T5 Bulb questions

lbannie

lbannie

Member
I have a T5 light fixture (odyssea) it holds 4 39W bulbs. It came with 2 actinic and 2 white (12000 I believe) I've had it almost a year and I'm thinking of buying new bulbs. What would be the best combination? Or stick with what I have? I have corals. Can I put in the 6700 39w bulb? I'd like to make the color of my tank better (if that makes sense!) With ll the bulbs on the white seems to overpower....Any suggestions?
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
check out the ATI bulbs, doy uo want more redish in the tank with the 6700k?
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
IDK what kind of look you want, BUT....on my 29G I run
2 ATI blue plus
1 ATI Aqua Blue Special
1 Aqua Science Special 15k
I have sps, lps, a maxima clam, shrooms, zoas, mini anemones....and everything in this tank flourishes
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
IMO you're idea of natural and others ideas may be completley different.
Some like a real basic white or yellowish light like what you would see in a freshwater tank.
Most in the SW community seem to prefer the blue.
I'm sure what Meo suggested is going to be on the blue side if any.
6700k is going to be very yellow/red compared to what we usually keep our tanks at. they make the red colored corals pop very niceley but most green and blue and purple corals will not pop much at all. And i guess since most of our corals fall into the blue/green/purple catagory you might get more pop for your money with bluer bulbs.
If it was a 6 or 8 light fixture you'd have more versatility to throw a 6700 or something in there to give the reds some pop as well.
I'm guessing with 2 x 12000k and 2 x actinics your tank is pretty darn blue right now.
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
no fair comparison Meo, the first picture has three months worth of growth on the second pic and your sandbed is pure white in pic 1. :p
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jstdv8 http:///forum/thread/382365/t5-bulb-questions#post_3336595
no fair comparison Meo, the first picture has three months worth of growth on the second pic and your sandbed is pure white in pic 1. :p
LOL....I was only showing them for color comparison anyway.....funny about the sand though....I must have just cleaned it

ALTHO I have added some more nassarius....could be that too
 
lbannie

lbannie

Member
Yes I like the color of your tnk Meowzer! I just want my corals to stand out more. Here's a pic of my tank with all lights on (2blue 2 white) see what you think
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
thats alot more yellowish than i would ahve expected with 1200k bulbs
I think you might like a combination similar to what meo has.
You could certainly use at least a little more blue in there to give those zoas on the right and such a better coloring.
 
lbannie

lbannie

Member
Yeah everything in my tank looks dull! Here's a pic with only the blue lights on... the colors come out a bit more and my ricordea (sp) ctully looks pink! The frag on top is super neon green and only shows well with the blue lights......I think I'm buying my tank new bulbs for Christmas!
I guess I should have turned off the tv and lamp!! :)
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
LOL.....I also think you will like the combination I have......there is no yellow, and the colors are crisp and clear....

OH, and if you have ever seen any of my threads/pics.....the corals stand out also
 
reefraff

reefraff

Active Member
2 ATI Blue Plus, 1 ATI Aquablue Special and 1 ATI Purple Plus. You will get about a 15K blue look with a slight violet tinge to it from the purple lamp.
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
Depends on your timer. my timers have 7 day setups, but the cheap dial ones don't do that.
Ive got a reefkeeper now adn i still havnt even put my lights on it yet. just got the temp/heater thing figured out
 
acrylic51

acrylic51

Active Member
Agree with Jstdv8 Meowzer..., I remember you saying your out in no mans land, but Lowes & Home Depot have digital timers that you could program each day individually or have them all the same.
To the original poster 6700k would be per yellow no red IMHO. You'd get good growth, but no coloration.
 
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