I added a 6 bulb 4ft Hamilton T5 fixture today on a 180. It sits about 9 inches over the tank. I haven’t put the leds on the ends yet but when I turned on the fixture itself, the sps colors just looked like complete poo, bland, faded, yuck!

The bulbs are all blue plus with one actinic in the middle. Would that be the reason? The same corals under the mars aqua were sooooo much better looking.

What’s going on?

 

[Tautog]

Too much blue isn’t good either. I have a 5 foot 8- bulb ATI unit for my 180.
On a ATI, there’s 2 plugs, one for 2- bulbs, both Blue +, the other is for the rest. I use 3 Blue +, 3 Coral + 1 Purple +, and 1 Actinic. I don’t put the same type bulb next to each other, and yes it’s important, and makes a difference. My fixture is 12” above the water. My 2 Blue + go on at 8 am - 10 pm. Full lights are on from 11 am - 6 pm. Corals have good color and growth

 

[tangtime]

I’m thinking just too much blue as it looks like when I turn all the blues only on leds but a bit uglier

 

[Bpb]

Give it time. Your corals haven’t been receiving that exact spectrum so not only will they look different initially, but they’re going to shift over time as they start producing new pigments due to the new light spectrum they’re getting. That’s a common complaint of people changing from led to t5ho. Also. That isn’t a very flattering bulb combo either. What t5ho may lack in the insane fluorescent color department that you get from blue LEDs, it makes up for in rendering color under a whiter light.

For 6 bulbs I’d be using 3 blue+, one coral+, 2 purple+ honestly. It’ll look a lot brighter. For your dawn dusk channel if you can split the bulbs by 2 I’d run a blue+ and a purple+. It’ll not be as blue as your led, but the purple+ really helps to mute the green hue the blue+ bulb tends to give off

 

[Dana Riddle]

"Loss" of coloration thought to be due to lighting changes boils down to two things: Spectrum and Intensity. Fluorescent proteins found in colors can have rather specific absorption characteristics, and shifting from a lamp with peak emission 0f say, 420nm, to 470nm could have a profound effect. Intensity is important due to what is called 'yield.' Yield is simply the amount of light fluoresced compared to the amount of light absorbed. Yields are typically around 0.3 to 0.4, but can be much higher. Hence, if intensity of the spectrum required for fluorescence is lowered, the fluorescent yield will be lower as well.

 

[tangtime]

Thanks for the replies. I was ready to sell this fixture, lol it really is night and day difference compared to all led and I’ve never ran T5, only halides.

The person I bought the first crude from had those bulbs in it so guess he liked the look.

I’m going to switch up the bulb combo for sure to get more white and add the 2 leds on the ends of the tank today.

 

[tangtime]

I’m thinking about the ati 12-16k package but I want to run the bulbs a while longer as they were used for 3 ninths.

However what about this for now? Too blue still?

3 b+
Actinic
C+
Purp+

 

[jda]

You need to understand that light does two things... First, it colors the coral. Second, it illuminates it. Your Mars fixtures were really bad at actually coloring corals, but fine at illuminating them - you are seeing the results of this now where the corals have bad actual color. The T5 will need to time to actually make the corals colorful rather than just trick your eyes into seeing colors that are not really there with lots of fluorescence.

You might not end up liking the T5 as much as you did the MH, but it should get pretty close. You might like it more in time. I would give it 60-90 days and you should see a world of difference.

 

[SDboatguy]

I used to run your proposed combo 3B+,C+, P+ and Act, should work nicely. What LEDs are you planning to add?

 

[tangtime]

I used to run your proposed combo 3B+,C+, P+ and Act, should work nicely. What LEDs are you planning to add?

Just ordered the c and p.

Just using the mars aqua. Tight fit but got everything in the canopy!

 

[SDboatguy]

3B, 2C and a P is also a pretty good looking mix. With your LEDs you could also play around with a 6500k or AB special as well. I'm not real familiar with the Mars- I do use one of their grow "bulbs" in my fuge, but once you get everything mounted mix and match the T 5, you'll find a combo that you like. Even the order you place them in will change your perspective.

 

[Scorpius]

I wouldn't go over 50% of your bulbs with the Blue+. I like the coral+ and purple+ bulbs myself.

 

[rosshamsandwich]

what about aquablue special?

 

[rosshamsandwich]

what about aquablue special..no love?

 

[mwilk19]

I run a 4' ATI 6 bulb fixture. 4 Blue Plus and 2 Coral Plus. I'm very happy with the results.

 

[Daniel Waters]

what about aquablue special..no love?

No love from me. I always hated that bulb and found the coral plus to be a better solution (as it is basically part blue plus, aquablue special and a little bit of purple plus). If someone wants a full spectrum daylight bulb, maybe look at a 10k bulb or a GE 6500 bulb for one slot.

 

[Bpb]

Yeah the aqua blue special bulb gets so much of its power and par from the green portion. It’s one of those bulbs that looks ok when it’s warming up or before it burns in. But as time goes it gets greener and greener and just casts a rather ugly color in the tank. If you run an ABS you pretty much have to flank it with a purple+ or two to take care of that.

I just like the look of a 6500k bulb more. While they still have a lot of green, there’s more red and yellow light present which makes for a more natural color and it just has a more pleasant ambience

 

[rosshamsandwich]

i like coral plus. Can I use all coral plus bulbs in my fixture??

 

[Bpb]

You certainly can. If you like the look.

 

[rosshamsandwich]

yes i love the look....but will the corals be hapy and healthy and growing well with only white daylight bulbs?