blaze98 July 10, 2008 July 10, 2008 I have a 48" Nova 4 bulb fixture on my frag tank and the time has come to change out the bulbs. Right now I am running the original bulbs that came with the fixture, 2 10k and 2 actinic bulbs. I need suggestions on a good bulb manufacturer and a good website to order from. Also what bulb combo's are you running if you have a t-5 system? I have been checking out these lights on Reefgeek.com and thinking about the following combo..... Geisemann 11k aquablue Geisemann 10k aquasun 2 of these Geisemann Super actinic plus Has anyone played with a purple bulb? Purple Any suggestions or help is appreciated.
SDBDRZ July 10, 2008 July 10, 2008 I was not impressed with the Geisemann bulbs. I am currently running a combination of ATI Aquablue Special, Aquablue Plus and Procolor bulbs, and its probably the best combination I have had.
djcerna July 10, 2008 July 10, 2008 I was not impressed with the Geisemann bulbs. I am currently running a combination of ATI Aquablue Special, Aquablue Plus and Procolor bulbs, and its probably the best combination I have had. I agree.
blaze98 July 10, 2008 Author July 10, 2008 You think the ATI have a better color than the Geisemann? I have considered them, I saw some at Aquaco that caught my eye.
SDBDRZ July 10, 2008 July 10, 2008 You think the ATI have a better color than the Geisemann? In the correct bulb combination, yes
amay121 July 10, 2008 July 10, 2008 I'm running a combo of ATI Aquablue, Pro Color, UVL Auasun and 75/25. Growth is pretty good. If you really want to read up on T5, look it up on reefcentral and you can even ask The Grim Reefer about what bulb combination you'd like.
blaze98 July 10, 2008 Author July 10, 2008 I'm running a combo of ATI Aquablue, Pro Color, UVL Auasun and 75/25. Growth is pretty good. If you really want to read up on T5, look it up on reefcentral and you can even ask The Grim Reefer about what bulb combination you'd like. Headed to RC
amos July 10, 2008 July 10, 2008 ATIs, Geisemann, and UVLs have good reps for certain of their bulbs. I've used all three. From my research, folks tend to favor the ATI aquablue specials (for aquablue), either the Geisemann or ATI actinics (and have read good things about Sfiligois), and the UVLs 75/25. GE 6500k has a good rep for daylight. I've used all of these, and have been happy with them. If you are interested in PAR, there are some good sites out there with research on the bulbs' specific measurements. I have a link on my home computer I'll dig up this evening. On 4 bulb setups, you need to be careful with the more "specialty" bulbs, as they influence the look of the tank much more (PAR aside). I was recently running daylight, actinic, blue plus, aquable until I was persuaded that I didn't have enough PAR (need to measure). So I swapped an actinic for the UVL 75/25. Honestly, people seem to be happiest with 2 aquablues and 2 blue plus for the 4 bulb system. It looks good and I haven't heard any complaints on growth as expected for such a system. That was my original configuration, and despite all my tinkering, I haven't found anything that much superior to that. My only thing would be to keep a daylight bulb in the mix. For vendors, I use reefgeek most frequently- they have good info and a great selection. Marine Depot has Geiseman and UVL, but I believe they have a 4 bulb minimum purchase and may have extra shipping fees for bulbs. I have used Innovative Lighting Solutions in the past, but I think they carry only Geisemans. Jon
blaze98 July 10, 2008 Author July 10, 2008 ATIs, Geisemann, and UVLs have good reps for certain of their bulbs. I've used all three. From my research, folks tend to favor the ATI aquablue specials (for aquablue), either the Geisemann or ATI actinics (and have read good things about Sfiligois), and the UVLs 75/25. GE 6500k has a good rep for daylight. I've used all of these, and have been happy with them. If you are interested in PAR, there are some good sites out there with research on the bulbs' specific measurements. I have a link on my home computer I'll dig up this evening. On 4 bulb setups, you need to be careful with the more "specialty" bulbs, as they influence the look of the tank much more (PAR aside). I was recently running daylight, actinic, blue plus, aquable until I was persuaded that I didn't have enough PAR (need to measure). So I swapped an actinic for the UVL 75/25. Honestly, people seem to be happiest with 2 aquablues and 2 blue plus for the 4 bulb system. It looks good and I haven't heard any complaints on growth as expected for such a system. That was my original configuration, and despite all my tinkering, I haven't found anything that much superior to that. My only thing would be to keep a daylight bulb in the mix. For vendors, I use reefgeek most frequently- they have good info and a great selection. Marine Depot has Geiseman and UVL, but I believe they have a 4 bulb minimum purchase and may have extra shipping fees for bulbs. I have used Innovative Lighting Solutions in the past, but I think they carry only Geisemans. Jon Thanks for the very informative post. I am trying to avoid having that yellow look to the tank that the 10k's give while still maintaining good growth on my corals. I am leaning towards the 2 blue plus an aqua blue, and a 75/25. I hope this will be good for growth while minimizing the yellow tint. I think I am going to check with Sean at Aquaco to see if he has the bulbs I am looking for, I don't mind paying a little more to get them in my hands quicker, besides, I love his store
amos July 10, 2008 July 10, 2008 Just for reference, this is a great summation of the grim reefer's knowledge: http://www.reefmonkey.com/phpbb2/viewtopic...f332ea7852bf56a Alot of what you'll find on RC's T5 Q&A thread is encapsulated here. Jon
jamesbuf July 11, 2008 July 11, 2008 I was not impressed with the Geisemann bulbs. I am currently running a combination of ATI Aquablue Special, Aquablue Plus and Procolor bulbs, and its probably the best combination I have had. I also agree. I had one of the 72" Aquactinics fixtures on my old 180 and I was not pleased at all with the geisemans, both actinic and regular bulbs. The URI superactinic T5s gave a much better actinic look. I read through that T5 link and its definitely the clearest, most condensed information I've seen on T5s. Thanks to Jon for posting it.
blaze98 July 11, 2008 Author July 11, 2008 I posted the same thing over at RC and the grimm reefer suggested: ATI Blue Plus UVL Super Actinic UVL Aquasun ATI Blue Plus Should look 14K ish, good PAR I think I am going to go with Aquarium Specialty for the order....now who's up for a group buy? I have already had one person approach me about doing one.....Does anyone else need bulbs? I can arrange the group buy and we will all split shipping. If there is interest, I will contact Aquarium specialty tomorrow to see about a discount.
dano July 11, 2008 July 11, 2008 I would join a group buy but I live in Falls church and work in Bethesda and would need someone to drop it off closer. I enjoyed reading this thread as i also have a 4 x54 w t5. Any thoughts about raising a maxima clam under this lighting? Thanks. dano
blaze98 July 11, 2008 Author July 11, 2008 (edited) I would join a group buy but I live in Falls church and work in Bethesda and would need someone to drop it off closer. I enjoyed reading this thread as i also have a 4 x54 w t5. Any thoughts about raising a maxima clam under this lighting? Thanks. dano My wife works in West Bethesda, I am sure we can arrange some kind of pick up. I have read that as long as the tank is not very deep you can keep a clam under t-5's. I don't personally have experience with this, but I am hoping the bulb combo suggested will offer very good lighting for all types of corals Edited July 11, 2008 by blaze98
dano July 11, 2008 July 11, 2008 Thanks... so count me in and I will get whatever configuration you decide since I'm sure you are paying more attention to it. Dano
amay121 July 11, 2008 July 11, 2008 Dano, Depends on how deep your tank is. If you read up on RC, a lot of folks have clams on the sand and they're doing ok with T5s, but most won't suggest doing it with 4 bulbs on a 120 or 90. But it's possible. Rioreef is doing a IC660 with 6 or 5 bulbs and he has a gorgeous clam (also huge). There are a few other folks on here that I've heard have T5 (Big Country I believe).
dano July 11, 2008 July 11, 2008 thanks... I have a 72 gallon and was planning on putting it pretty high up. I just bought some bulbs from Dr. Fosters but think that especially if I am going to get a clam, I am better off getting some better bulbs as listed in this thread.
blaze98 July 11, 2008 Author July 11, 2008 I sent an email to Aquarium Specialty this morning and the owner is out of town until Monday. I was informed to resend the email inquiring about a discount on Monday, but I may just give them a call, I called this morning but didn't get an answer, I guess because the guy is gone. You can post up here if you are interested in joining in on this. Once I get a definitive answer about a discount I will start a thread in the group buy section.
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