onux20 July 21, 2011 Share July 21, 2011 All, Not looking for "THE" answer just some useful personal observations. I have the IceCap Reef Illuminations rig, 2X250, 2X54 T5 and 2 LED Blue strip lights. The ligts are over a mix of sps and lps. I am currently running 14K on the MHs and I dont know the K on the T5s. I am thinking of going to 20K on the MHs and maybe trying to offset the blue with lower K T5s, maybe 6500K. What say you about 20K bubls? Preferred brand? How about overall color appearance of the tank, really blue, or a bluish tint? Coloration of coral? Discernable difference in growth rate vs other K lights? Do you supplement? If so, what color? Thoughts and opinions please. Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trockafella July 21, 2011 Share July 21, 2011 Try out the reddish bulbs, cant rememeber the name of the giesemann version, but I think its fiji purple with ATI. Helps bring out the reds / oranges.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowieReefer84 July 21, 2011 Share July 21, 2011 Be a guinea pig and try these out... Giesemann introduces 17,500K Megachrome Crystal metal halide bulbs http://www.advancedaquarist.com/blog/giesemann-introduces-17-500k-megachrome-crystal-metal-halide-bulbs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocko918 July 21, 2011 Share July 21, 2011 (edited) I run 3 20k 250w radiums, i find them to be awesome. Not too blue, has a nice crisp look to them. Before that i ran 14k xm, was really disappointed with the look and growth. I do have 2 6ft actinic vho's Edited July 21, 2011 by rocko918 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Ivers July 21, 2011 Share July 21, 2011 (edited) The lower kelvin (yellower) you go with any bulb (MH or T5, etc) you'll get alot more PAR aka alot better growth. BUT the color of both the corals themselves and the tank will look like crap unless you supplement with blue bulbs. I would go with a 10K bulb, I've heard great things about the Ushio 10K bulbs for growth. I'd then go with blue bulbs such as the ATI Blue Plus (a blue bulb with decent par, maybe around a 16K color) for the "blue" effect. But with only 2 T5's total, you may want to try out 12K bulbs and the Blue Plus bulbs. Depends on what overall color you're looking for. Your MH bulbs should be the lower K since they provide the most light and are mostly for growth and the T5's should be blue so that you can get a good overall color. Plus it would look really weird to have a yellow colored "actinic period" in the dusk/dawn cycle. HTH PS, rocko, your tank must be insanely blue with Radiums AND VHO actinics. Edited July 21, 2011 by Max Ivers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onux20 July 21, 2011 Author Share July 21, 2011 (edited) Depends on what overall color you're looking for. Your MH bulbs should be the lower K since they provide the most light and are mostly for growth and the T5's should be blue so that you can get a good overall color. Plus it would look really weird to have a yellow colored "actinic period" in the dusk/dawn cycle. HTH PS, rocko, your tank must be insanely blue with Radiums AND VHO actinics. I understand what you are saying. I want a bit more blue in the tank. I think the 6500 T5 and the LED will give it a decent look. I was thinking the same about Rocko, but I have seen his tank and it is awesome. Edited July 21, 2011 by onux20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onux20 July 21, 2011 Author Share July 21, 2011 Be a guinea pig and try these out... Giesemann introduces 17,500K Megachrome Crystal metal halide bulbs http://www.advancedaquarist.com/blog/giesemann-introduces-17-500k-megachrome-crystal-metal-halide-bulbs I was an earlier adopter of the Ice Cap light...and we all know how that turned out. Maybe I will wait to see what the others say about it first. There are bound to be some issues. Although, I have not ruled it out ocmpletely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowieReefer84 July 21, 2011 Share July 21, 2011 Yea, I have really liked every 20k radium tank I have seen. Most notably gadgets old 120 tech series... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocko918 July 21, 2011 Share July 21, 2011 (edited) PS, rocko, your tank must be insanely blue with Radiums AND VHO actinics. nope not at all. They are actually pretty crisp white bulbs. Have you tried them? Edited July 21, 2011 by rocko918 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowsingle July 21, 2011 Share July 21, 2011 nope not at all. They are actually pretty crisp white bulbs. Have you tried them? Go 20K radiums for sure and add super actinic or deep blue supplementation. I've seen rocko's tank and it is by no means too blue, in fact, I like my tank even bluer than his..... Darren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onux20 July 21, 2011 Author Share July 21, 2011 Okay, apparently Radium does not make a DE 250W. DRAT! What is the next most popular choice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakotasreef July 22, 2011 Share July 22, 2011 What about phoenix bulbs. I run a phoenix on my frag tank and 400 radiums on my dt. The radiums only appear a little more blue. To be honest, most people don't see the difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k July 22, 2011 Share July 22, 2011 Maybe it's time to switch to all LED? I have a Chucelli-built LED fixture that makes all of the colors look beautiful. Growth is better than any other light that I have used too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveoutlaw July 22, 2011 Share July 22, 2011 Go out and look at some tanks......that's the best way to decide if you like the color of a particular bulb. Plus, you can see how different color combos look. I'm a firm believer that the best color and growth is acheived by a mix of different type bulbs. The Phoenix 14K have really good color and you can get close to the radium color by supplementing them. I ran the 250w DE Phoenix with 4 actinic T5s and was very happy with the color and growth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overklok July 22, 2011 Share July 22, 2011 I run AI LEDs, but I believe the best color combo is 20,000k radiums and VHO actinics. Rocko has the right combination. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onux20 July 22, 2011 Author Share July 22, 2011 (edited) Maybe it's time to switch to all LED? I have a Chucelli-built LED fixture that makes all of the colors look beautiful. Growth is better than any other light that I have used too. Rob, I have too much invested in the MH/T5s. I cannot rationalize (read, explain to the wife) spending a large sum of money on another set of lights. Ron Edited July 22, 2011 by onux20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami July 22, 2011 Share July 22, 2011 20k radiums are sweet,but I hear your frustration: They're not available in a 250W double-ended (they are in 150W,though - imagine that). 14K phoenix lamps are bluer than 14K XM's. I ran the XM's before and preferred the phoenix lamps. I also ran some Ushios. They were a bit yellow for me. Find someone with a tank lit with 250W Phoenix lamps and ask to see them in-person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveoutlaw July 22, 2011 Share July 22, 2011 Rob, I have too much invested in the MH/T5s. I cannot rationalize (read, explain to the wife) spending a large sum of money on another set of lights. Ron I don't like LEDs. I thought they were great when I first got them on my tank, but after a while I didn't like them. Colors weren't great and the growth wasn't what I expected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onux20 July 22, 2011 Author Share July 22, 2011 I don't like LEDs. I thought they were great when I first got them on my tank, but after a while I didn't like them. Colors weren't great and the growth wasn't what I expected. I dont like them either. But they seem to be pretty popular. Truth be told, I am kinda regretting moving away from the 8X54 T5s. Slow day at work so I have been thinking. I just extended the photoperiod on the LED strips. I dont think I have ever seen the tank with all of the lights, MH, T5, and LED, on at once. The LEDs should add a little blue to the overall color. May that and changing out one of the T5s will get me where want to be. Time to experiment... Thanks to all for your inputs...keep 'em coming please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trockafella July 22, 2011 Share July 22, 2011 Ive tried all 3 (MH, T5, LED) and I ended up back at T5s, and I am very pleased. I use a Hybrid system, T5's with 1watt blue LEDs, its a Finnex DL series. My unit is only 4 T5's, but its not a wide tank. If I went bigger I would do retro fit set up with T5 and 3 watt LEDs. I love the color choices of T5's and the proven growth, but the blue LEDs really give you that "POP".. I agree that you should look at some tanks and get a better understanding of your options.. Im out in fairfax if you ever wanna stop by, im sure many others will open there door to you as well... Whatever you do, make sure its because YOU like it. I think thats why a lot of people went LED simply bc of the hype and its new. Nothing at all against LEDs, especially the nice systems like AI units, but I think people were expecting something else.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveoutlaw July 23, 2011 Share July 23, 2011 Ive tried all 3 (MH, T5, LED) and I ended up back at T5s, and I am very pleased. Exactly. I'm now running an ATI 4x24w T5 fixture and I like it so much better than the LEDs. But again, YOU need to go out and look at some tanks with different lighting to make the best decision for your tank. I can't tell you how many times I wish I wouldn't have blindly listened to someone's opinion on here.......I'd have a lot more money in the bank and a lot less equipment lying around. Good luck with the search. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epleeds July 23, 2011 Share July 23, 2011 Truth be told, I am kinda regretting moving away from the 8X54 T5s. I am selling an 8x54 watt fixture for really cheap. that way there would be less explaining to the wife Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onux20 July 24, 2011 Author Share July 24, 2011 Exactly. I'm now running an ATI 4x24w T5 fixture and I like it so much better than the LEDs. But again, YOU need to go out and look at some tanks with different lighting to make the best decision for your tank. I can't tell you how many times I wish I wouldn't have blindly listened to someone's opinion on here.......I'd have a lot more money in the bank and a lot less equipment lying around. Good luck with the search. I hear you. But getting time to do it is a whole nother issue. I think the first step is to change the T5s and see if I can get soemthing I like better. I am selling an 8x54 watt fixture for really cheap. that way there would be less explaining to the wife Thanks for the offer, but I am gonna tough it out with the current lights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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