T5 Bulbs

[PotomacBoater]

I have a Teklight 6 Bulb fixture (8" off the water)

48" 54W bulbs

I have some high light demand corals - Maxima and RBTA

and I want to get the most out of ordering new bulbs

 

I assume BRS and reefgeek are both good bulb sources?

 

I was THINKING about (in order)

Blue +

Actinic +

Coral +

10,000K

Purple +

Blue +

 

But I am kinda guessing.

 

I want the colors to "pop"

but I also want enough spectrum that the higher demand corals are satisfied.

 

How long until I would have to replace these bulbs?

 

I want to go to LEDs,

but I hope this gives me a 9 month reprieve while I buy/build/steal a nice LED hood.

 

 

Thanks for any advice

[Big Country]

Reefgeek is where I always ordered my bulbs from. They typically last about 12 months before they need replacement. There is a large T5 thread on Reefcentral, have a look and I'm sure you will find Grim Reefer has recommended a six bulb set for just what you want or post up your question on there and someone will make a recommendation

[firecrackerbob]

not sure that you have enough actinic there to get a huge pop, but im not familiar with the coral plus bulb... here is what I am currently running- you could change the VHO for T5:

 

front

blue plus

VHO actinic

VHO actinic

aqua blue

fiji purple

blue plus

back

 

looks good to me- blue ish white, lots of pop, maybe 14-16K color temp.

cheers