What quad T5 combo for most growth?

[chony]

I just want to see some growth! Any help is appreciated.


Thanks
Stephen

 

[izoid]

2 aquablue + and 2 actinic +.

 

[rolo65]

Usually anything from 10-15K on the spectrum produces more growth....anything above 15k usually has more blue so it shows more color....

 

[lilrobb]

6500, unfortunately...

Question, is how big is your tank?
The forum says BIG tanks, but BIG tanks aren't usually lit with candlelights....

 

[chony]

It is 55 gal. It looks big in my small apt though!

 

[johnmackay70]

LilRobb;736004 wrote: 6500, unfortunately...

Question, is how big is your tank?
The forum says BIG tanks, but BIG tanks aren't usually lit with candlelights....

I guess I am a bit confused on light spectrum and reef tanks...back in the 90's (yes I am old and ran reef tanks back then), we were lucky to run 6500 MH + a couple actinics (of sourse we were not keeping much in the way of SPS).

I am getting back in and have almost everything I need to start setting up my 40 breeder display...

I have 4 x 36" T5 (plan on running 2 blues + 2 actinincs) I also have 2 outdoor LED flood lights (CREE diodes in them) for a total of about 60 watts of 6500k LED (I got them basically free).

I have been told that I am making a mistake by running this setup. I plan on running a mixed tank Softies, LPS and a few SPS. And I do plan on running the LED floods (man they are bright) to see how they do.

Are you telling me that I am not making a mistake? I thnk with the amount of blue I will have over the tank, it will still make the coral colors pop. Am I wrong (remember, I am a child of 1990s reefing when everything looked brown )

Do people shy away from the 6500k color temp for fear of algae?

What is the deal?

 

[snowmansnow]

izoid;735996 wrote: 2 aquablue + and 2 actinic +.

I respectfully disagree

If you want good growth and a color you can stand I would go with

1x GE6500k (Yellowish)
2x ATI Blue Plus (Blue)
1X ATI Blue Special or KZ Coral Light (White)

Those lamps have constant high par readings. Actinic T5s are ABYSMAL at best.

I have used Grim's par readings for a while, at least for comparison (and so have a LOT of other people).

Here are the readings from the famous RC thread broken into brands. I BELIEVE this was done with 56w lamps (but the ratios should be the same for different lengths)

ATI
Sun Pro 357
Aquablue 336
Blue Plus 311
Actinic 137

D&D/Giesemann

Midday 325
Aquablue 324
Actinic Plus 264
Pure Actinic 157

UVL

Aqua sun 345
Actinic White 293
Super Actinic 210

AquaZ

Sun Pro 285
Ocean Pro 323
Blue Pro 266

Helios

Daylight 309
Super Blue 225

Current Sun Paq

Daylight 10K 272
Blue 252

GE Daylight 340

Edit:

johnmackay70;736019 wrote: I guess I am a bit confused on light spectrum and reef tanks...back in the 90's (yes I am old and ran reef tanks back then), we were lucky to run 6500 MH + a couple actinics (of sourse we were not keeping much in the way of SPS).

I am getting back in and have almost everything I need to start setting up my 40 breeder display...

I have 4 x 36" T5 (plan on running 2 blues + 2 actinincs) I also have 2 outdoor LED flood lights (CREE diodes in them) for a total of about 60 watts of 6500k LED (I got them basically free).

I have been told that I am making a mistake by running this setup. I plan on running a mixed tank Softies, LPS and a few SPS. And I do plan on running the LED floods (man they are bright) to see how they do.

Are you telling me that I am not making a mistake? I thnk with the amount of blue I will have over the tank, it will still make the coral colors pop. Am I wrong (remember, I am a child of 1990s reefing when everything looked brown )

Do people shy away from the 6500k color temp for fear of algae?

What is the deal?

don't use the floods

Edit:

johnmackay70;736019 wrote:

Do people shy away from the 6500k color temp for fear of algae?

What is the deal?

if your water doesn't contain excess nutrients you won't have an algae problem

 

[micha118833]

Do people shy away from the 6500k color temp for fear of algae?

I think people shy away from the 6500k because its a dull color.
I beleive your algae actually likes a lower spectrum around 3500k

And I agree with IZOID, the giesemann aqua blues with the actinic plus bulbs should give you good growth but also give you a nice color to look at as well

 

[johnmackay70]

Ok, so if I don't use them on my display, what about this...

I had a mishap after finishing my 40breeder sump ( I have since purchased another sump)...I have taken apart the 40b sump, scrapped all silicon, I am going to cut it down to about 12 inches high and put it back together, to use this as a frag tank - since this is not a display, would the floods be ok here?

So far, I have only seen people tell me not to use them and other than "They will make the colors look bad" I have not heard any other reason. Am I missing something?