Going Back to Halide/T5 Hybrid- Need some advise

[duke4130]

Hey everyone, I have been running radions since the they first came out. I am starting to get back the SPS bug and my system is slowly but surely becoming SPS dominant. No gripe about the Radions, they have done me well over the years but the colors look outstanding on some and not as much on others. The growth is ok on some and slow on others. With these two factors I have decided to go Halide/T5 plus I am getting screaming deal on a Giesemann Infiniti 250w halide-4 bulb T5. I need some advise on the bulb configuration and the on off times of the lights. The last halide I had was years ago and it was the old coralife 150w / pc combo fixture. I used to run the 20k radium. I have always liked the little blue that came off that bulb.


I am thinking:
20k Radium
1 x ATI purple
3 x ATI blue +


Come on everyone help a fellow reefer out. This is going to be a big change for me...LOL

 

[143MPCo]

Tagging along...

 

[Markemark]

On my old tank I ran the 20K radium and 2 ATI blue+ and 2 ATI UV was my favorite color combo

 

[duke4130]

On my old tank I ran the 20K radium and 2 ATI blue+ and 2 ATI UV was my favorite color combo

Alright man you just threw me for a loop!!! Which bulb is the ATI UV bulb... I haven't heard of that one...

 

[Markemark]

ATI calls it true actinic made corals pop for sure I have 2 in my 8 bulb t5 fixture right now its pretty much the same as the UV company super actinic

 

[hatfielj]

I would just do all blue + The purple bulb does nothing for growth IMO. Plus, the all blue + look is really nice when the halides aren't on. I would also highly recommend you look into getting yourself a blue reefbrite strip to add to this. A lot of people are finding that all blue T5 and led actinics are great for coral color (Jason Fox and WWC have tanks with just blue T5s and LEDs (no whites at all!).
I should also mention that I run 250 watt radiums (only on for 3 hours a day) and 2 Blue + bulbs with 4 reefbrite strips! My colors have never looked better. This is by far the most colorful tank I've ever had and I think it has to do with the heavy blue/actinic lighting. Growth is slow though, I will admit that.

 

[akma]

For the Giesemann infiniti it's a de fixture. My favorite is the phoenix 14k. Awesome growth and color. Right now I'm running 4 actinic on mine. But I udually go with 3 blue plus and 1 purple.
Run halides for about 5.5 hrs. And the t5s for 10hrs.

 

[duke4130]

I would just do all blue + The purple bulb does nothing for growth IMO. Plus, the all blue + look is really nice when the halides aren't on. I would also highly recommend you look into getting yourself a blue reefbrite strip to add to this. A lot of people are finding that all blue T5 and led actinics are great for coral color (Jason Fox and WWC have tanks with just blue T5s and LEDs (no whites at all!).
I should also mention that I run 250 watt radiums (only on for 3 hours a day) and 2 Blue + bulbs with 4 reefbrite strips! My colors have never looked better. This is by far the most colorful tank I've ever had and I think it has to do with the heavy blue/actinic lighting. Growth is slow though, I will admit that.

From what I remember in the past, the purple plus helps with the pink and red hues.... Interesting idea about the reefbrite strips. I am not sure if that is going to be too much light for a 50 cube

For the Giesemann infiniti it's a de fixture. My favorite is the phoenix 14k. Awesome growth and color. Right now I'm running 4 actinic on mine. But I udually go with 3 blue plus and 1 purple.
Run halides for about 5.5 hrs. And the t5s for 10hrs.

14k for some reason feels like it will shock and bleach the corals, but thanks for the times you are running, that was going to be my next question!!! LOL