T5 color combo?

[Slyguy00]

So after reading about t5 and different bulbs and colour combos I'm more confused now then ever. Iv always had led and just switched to T5 (for now) so I know nothing about them. It seems everybody runs different colour combos and setups. How do you know what is best for coral growth and coloration? Is it all personal preference? There are so many different types, brands, and spectrums to choose from I don't know where to start. Any advice would be helpful. Thanks in advance.

[mrhasan]

Originally Posted by Slyguy00

So after reading about t5 and different bulbs and colour combos I'm more confused now then ever. Iv always had led and just switched to T5 (for now) so I know nothing about them. It seems everybody runs different colour combos and setups. How do you know what is best for coral growth and coloration? Is it all personal preference? There are so many different types, brands, and spectrums to choose from I don't know where to start. Any advice would be helpful. Thanks in advance.

How many bulbs?

[Slyguy00]

Sorry guess that would help. Its a 6 bulb fixture.

[mrhasan]

I like spectrum between 14000 to 16000k. 10000k would give you the best growth while actinics five the pop. Bulb manufacturers have blue bulbs (not purely actinic), which, unlike actinic, gives some good par depending on the reflector. So you will see most of the people use blues instead of actinic. Then theres purple/pink which helps with the color pop. I have used 3 blue, 2 10000k and 1 fiji pink. That gives a 14000k look. Now I use 4 blues, 1 10000k and 1 fiji pink. This gives a pleasant 16000k look. Growth wont be an issue unless you use actinic since they are supplemental spectrum.

Kz and ati are rhe best out there. KZ is expensive but throws out a bit more par. But I dont think you will notice any difference to justify the extra cost. I just grab whichever is available. HTH

[LoJack]

ATI and KZ make the best bulbs hands down.

It comes down to preference to an extent, but par values are important too. Actinics have almost no par, where as a Blue+ is one of the highest par bulbs they have and has a very similar lumenescent effect of a actinic.

I run an 8 Bulb fixture, with 2 Blue + on a seperate ballast which comes on 2 hours before my other 6 bulbs, and runs two hours longer than the other 6 as well.

The other 6 are two ATI Aquablue Specials, 1 Coral+, 1 Purple+, and one more Blue+

I get about a 12-14k look with these bulbs which is what I'm shooting for. Adding more blue+ bulbs would get you closer to the 20K look, and more ABS's would add a bit more of a yellow spectrum, and the Coral+ and Purple+ adds the purple color.

[gregzz4]

Nick, I had trouble making up my mind when I setup my 8 bulb, but knew I didnt want a lot of blue; I prefer a bright, natural look.

So to cover the spectrums for growth and looks, I went with;
2 Superblue
2 Coral Light 10K
3 Coral Light II 14K
1 Fiji Purple

I control each of my 4 ballasts independantly and have played around with the timers over the last 20+ months to balance growth against our viewing times

[kien]

Originally Posted by Slyguy00

So after reading about t5 and different bulbs and colour combos I'm more confused now then ever. Iv always had led and just switched to T5 (for now) so I know nothing about them. It seems everybody runs different colour combos and setups. How do you know what is best for coral growth and coloration? Is it all personal preference? There are so many different types, brands, and spectrums to choose from I don't know where to start. Any advice would be helpful. Thanks in advance.

When it comes down to it, it's really no different than any other lighting if you simply look at it from the perspective of colour temperature. All light sources can be viewed this way whether it be LEDs, halides or T5s or the sun.

There was probably a colour temperature that you liked on your LEDs? 6500K is yellowish, 10K is whiteish, 14/15K has a blue cast and 20K is quite blue. This is the same for all light technologies (Halides, LEDs, T5s, etc).

Going down in spectrum (say 10K) will give you more growth but will be a yellower look, while going up in spectrum (say 20K) will give you less growth but a bluer look. So let's say you like the 15K look, which is nice balance between growth and that ocean blue look. All you need to do now is find the bulb or bulbs that will give you that spectrum. In an LED unit you would probably program it in. Some LED units like the kessil will let you dial it in manually between a blue led and a white led. In a halide you would simply get the exact bulb you want, 10K, 15K or 20K. In a T5 fixture you can do the exact same thing, just get 6 15K bulbs to get the 15K look, or 6 20K bulbs to get the 20K look.

The beauty of a T5 fixture though is that you don't have to get all the same bulbs if you don't want to. So let's say again you like the 15K look. What you can do is get half 10K bulbs and half 20K bulbs. This will give you the 10K colour spectrum for growth while throwing in a nice blue coverage with the 20K bulbs. You can experiment further by mixing and matching to your hearts content.

The moral of this long winded post is, I would recommend focusing on a colour temperature that you like and then configuring your bulbs to that temperature.

[Slyguy00]

Thanks again everybody. I, like most people on here also like the blueish look. Im gonna play around and see what i like best. Sounds like 4 blue, 1 white, 1 pink though. Much appreciated

[AquaPin]

I am running:
1x True Actinic
1x Purple Plus
1x Coral Plus
1 x Aquablue Special
2 x Blue Plus

[waynemah]

Originally Posted by Slyguy00

Thanks again everybody. I, like most people on here also like the blueish look. Im gonna play around and see what i like best. Sounds like 4 blue, 1 white, 1 pink though. Much appreciated

That's where I would start.