T5 lighting/ blue look

[skiergd011013]

I like blue looking tanks and want to see what others are running. I currently have front to back: blue plus, purple plus, blue plus, blue plus. Sometimes i think the purple plus is overpowering the blues. What would it be like if i swapped the purple for an actinic? is anybody running just blue plus and actinic? I would love to see pics of your blue tanks and what bulbs your using.

 

[A. grandis]

If you are going to run a "blue tank" no matter what...
Yes, remove the Purple plus and add a True Actinic.
It's going to be healthier to the corals (comparing those 2 bulbs) and some of the pigments might be "activated".
Grandis.

 

[DSC reef]

All blue plus look great. I'm running 4 blue plus with 20k halides. Very icy/crisp looking. I used to run 1 actinic but i like the blue plus better.

 

[skiergd011013]

All blue plus look great. I'm running 4 blue plus with 20k halides. Very icy/crisp looking. I used to run 1 actinic but i like the blue plus better.

that looks cool. is that just the blue plus, or all your lights? Does coralline like the blue lighting?

 

[DSC reef]

If you are going to run a "blue tank" no matter what...
Yes, remove the Purple plus and add a True Actinic.
It's going to be healthier to the corals (comparing those 2 bulbs) and some of the pigments might be "activated".
Grandis.

Why would an actinic be healthier for the corals over a purple plus? I believe all there bulbs have some actinic in them.

 

[DSC reef]

that looks cool. is that just the blue plus, or all your lights? Does coralline like the blue lighting?

That's the T5 and halides on. Coralline does great. Here's a pic with just blue plus.

 

[skiergd011013]

That's the T5 and halides on. Coralline does great. Here's a pic with just blue plus.

Thanks. Ill give the actinic a try first. it shipped today. Ill send you a pic when I swap it.

 

[DSC reef]

With just the T5 on its pretty blue, the halides provide an icy look. We really enjoy that combo.

 

[skiergd011013]

With just the T5 on its pretty blue, the halides provide an icy look. We really enjoy that combo.

Thats what i would expect. I think ONLY blue plus would be too blue/flat. The actinic will provide a little more spectrum. Im hoping it will be similiar to what I have now (purple plus) just slightly dimmer.

 

[A. grandis]

Why would an actinic be healthier for the corals over a purple plus? I believe all there bulbs have some actinic in them.

We just can't compare them.
The True Actinic does make a powerful difference even when compared to Blue Plus for what it's made for.
The Purple plus is just for looks.
Best bulbs ATI ever made are Blue Plus, True Actinic and Coral Plus IMO.
True Actinic:

Purple Plus:

Aloha,
Grandis.

 

[DSC reef]

We just can't compare them.
The True Actinic does make a powerful difference even when compared to Blue Plus for what it's made for.
The Purple plus is just for looks.
Best bulbs ATI ever made are Blue Plus, True Actinic and Coral Plus IMO.
True Actinic:

Purple Plus:

Aloha,
Grandis.

Not trying to be argumentative but the purple plus is just for looks and not beneficial to coral? That graph shows plenty of useable spectrum

 

[A. grandis]

Not trying to be argumentative but the purple plus is just for looks and not beneficial to coral? That graph shows plenty of useable spectrum

No worries.
When you have much better bulbs spectra wise, and choose something like the Purple Plus, shows ME that you are choosing mostly because of it's appearance and how you see the color of your tank, right? That is fine with me, of course. It's your tank.
There are other bulbs that will provide better useful spectrum in other ways IMO and people just don't use them because they look "too yellow".
I've said many times that one can just choose any T5 combination according to their particular taste and the tank will be great for them. Adaptation will aways do good when lighting a reef system. Purple Plus isn't in my preference list, but will still be "ok".
The point here is the comparison to the True Actinic. The Purple Plus won't give you what the True Actinic will and IMO the True Actinic is the best of the 2. Simple as that.
Hard to win the combo of Blue Plus and True Actinic as a basic reef combo!
Remember: the space of each slot is important real state IMO. The very last bulb in the world I would use for a Reef System is the Purple Plus.
Just my $0.02.
Grandis.

 

[Daniel Waters]

Good advice that I would second. If you want a bluer look, you need to remove the purple plus. I find a purple plus hard to incorporate in 4 bulb setups. Pull the purple plus out and look at the tank. If you like that look, go with another blue plus. If you want more "pop" or a bit deeper blue look, you need an actinic. If you think the 3 blue plus are too blue, I'd try a coral plus. It won't be quite as overpowering as the purple plus. But my guess is you will find the coral plus bulb adds too much white also for what you are looking for.

If you don't have any LEDs, I think you'd really appreciate what an actinic bulb will do with the 3 blue plus bulbs. Note, the bulb will appear dim to your eye. Don't worry, it's putting out very useful spectrum for corals!

 

[skiergd011013]

Good advice that I would second. If you want a bluer look, you need to remove the purple plus. I find a purple plus hard to incorporate in 4 bulb setups. Pull the purple plus out and look at the tank. If you like that look, go with another blue plus. If you want more "pop" or a bit deeper blue look, you need an actinic. If you think the 3 blue plus are too blue, I'd try a coral plus. It won't be quite as overpowering as the purple plus. But my guess is you will find the coral plus bulb adds too much white also for what you are looking for.

If you don't have any LEDs, I think you'd really appreciate what an actinic bulb will do with the 3 blue plus bulbs. Note, the bulb will appear dim to your eye. Don't worry, it's putting out very useful spectrum for corals!

thanks. the actinic is on its way!

 

[skiergd011013]

Here it is. 3 blue plus and 1 actinic. Its definitely bluer haha. So this lighting is good for the corals and coralline?

 

[Daniel Waters]

Do you like it? Those lights are certainly fine for the reef

 

[skiergd011013]

Do you like it? Those lights are certainly fine for the reef

yeah i like the blue glow. But whenever i make changes, it takes me a few days to warm up to them.