t5 bulbs

[winkkle]

I have a 8 bulb t5 light and about to spend the money and get new bulbs. My question is whats the best bulb for the dollar? Also, whats the best combination of blues, purples, actinics and midday lighting??? I was told at the frag swap to do 3 true actinic 2 blue and 1 purple plus 2 6000k yellow?

 

[hnguyen]

That combo will give you good results. I use the ati bulbs on my max and I've gotten really good color and growth out of my corals.

 

[winkkle]

i was thinking of going led after i buy 8 new bulbs i can almost get 2 led fixtures.

 

[hnguyen]

what length is your T5 bulbs? Mines are the 39w ones and their only 20-25 each. What LED fixture were you looking at getting that's so cheap?

 

[winkkle]

mine are 48" 54w. Not sure the brand. Another member posted a link to a unit on ebay. Looks exactly like one my buddy has and his are pretty nice

 

[hnguyen]

I'm not too crazy about ordering lights from eBay. To me there a hit a miss. Too much unknown IMO. Good luck with them if you do get them and post results to share with us.

 

[winkkle]

I really dont know how to install these leds. I have high ceilings where my tank is so id have to get some sort of mount or something

 

[hnguyen]

Most online venders sale light hanging kits. You'll just have to go up to the attic and attach it to a stud. I've never hung any lights so hopefully someone with mote exp. With them can help you

 

[winkkle]

Yea don't really wanna hang them Have tontry somethin else

 

[hnguyen]

you can make some hanging arms that can connect to the back of your stand and then turns a 90 degree over your tank. That way you can just hang your lights from the arms. Most people do that when they don't hang from the ceiling.

 

[smallblock]

Wink, there is a guy on RC who is a guru on this topic. His name is grimreefer and has alot of pics of diff combos, If you ask him what you are after he will set you up with a killer combo.

 

[heyitsmirix3]

1 UVL Atinic
2Blue plus
3Fiji
4Blue plus
5AQUA blue sp
6Blue pluse
7blue plus
8UVL attinic

Probably would be a good combination.

 

[smallblock]

I dissagree, you guys run 2 much blue for me.

 

[thanh386]

I actually run more purple than that. I think she was looking at my 12 bulb configuration and removing the night actinics. I have always been a fan of blue, u can the aqua blue and blue pulse with 10k of ur choice

 

[smoothie]

Mounting - you can even use shelf brackets to hang them off of the wall to your tank. What look are you going for?

 

[winkkle]

Looking for a sleek look really. And I was told if u run that much blue it's better to offset with a yellow bulb like 6k

 

[snowmansnow]

winkkle;694978 wrote: I have a 8 bulb t5 light and about to spend the money and get new bulbs. My question is whats the best bulb for the dollar? Also, whats the best combination of blues, purples, actinics and midday lighting??? I was told at the frag swap to do 3 true actinic 2 blue and 1 purple plus 2 6000k yellow?

http://www.reefgeek.com">www.reefgeek.com</a>

1x 6500k GE Daylight
4x ATI Blue +
3x ATI Blue Special

Thats my pick and opinion