Am I crazy for thinking MH + t5 ?

[DSC reef]

Who is going to give the stick? LOL!
Picture of the frag, please...
Grandis.

It's a joke. No free sticks. I'd still gladly take one though....especially from boom corals awesome stock!

 

[A. grandis]

Oh man.. I thought was for real!
LOL!
Grandis.

 

[bif24701]

I pass... I don't have a PAR meter and I'm not allowed to keep sticks anyways.
LOL!
Grandis.

You don't do acros? Why?

 

[bif24701]

I would say that each pair of T5 will add about 50-75 PAR each due to the 18" height. If you were closer, like 9" it would 100 PAR each pair.

I would chose T5s with some white due to the Radiums blue color. But that's me.

 

[A. grandis]

You don't do acros? Why?

I have a zoa tank. No hard corals allowed in the house.:(
Grandis.

 

[Potatohead]

You don't do acros? Why?

Hawaii has ban on hard corals I believe

Oh - My guess for the PAR is eleventy

 

[BoomCorals]

I would say that each pair of T5 will add about 50-75 PAR each due to the 18" height. If you were closer, like 9" it would 100 PAR each pair.

I would chose T5s with some white due to the Radiums blue color. But that's me.

The aquablue special was supposed to be more white I thought

 

[Potatohead]

The aquablue special was supposed to be more white I thought

It's their most daylight bulb without getting into planted tank stuff

 

[A. grandis]

The aquablue special was supposed to be more white I thought

The Coral Plus is better to grow corals...
Coral Plus is bluish/whiter...
Aquablue special has red in it.
Grandis.

 

[DSC reef]

The aquablue special was supposed to be more white I thought

It's there whitest bulb. Personally I think it washes out the others. Why not just blue plus bulbs? Try a purple plus with a coral plus instead of the ABS if you want some white.

 

[Potatohead]

The Coral Plus is better to grow corals...
Coral Plus is bluish/whiter...
Aquablue special has red in it.
Grandis.

They both have red, the ABS has a bit more red and a lot more yellow/green. Normally I would agree the coral is the one to get but since he has 20k halides the ABS is not a bad choice if you don't want super blue look. I may have gone with one purple instead.

 

[bif24701]

The aquablue special was supposed to be more white I thought

It is. I just emphasized why selecting those bulbs.

 

[rtparty]

The truth is the T5s aren't going to do a ton compared to the 400w halides. They are strictly dusk/dawn or fine tuning the color to the eye. Add in that Giesemann reflectors are sub par (pun intended) and no cooling, there will be a modest increase in PAR that isn't even needed.

Personally, I'd turn the T5s off while the halides are on. Use them for night time viewing or working in the tank so you don't fry your arms under the halides.

 

[A. grandis]

The truth is the T5s aren't going to do a ton compared to the 400w halides. They are strictly dusk/dawn or fine tuning the color to the eye. Add in that Giesemann reflectors are sub par (pun intended) and no cooling, there will be a modest increase in PAR that isn't even needed.

Personally, I'd turn the T5s off while the halides are on. Use them for night time viewing or working in the tank so you don't fry your arms under the halides.

With the Radiums that would be a great option and would save lots of hours of the T5 bulbs!!!
I agree.
Grandis.

 

[DSC reef]

The truth is the T5s aren't going to do a ton compared to the 400w halides. They are strictly dusk/dawn or fine tuning the color to the eye. Add in that Giesemann reflectors are sub par (pun intended) and no cooling, there will be a modest increase in PAR that isn't even needed.

Personally, I'd turn the T5s off while the halides are on. Use them for night time viewing or working in the tank so you don't fry your arms under the halides.

I agree. In that case, 2 blue plus and 2 actinic.

 

[A. grandis]

I agree. In that case, 2 blue plus and 2 actinic.

Is there 2 T5 channels, or just one cord for all 4 T5 bulbs?
Grandis.

 

[DSC reef]

Not sure? If it's dawn/dusk it won't matter. I run that combo on my fixture with 20k halides. Hamilton bulbs though.

 

[rtparty]

Is there 2 T5 channels, or just one cord for all 4 T5 bulbs?
Grandis.

I think standard is 1 cord for all bulbs. My Spectra was modified by the previous owner and I have 2 channels thankfully

 

[A. grandis]

Not sure? If it's dawn/dusk it won't matter. I run that combo on my fixture with 20k halides. Hamilton bulbs though.

Yeah, I was just curious because I would get the fixture and run 2 Coral Plus on one channel and 2 Blue Plus on the other...
But using both for dusk, yeah... the 2 Blue Plus/ 2 True actinic would be my choice.
Grandis.

 

[A. grandis]

I think standard is 1 cord for all bulbs. My Spectra was modified by the previous owner and I have 2 channels thankfully

That's great! Did the previous owner modify only that part?
Grandis.