calebtrueblue Posted May 24, 2014 Report Share Posted May 24, 2014 Just bought a used aquatic life t5 figure from a member and it currently has two 10k bulbs, one actinic, and one blue in it. It's pretty washed out, so I was going to swap out a 10k for something else. Should I get another actinic or blue, or something else altogether? My tank is zoa dominate, so I'm looking for florescence and good color. Also, the bulbs are coralife. I know there are other options, will I be able to tell the difference? Will my Zoas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnighthawKz Posted May 24, 2014 Report Share Posted May 24, 2014 I always liked the ATI bulbs. My last setup I just used the "blue +" bulbs and the "purple +" bulbs. I had a 6 bulb setup and was running 4 blue and 2 purple and it gave a what I was told a 20k look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwoller Posted May 24, 2014 Report Share Posted May 24, 2014 Equal blue plus and purple plus was my favorite look when I had t5's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coralfarm123 Posted May 24, 2014 Report Share Posted May 24, 2014 I have a 6 bulb on my frag tank and run 4 ATI blue plus and 2 KZ Fiji purple. It gives great growth and color. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calebtrueblue Posted May 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2014 I bought another blue, so I have 2 blue, a 10k, and a actinic. It looks a little better. The water is a light blue color which I don't really find appealing. The coral color is decent but not great. Maybe I'm being too picky. Anyone every tried those actinic white bulbs? Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwoller Posted May 25, 2014 Report Share Posted May 25, 2014 Check the reefcentral thread on t5 bulb selection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calebtrueblue Posted May 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2014 Found a few good articles. I'm trying just 2 10k and 2 blue +. Not at much coral pop but at least I don't have blue sand. Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefer82 Posted May 25, 2014 Report Share Posted May 25, 2014 I have an actinic white PC paired w a 50/50 and it looks pretty good to me. Ymmv... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calebtrueblue Posted May 26, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2014 So I went back to the 2 blues, actinic, and 10k. I put them in a different order and it looked way better. Didn't realize bulb position would make such a difference. The coralife actinic seems dull, dunno if that's just the way they are or if the bulb is old. Might try a purple next time Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsBugmaster Posted May 26, 2014 Report Share Posted May 26, 2014 I like the ATI bulbls Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaco Posted May 26, 2014 Report Share Posted May 26, 2014 I ran 3 Blue+ and a purple+ when I had a 4 bulb fixture. Worked great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calebtrueblue Posted May 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2014 Wow Jaco, that had to be really blue, over 20k even? The last bulb I got was ATI, seems like a good bulb, although I've heard good things about the geisseman actinic Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaco Posted May 27, 2014 Report Share Posted May 27, 2014 It was blue but not as blue as I was expecting. The Blue + bulb still puts off very good par. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calebtrueblue Posted May 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2014 I've seen tanks that look really white but have really bright colors. Not sure how that is accomplished, but that's what I like. Maybe 2 actinics? Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jingram2010 Posted June 4, 2014 Report Share Posted June 4, 2014 That's what I have then one 10000k and one purple too Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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