Best 4 bulb t5 setup

mike030987

Non-member
Hi there all, was wondering whst people thought of the best 4 bulb setup for frag tank. Right now fixture has 2 coralife colormax ( which i will at the least be replacing fairly soon), one ati actinic, one ati blu+. Id love thoughts on what i could swap the colormax for or just the best for the entire set up. Either input or send me in the right direction would be great. Thanks

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i have 3 blu+ and one purple + and Im happy with the overall color. My buddy has 3 blu+ and one actinic and I love that and will probably switch my purple plus to actinic. Really all personal preference I think as long as everything is growing.
 
Yea, I have yet to have a t5 fixture above my corals yet. It has been either fowlr so it hasnt been as important, or led for corals. My first t5 for corals and just not sure what would be best/look best to me. Any one else have opinions?

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I guess it depends on what color temp you prefer. I'm more of a 10-14k person but it seems like the trend is towards the bluer side. That's just too washed for my taste.

For my 6 bulb Tek, I run (2) ATI Blue Plus, (2) AquaBlue Specials, (1) Coral Plus, and (1) Purple Plus.

I wouldn't run an actinic bulb in anything less than a 6 bulb fixture just because the PAR values don't compare with the others.
 
Ok. So thats kind of what i was looking for. As it is a frag tank im looking for beat combo as far as growth as well as looks. So the actinic may hinder growth compared to a different bulb?

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With the ATI T5 lamps, the blue+, aquablue, and coral plus all have good PAR (light intensity) so any of those bulbs are good for growth. Which you run is largely a matter of what color of light you prefer to look at. Actinic lamps have lower PAR, so they can add a nice "pop" to the look of the corals, but that's at the expense of some intensity.

Blue+ = very blue looking light (actually a fairly wide spectrum, but the blue is extra strong so it's what the eye sees the most)
Aquablue = Looks mostly white (A similar wide spectrum but not as heavy in the blue so it looks much more white and less blue to the eye)
Coral plus = similar to the aquablue but with a hint more purple.
Actinic = Very limited band of blue/vilot light (Not full spectrum at all, only the blue/violet range with none of the red/yellow/green. Very blue looking to the eye, but overall very weak in intensity)

Personally I would go with not more than half Blue+ because I like a little more of a white look. IIRC I'm currently running 2 of each in a 6 lamp fixture (but I'd need to double check that since I haven't thought about bulbs for the better part of a year)
 
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