t5 bulbs

[bigdog1428]

hey guys ,,,so i was gunna buy new bulbs for my fixture,,,i was gunna get the actinic blue bulbs,,, but is there any difference from manufacturers,, any input would be greatful,,thanks

 

[James983]

The better bulbs are manufactured by ATI and Geissmann. There are different spectrums by each company. Its a question of what look your going for, from a more blue to more white.

 

[bigdog1428]

well i have a mh/t5 combo. my mh bulbs are 20k,,and i wanted to put 4 actinic blue bulbs in. i run my t5's for 10 hrs,,and run my mh's for 8 hrs,,and then blue leds over night


right now i dont know which bulbs i have in there now,,,its 2 blue,,and looks like 2 purple

 

[James983]

Are you using actinics for the dawn and dusk effect? I think the 20k MH with actinics are gonna give you a very blue tank. If your fixture holds 4-6 bulbs I would use only 2 as actinics, and go with 2 6500k.

 

[bigdog1428]

my tank has 4 t'5s which 2 of them are blue bulbs,,,,imma assume the actinics,,and 2 of them look purple when turned on. and i have 2 20k mh bulbs in. tanks has that blue effect but i love the blue when no mh is on thats why i wanted 4 actinic bulbs. is there any drawback from this kinda setup .??

 

[James983]

Corals grow better with bulbs in the 6500-10000k range, so yours will may be slow growers

 

[jaa1456]

my tank has 4 t'5s which 2 of them are blue bulbs,,,,imma assume the actinics,,and 2 of them look purple when turned on. and i have 2 20k mh bulbs in. tanks has that blue effect but i love the blue when no mh is on thats why i wanted 4 actinic bulbs. is there any drawback from this kinda setup .??

Have you ever taken the T-5 bulbs out and looked at the tag on them? The purple looking ones might actual be actinics. If you wanna go with a bulb that is blue in color and have some nice coral growing Par, try the ATI Blue Plus.

 

[bigdog1428]

thanks jaa,,,ill look into those bulbs,,,, im lookin at the giseman( not sure of spelling) or the ati ones

 

[bigdog1428]

i bought this fixture used from a fellow mr member. those were the bulbs that were in the fixture,,he also gave me 2 14k bulbs,,and 2 10k bulbs. im still new to the mh's and t5's so im learning as i go. any input will be grateful

 

[jaa1456]

It's all in personal taste also, The bluer bulbs tend to make the corals colors pop more. Some people like a whiter color than others. You are gonna have to experiment till you find what you like best. I switched from a MH fixture to T-5's for the first time, but I always ran a 12-14K bulb and actinics.

 

[James983]

Have you ever taken the T-5 bulbs out and looked at the tag on them? The purple looking ones might actual be actinics. If you wanna go with a bulb that is blue in color and have some nice coral growing Par, try the ATI Blue Plus.

+1 on ATI Blue Plus. Also remember that the used bulbs that were with your fixture may need to be replaced depending on how old they are. I usually change T5's around 9 mo.

 

[bigdog1428]

Yea I have no changed the bulbs .. Yet ,, I just bought the fixture lil less then a month ago ,, and I'm starting to learn as I go ,, so I'm goin to change them this week ,, where can I get the beat deals on ati or geiseman bulbs ???


Sent from my iPhone using Reefs

 

[James983]

Reefgeek on the web or BRS have good prices.

 

[itsaNYthing]

It's all in personal taste also, The bluer bulbs tend to make the corals colors pop more. Some people like a whiter color than others. You are gonna have to experiment till you find what you like best. I switched from a MH fixture to T-5's for the first time, but I always ran a 12-14K bulb and actinics.

so what differences did you notice from your MH to the t5?, which one did you like better?

 

[exodus32]

Make sure to squeeze in one GE 6500k bulb. It's good for growth. Lower the number, the whiter it is. It replicates the sun.

 

[anthony27]

I have right now in a 6 bulb fixture

ati blue + bulbs 4 of them a kz fiji purple and a 68k I am getting amazing lighting and excelent growth.

I have the ati sunmod fixture