New RSM250 owner saying hi...with a quick lighting question lol

[Gerardo]

hey guys. im eagerly awaiting my new red sea max 250 to come in and i have a quick lighting question. I want to upgrade the lighting right away and i been seeing people use bulbs like the "aquablue special" and "blue plus". i want a crystal blue look around the 12000k - 14000k. basically nice crystal blue (not too blue) that will also promote good coloring and growth in corals. can anyone recommend a good combination? i been looking on reefgeek and i've seen one aquablue by ati and one by giesemann. which one would work better?


Cant wait to get this goin lol. will have camera ready from day one.

 

[redsea reefer]

Welcome and good luck with your tank!

You can try 3 ATI Blue Plus and 3 ATI AquaBlue Special. Get an extra one of each and experiment to get the look you want.

 

[Reefmack]

Welcome to reef Sanctuary and the RSM Club! Check out the bulb descriptions on Reef Geek to an idea of the color. The higher the overall K rating the bluer the bulb. 14k is bluer than 10k. 20 k is bluer than 14k. Actinic energy (420 & 460 nm) is what gets some fluoresecence out of the corals, but you don't want only actinic bulbs - you need some full spectrum energy (example 10k, 14k) to get healthy coral growth.

The stock bulbs are pretty good. You may want to start with those and in 8-10 months you'll need to change the bulbs anyway.

 

[steved13]

Welcome!!!

Bulbs are really a personal preference thing. I swapped out some here and there and ended up with:

1 original RS 10k
2 original RS actinic blue
1 Geisseman fiji purple
1 Geisseman pure actinic
1 KZ 14k

 

[Gerardo]

Thanks guys for the input! i thought of a probable combination. 2x Aquablue special, 1x 12000k Actinic white, 3x Blue plus. would this maybe give me a good combination of blue and full spectrum? what about the fiji purple? how are people liking that one?

 

[redsea reefer]

Thanks guys for the input! i thought of a probable combination. 2x Aquablue special, 1x 12000k Actinic white, 3x Blue plus. would this maybe give me a good combination of blue and full spectrum?

Yes

 

[Gerardo]

sweeeeet. thanks guys! ill order that combo, maybe a fiji purple and an extra aquablue to mix and match till im happy. also i noticed on reefgeek a spectrum difference between the ATI Aquablue Special and the Giesemann Aquablue Plus. Is this difference significant or negligible? basically, which one would be more recommendable lol. thanks.

 

[redsea reefer]

You're welcome! I would go with the ATI...

 

[Nowellsy SNR]

Hi welcome to RS

 

[Reefmack]

You're welcome. I've had both the ATI Aquablue Special and the Giesemann Aquablue Plus, and to be honest I like look of the ATI better.

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

to ReefSanctuary and the RSM Club, a real Sanctuary of reef forums, with lots of very nice members

My new RSM 250 is about 3 months old, I plan on changing out my bulbs soon... I have been talking to reefgeeks - I use thier bulbs now in my 130D

Here an e-mail they sent me, with thier recommendations... if it helps... Great compnay !!!

------------
Here is a recap of what we talked about today as well as the combos I promised



With your current PCF Setup (75/25 Aquablue/2 in 1 SA) on your RedSeaMax 130, you have a bit of “pink” hue to your tank. Our recommendation to replicate that for your T5 Setup would be:



QTY 4 - UVL0027 UVL 39W 75/25 14000K AquaBlue T5 HO Fluorescent

QTY 2 - UVL 39W Super Actinic T5 HO Fluorescent



Here a couple of our more popular 6 bulb combos for you to review as well…



6-Bulb

3 ATI B+

1 ATI 12k Aquablue

1 GE 6500K Daylight

1 ATI Purple Plus



For the bluer look, Replace the Aquablue with another ATI B+



Glenn, let me know if you have any additional questions. And thanks again for the opportunity to work with you.





Regards,



George Balolong

reefgeek, Inc.
2908 Oregon Ct, Ste I-5
Torrance, CA 90503

Toll Free 866-295-9230
310-533-9500
310-782-9507 (fax)
ReefGeek > Aquarium Supplies for Marine, Reef, and Saltwater Aquariums

 

[Reefmack]

You may or may not like the look of the "purple" bulbs. Many say they're too pink. I've had mine in and out a few times (back in now) and I'm still not sure I like the pink hue it adds. I now have my purple towards the back and it's more acceptable to my eye being back there. As steved13 said, a lot of bulb choice decisions are based on people's preferences for the look they like best. 6500k is a great bulb for corals but very yellow.