T5 Bulb Suggestions?

[piznac]

I have a four bulb T5 fixture over my 46gl softies tank, and its time to replace the bulbs. Currently I am running to 10k's and 2 actinics(I have no idea on brand, it is just what came with the fixture).

I wanted to use a sponsor so I went over to aquabuys website. Now I'm a bit confused.

Has anyone had any experience with these?
http://www.aquabuys.com/miva/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=ss_uvl_7525_39&Category_Code=d1g&Product_Count=4">http://www.aquabuys.com/miva/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=ss_uvl_7525_39&Category_Code=d1g&Product_Count=4</a>

Or maybe these:

[IMG]http://www.aquabuys.com/miva/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=ss_uvl_as39&Category_Code=d1g&Product_Count=7">http://www.aquabuys.com/miva/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=ss_uvl_as39&Category_Code=d1g&Product_Count=7</a>

I still want to maintain the two actnic type and two day lights in the 10k region. Would this be a good combo or does anyone have any suggestions on what the best combo would be?

 

[derek_s]

Well the UVL Aquasuns are pretty close to 10k. Kinda a little pink.

The 75 25 is really similar, with some of the actinic spectrum.

I would suggest ATI or Aquascience lamps over UVL. I did not like the UVLs very much, but it is a preference thing.

2 ATI Blue + and 1 ATI Procolor and 1 ATI Aquablue (or 2 aquabues) would probably be nice. The blue + is very blue, while the aquablues are fairly whitish-blue. No sponsor I know of carries these.

Also you could try 2 of the Aquascience 10ks and 2 of the 22ks. But, I have not personally tried these. Einstein carries these.

Either way, replacing the originals with a higher quality lamp will be an inprovement you will notice and enjoy.

 

[derek_s]

Also you can look around on reefcentral for lots of threads about t5 selections. There are also lots of pics if you can find the right thread. I never can

 

[nickskains]

I am running one of the UVL 75.25 now. Its a great supplement bulb. Similar to a Fiji Purple. Has a good red balance to it. I am also running the AquaSun as a daylight bulb with a ATI Aquablue. The AquaSun bulb also has a good red spectrum that some of the other daylight bulbs don't give off. Both are very good choices for bulbs. Just make sure you run some blues with them to offset the red/pink tint they are going to give off otherwise your tank will be too pink.

How many bulbs can you run in your fixture?

If you are running 4 I would do a, 1 Blue bulb, 1 Pure Actinic, 1 Aquasun and then the 75.25.

 

[nickskains]

Unless you order the ATI bulbs. Those are probably the best. I got a whole mess of bulbs when I set my light up to try a few different ones out to see what was what and how they looked.

 

[crew]

imm runing 2 10k, 1 act, 1 midday and I rlly lik the colr
all geismmsen from aqubuys

 

[cdub]

I would suggest 2 blue plus bulbs in your setup. Good blue color plus high par.

 

[piznac]

I ended up going with this combo:

Front
Giesemann Actinic+
Giesemann Aquablue
UVL Aquasun
UVL 75.25


Can't say Im in love with it yet,.. but it is for sure brighter!

 

[blind1993]

lets see some pics of the tank now, i wanna see if that combo looks good. i have to change the bulbs this summer.

 

[piznac]

meh I have a really crappy camera. I would suggest if you don't like a pinkish/orange tint don't go this route. I might do one more replacement to try to get that pinkish tone out.

UVL Aquasun
UVL 75.25

Both of these are really pinkish.

 

[tchristman]

I use 3 60" 80 watt for supplemental and dusk to dawn and I just changed my bulbs. I use ATI bulbs and I am very happy. I order them from reefgeek. The bulbs that I just changed to are 1 Blue Plus, 1 Pro Color and 1 Actinic. If I was to do it over I would probably use 2 Blue Plus with 1 Pro Color. I really like the Pro Color bulb with the Blue Plus. Hope this helps.

 

[weaglereefer]

Yeah, I wasn't happy with the Aquasun either. I'd drop that one out. The 75/25 is not nearly as pink.

 

[nickskains]

Or take the 75.25 out for another blue. The Aquasun is a Daylight bulb. The 75.25 is a supplement bulb, like a fiji purple.

 

[piznac]

I don't really like the look of the extra red, but I think I'm going to let it go. I'm curious to see if that spectrum effects anything,...