ATI Hybrid Fixture
 

Its been almost a year and Im looking at getting new T5 bulbs for my fixture. Just wondering what kind of popular combinations anyone is using out there right now. Im leaning towards a little less white and more blue to bring out the colour or my corals and fish. I have four T5 bulbs in my hybrid fixture....

ATI blue plus is an awesome tube. Lots of par too.

Would you do all Blue plus or a combination?

I do 3 blue + and one coral plus. Blues do what blues do and the coral plus balances out with a little white/pink to give it nice color. The again if it's a hybrid with LEDs, the LEDs should do that. I am all t5's.

Sounds like an idea!

I find if I just use all blue + my yellows and red looks dingy and dirty, the coral plus makes them look normal and brings out the reds nicely.

I run four ATI 39 watt Blue Plus. They supplement my three 14K halides. If I had the ATI hybrid fixture I would probably do the same as I'm doing now. Use the LEDs for growth spectrum and T5s for looks (fluorescent pop).

Having said that, I would have thought that the blue LEDs would give you that fluorescent pop as well.

The blue plus doesn't come close to royal blue led for pop.

Any thoughts on Blue + combo and Actinic? Still gathering ideas...

Maybe playing a little more with the LEDs would help as well. I find the program on the ATI is not as user friendly as the Ecotech Radios.

I am personally not a fan of actinics. I tried them once and didn't like them at all. They didn't really add anything to my tank. Not enough blue and not enough growth spectrum. The 22K T5s I find add a nice colour pop while still providing usable PAR.

Yes those bulbs and the blue plus put lots of useable light out. Actinic I think have barely any par and also require more frequent replacement than other t5.

Actinics are not as low in PAR as most people think. Humans eyes are not able to see that spectrum of light very well , so even though actinic bulbs may look very dull or dim , there is lots of usable spectrum. In fact actinic bulbs are very high in PUR which is probably more important then PAR.
Here are a couple of good reads on the subject.
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2009/3/review
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2012/10/aafeature

If you like actinic, the UVL Super Actinic can't be beat. It has high PUR. Otherwise, I also like the ATI Blue Plus and Coral Plus bulbs.

I haven't used the ATI Hybrid fixture (so jealous right now), so I'm not sure what bulbs would compliment the LEDs the best. Do you feel the LEDs lack anywhere? What are you trying to achieve with the T5s (color, PAR/PUR)?

Beat me to it. :thumb:

I'm still learning about T5 and don't even have any. Thx guys!

http://i3.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/...33/knowing.jpg

That's interesting to learn about the actinics. I recall putting a PAR meter under them once and got a fairly low reading compared to 22Ks. Havin said that, it was a highly unscientific experiment :lol: I will have to read about what this PUR is all about. I've never heard of that term before!

For my make shift hybrid sunbrite f series with tek light t5 supplimenT, I went with 3 blue+ and one figi purple. Love the color and my leds are all ramped at 100%

I find the leds are lacking spread from the top view your corals look awesome but not so much from the front of the tank and sides. So I added the t5 for the spread so I don't see brown sides of corals and wicked top view but more color throughout the whole tank

Thanks for everyone's input ! My main objective is to make my corals pop and bring out the colours of my fish. Right now, my daytime settings are to white so my corals don't look as vibrant. Once the t5 goes off and the blue LEDs kick in, my corals look a lot nicer and you appreciate the piece even more. Too many options not sure what to do :(... I guess the only way is to experiment some more

I've been messing around with my t5 setup. I've noticed with more blue (5xblue+,2x actinic and purple) I get best color pigments from majority of my acros. But visually by eye the colors will be washed out. So luckly you have a hybrid which you can increase the white so it's visually more appealing just for viewing purposes. Unscientific at all but my theory(as of now) is color pigments are produced to block the uv spectrum. Here's a example of a pc that is directly under 2 actintics with 4xblue+,2x actinic, purple and coral+ combo. I have 2 actintics front of fixture as it's more Lps friendly in shallow tank. That being said, blue leds will give you pop than actinic or blue+ but led won't give you the florencent glow that t5 will. Just got to find the right balance so to speak.

http://i1285.photobucket.com/albums/...pslxgqpaeb.jpg

I'd have to agree with Mike and Jess. Actinic does bring out the best in colors. Our eyes may not be able to notice but it does bring out the best in all corals. I've made a few changes to my bulb selection since buying the hybrid from Mike and now running 4 super blues, 1 Fiji, 1 actinic and 2 coral+. I also have the LEDs running at 80% intensity.
Here is a top down of a ice fire prostrata from MJC...

http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/p...ps1635dc4f.jpg

Wow that's awesome Wayne!!

Yeah, that's a drawback to LEDs.

So essentially you need more light coming from more directions, not really "supplements" then. In that case, I would recommend 2 Blue Plus and 2 Coral Plus with the CP on the inside and the BP on the outside. Start there and experiment with UVL Super Actinic and ATI Purple Plus. The PP really makes the corals and fish pop (especially reds which tend to look washed out in bluer spectrums) though they add a lot of pink to the look. If you can add enough blue with the LEDs then it will counteract.