Need Advice on T5 lamps

[james s_]

Ok its about time to replace the four lamps in my Aqaumedic 36" fixture. I have a guy that is selling some that are only 2 months old on the cheap. Heres the list of what he has can you guys tell me which ones would be the best out of the bunch.

2- Current 10K
Current 460nm actinic
UV Super Atinic
UV aquasun
3- ATI Blue Plus
ATI Aqua Blue Special
2- D&D Aquablue +
2- Giesemann Atinic +

 

[james s_]

I have heard good things about the ATI Aqua Blues and Aqua blues+ but I still need to decide which daylight bulbs to go with. Which four would you guys choose?

 

[xyzpdq0121]

What size tank?

Personally I would go with either 2 of the 10K and fill the other two spots with the Giesemann Actinic + bulbs. If you want go with one of the 10K and 2 Giesemann Actinic + and either one Aquablue+ or Super Actinic. Depends on what look you are going for. The giesemann Actinic + report to have almost as much par as a 10K bulb, so I do not think you will be loosing much by using them. I have 3 Actinic + and 1 10K on my 40 gal and it looks like a 14K temp. When I tried 1 10K 1 ture actinic and two actinic + bulbs it started to look almost like 20K combo. It is all about what you like.

 

[james s_]

Tank is a 125 gallon. Yes the sides are not as bright Im looking for an even balance of color around a 14k I guess.
Has anyone tried a UV Aquasun? Or would I be better off with the 2 -Current 10k's? Maybe one of each?

 

[xyzpdq0121]

Ya I would say the sides are not as bright!

In that case, me personally, I would go with the two Actinic + and the 2 10Ks. It should give you a 12-13K appearence with good reflectors and still have a punch to reach light to the sandbed.

 

[cdub]

do not use any actinic lights! blueplus will produce the same coloration with far more PAR. i ditched my actinics awhile ago and couldn't be any happier.

 

[james s_]

How about this combination?
1-UV Aquasun
1-Current 10k
1-Geisemann Actinic +
1-ATI Aqua Blue Special or Blue plus

 

[xyzpdq0121]

You would have to see it up and running to see if it is the color that you like but should give you fairly good results. What corals are you going to try to keep?

 

[FutureInterest]

I would go with the following if you can only choose 4 bulbs:
2- ATI Blue Plus
ATI Aqua Blue Special
1- Giesemann Atinic +

Take it from an avid T5 user who has experimented with many different bulbs... All T5 bulbs are not created equal. Believe it or not the ATI blue bulbs will give you more par than the current 10ks. It doesn't make sense, but I measured it with a par meter and found that to be true. I've heard other people also confirm these results as the currents just aren't very good bulbs for our HO setups. You can still go with the currents though if you want a less bluer look, and don't care about par but the ATI blues are basically 12k which is white with a nice hint of blue and they give you more par.

As for actinics, I like the Geissman and use those myself. If you're considering overdriving then you might consider the UV bulbs as they are supposed to be able to be overdriving more so than other bulbs. I have yet to confirm that as true though... I need to get my hands on a par meter again...

 

[james s_]

Thanks Jin, Ill go with that combination. No overdriving though they are in my Aquamedic 4 lamp fixture.Nothing special in the tank just fish and a few softies. Par is not really my concern looking for a nice color more then anything.