Looking for suggestions... T5 bulb Combos

[Myka]

Originally Posted by lorenz0

ha ha touche. I love the New gen's, they are like the phoenix of t5's

Aren't the Coral Light II the "New Generation"? Although I see New Gen listed as 14,000K on KZ site, and Coral Light II listed as 15,000K on J&L site. KZ site doesn't list Coral Light II. Hrm. Now I confused. I think J&L has the New Gens listed as Coral Light II, and have the Kelvin wrong. Maybe?? I can't read the labels on my "Coral Light II" bulbs anymore so I'm not sure if they say Coral Light II or New Gen.

[fencer]

Ms M
How do you like the 454 nm?

[daniella3d]

sure it would be blue but the only thing that make the coral fluorescent is the actinic. If you really want the fluorescence, then it's more actinic.

My MH goes off at 6:00 pm and from there my 75 gallons is only lit by 2 x actinic. Yes it's blue, but it's a nice contrast with the day light and it definitly makes the coral pop.

You could keep the daylight bulb but only use it for mid day, and then in the evening turn this set off and leave more actinic.

Are you able to turn on and off part of your lighting fixture? you could put that on a controller if they ave different plugs. My MH has 3 separated power cords and my T5HO is a sundial with 2 individual integrated timers to control both set of 2 x actinic and the other of 1 x fiji and 1 x 14,000k.

If you have this option, you can vary the light with the time of day.

Originally Posted by paddyob

Would that be very blue? I have a 75G so not sure if that make a world of difference.

[daniella3d]

but then if you are able to turn off the other lights and vizualise your aquarium with only actinic in the evening, it's really make their fluorescent pop out.

You never use actinic?

Originally Posted by chris88

With a 6 bulb fixture i would not run an actinic bulb. The par is to low and you willnot notice the added blue when it is all mixed in anyways. Instead run the following listed below.

ATI BLUE PLUS OR KZ SUPERBLUE
ATI AQUA BLUE OR KZ CORAL LIGHT
ATI BLUE PLUS OR KZ SUPERBLUE
KZ FIJI PURPLE OR ATI PURPLE PLUS
ATI BLUE PLUS OR KZ SUPERBLUE
KZ NEW GEN

Every bulb listed has a par over 300 and are know to be the brightess and the best.

[Myka]

Originally Posted by fencer

Ms M
How do you like the 454 nm?

That`s one sweet bulb. Easily replaces the ATI BluePlus at a cheaper cost, and better availability. I have been playing around with the look using the Super Actinics and the 454s...back and forth...can`t make up my mind.

[chris88]

The 454 has very low PAR compared to the ati blue plus and the kz superblue with almost an identical spectrum.

Actinic bulbs are not going to give you enough par and the spectrum is to narrow, the new blue bulbs out there will double the par and still fluoress “pop” the corals very well. 6 bulb t5 on a tank deeper then 18 inches, you need to increase the PAR buy choosing better bulbs.

[lorenz0]

Originally Posted by chris88

The 454 has very low PAR compared to the ati blue plus and the kz superblue with almost an identical spectrum.

Actinic bulbs are not going to give you enough par and the spectrum is to narrow, the new blue bulbs out there will double the par and still fluoress “pop” the corals very well. 6 bulb t5 on a tank deeper then 18 inches, you need to increase the PAR buy choosing better bulbs.

oh man you sound exactly like me a year ago. I'm sure myka might remember this but I used to yell and curse how they were a waste of a bulb. I also told her to prove it to me that they have any effect on your corals... oh i was wrong

I am actually running one now (Giesemann pure actinic) and I am getting some cool colors in that tank. Growth is great, can't complain.

[chris88]

Which bulb? the actinic or the 454 is giving you the colors?

Originally Posted by lorenz0

oh man you sound exactly like me a year ago. I'm sure myka might remember this but I used to yell and curse how they were a waste of a bulb. I also told her to prove it to me that they have any effect on your corals... oh i was wrong

I am actually running one now (Giesemann pure actinic) and I am getting some cool colors in that tank. Growth is great, can't complain.

[lorenz0]

Its actually a 421nm pure actinic

never got these colors before. Like my convexa is a nice orange/red and my green birdsnest is a cool teal color.

[Myka]

Originally Posted by chris88

The 454 has very low PAR compared to the ati blue plus and the kz superblue with almost an identical spectrum.

Please state your sources, I am genuinely interested. The PAR comparison I have seen are within 10% of ATI. I'm not familiar with the KZ SuperBlue, although I'm considering trying it out on my nano.

Originally Posted by chris88

Actinic bulbs are not going to give you enough par and the spectrum is to narrow, the new blue bulbs out there will double the par and still fluoress “pop” the corals very well.

The 454 is not an actinic bulb, it is a blueplus bulb like the ATI and the KZ, all of which are actinic and blue together. Read what I said about the UVL Super Actinic regarding PAR and PUR.

Originally Posted by chris88

6 bulb t5 on a tank deeper then 18 inches, you need to increase the PAR buy choosing better bulbs.

The bulbs I suggested were all chosen with PAR (or PUR) in mind. Of course the blue combo I suggested will have about 15% less PAR than the whitest combo I suggested.

In all honesty though, I personally don't think PAR is quite as important as many people think. Water quality, stability, and flow are the most key factors to good coloring on SPS corals imo. You can have really nice SPS under modest lighting provided the water is pristine, the parameters are stable, and the flow is optimum.