need help picking out t5 lights

[nightfire76]

hey guys,i decided to go ahead a buy me a 4 bulb ice cap retro system but it doesnt come with lights so i found a place on ebay selling four for the price of one and need help figuring out the best setup for veiwing the tank and good nuff for corals whenever i get any....i was thinking maybe 2 daylights at 17,000k and 2 Actinic to give a bluish tint,i dont think id like the overly blue that many like but anyways here is the link 4 Bulbs T5 HO Aquarium Light Tubes 54W 54 watts 4 ft - eBay (item 300360249476 end time Nov-22-09 20:40:15 PST)

 

[bllfish]

Lighting is very important in a reef system and all bulbs are not created equal, especially when overdriving with ice caps. I think I would pass on "cheap" bulbs. They could cost you a lot of your corals and then the price starts getting steep. I would stick with the well known bulbs. Do a search on T5 lighting and you will get a ton of good information that should save you a lot of money in the long run.
JMO

 

[framerguy]

I agree, go with reputable light bulbs. I have gone the ebay way and was completely dissatisfied.

 

[BigJay]

go with giesseman , UVL or ATI.. all excellent manufacturers and should be able to readily find the spectrum charts. Those ebay bulbs seem sketchy at best.

 

[BigJay]

I know I've said it 100's of times on this forum but many lower end bulbs will tend to color shift extremely rapidly. Even if those bulbs listed are truely what they say they , I'd be worried they were still within spectrum in a months time.

 

[BigAl07]

NF as others have said stick with the GOOD bulbs. No sense in having a good fixture and ballast and use crappy bulbs. I've been there.. done that... You'll get what you pay for and I can assure you you're not saving money in the long-run. Here's how I look at it when it comes to our tanks...


Crap INTO the tank is always going to be CRAP IN THE TANK!

UVL, ATI, Giessemann are the only way to go. I've got an order of ATI on the way as we speak.

 

[dlcorliss]

I just did the same thing about a month ago and I went with the UVL bulbs. I think I paid around 300.00 for the whole kit including bulbs from Marine Depot. I'm not sure what your budget is but I searched for quite a while and that was the cheapest price I could find. I will say this, my anemone and corals look a 100 times better. It was the best investment I have made.

 

[nightfire76]

thanks guys ill skip the crap bulbs then,though what combo should i go with? that im not sure of

 

[nightfire76]

also do any of you guys have links to those types of bulbs at good prices?

 

[bllfish]

I have been using T5's for about 5 years. I bought the kit and all of the replacement bulbs at reef geek

 

[UTCreefer]

I'm one of the blue type guys. I've gotten great growth and color using ATI bulbs. 3 blue+ and 3 aquablue bulbs has been my favorite combo. I used 2 10k bulbs for about 6 months and had mediocre growth and a lot of hair algae. I'm not just blaming the bulbs or anything but they may have added to the algae issues.

 

[BigAl07]

also do any of you guys have links to those types of bulbs at good prices?

I buy from DIY Reef if they have what I'm ordering otherwise I go with ReefGeek

Here's a good bulb arrangement that should give some good growth

ATI Blue Plus
UVL 75/25
ATI Aquablue
ATI Blue Plus

 

[nightfire76]

thanks al i dont like that overly blue look cause i think it takes away from the look of alot of things

 

[BigAl07]

You'll want to go a different route than what I just posted. It's more heavy on the blues.... but those bulbs put out a BOAT load of PAR!! In fact as of Monday I'll have one fixture of JUST the Blue + because they are so high in PAR.

 

[nightfire76]

ah,ok al,i suppose i wont know whats good till i buy em

 

[nightfire76]

hows this for a set up or would that be too blue?
1 Super Actinic
2 12000K Actinic White
3 75/25 Bulb 14000K
4 12000K Actinic White

 

[Clownfish518]

Well, I would run two blue plus bulbs in the fixture. They put out a ton of PAR like Al said; they also put out light in the actinic spectrum and will cause fluorescence. I don't like to run actinic bulbs in a 4 bulb fixture myself as they don't produce a lot of PAR at all, though if I do run actinics it is the UVL super actinic.

For a more daylight look, I ran a blue plus, a 75/25, and two Aquasuns. Its not at all blue. Here is a picture taken in this setup

I was going for a more daylight look.

Not blue at all. The Phoenix 14k bulb is much bluer than the blue plus. Don't get put off by the name. As long as half your bulbs are whitish, your tank won't be blue. I am not as fond as blue like many same as you, but the blue plus is probably the best bulb in T5s. Two of them and two daylights will look nice.

 

[nightfire76]

thank you clownfish i suppose i can only ask is how do corals look under that light combo if ya know

 

[Clownfish518]

I don't have any corals in the tank yet. It is only 2-3 months old and I don't expect to add corals for another 3 months at least.

 

[BigAl07]

.....Not blue at all. The Phoenix 14k bulb is much bluer than the blue plus. Don't get put off by the name. As long as half your bulbs are whitish, your tank won't be blue. I am not as fond as blue like many same as you, but the blue plus is probably the best bulb in T5s. Two of them and two daylights will look nice.

Very accurate.

Yes the Blue + are very "strong" bulbs when looking at PAR. I've got some graphs on them on my office computer I'll try to remember to link tomorrow.