Korallen-Zucht Turquoise T5 Bulb?

[Erasmus Crowley]

I was browsing the interwebs today pondering light spectrums and bulb combinations (as one does), and I stumbled across the existence of a T5 bulb made by Korallen-Zucht that I hadn't seen before. It was called Great Barrier Turquoise. It has a very interesting spectrum to me, because it's peak in the cyan spectrum is missing in the vast majority of bulbs and fixtures that I've looked at.

I'm currently running Kessil a360x in a T5 hybrid fixture with some blue plus and actinic T5 bulbs. After watching some of the recent BRS lighting videos where Ryan brought up the spectrum usage of peridinin being in the cyan end of the blue spectrum, I've been messing with my lights trying to add more coverage to that specific spectrum range. While I was doing that, it made me realize how much closer my tank looked to underwater ocean photography, which is often drowning in cyan instead of the dark 'windex blue' of common reef lighting setups.

Unfortunately, the best that I could figure out to fill this bit of spectrum was to just crank up the green supplemental channel on my Kessils and hit the cyan where the main blue channel and the green channel overlap.

Which brings me back to this Great Barrier Turquoise bulb. It's spectrum seems absolutely perfect for filling in the cyan color band. Since my Kessils cover most of the same spectrum as my Blue Plus bulbs, I would LOVE to experiment with swapping the Blue Pluses for some of these in my T5 setup. Is there any chance you guys might decide to carry them in the near future?

It seems to me a video comparing the output of these bulbs to the "peridinin shoulder" that Ryan referenced multiple times would make for a great marketing opportunity to sell a bunch of these.

I'm attaching the spectrum chart for the bulbs that I'm referring to to save the curious a few clicks hunting it down.

 

[Bulk Reef Supply]

Interesting observations! I'll certainly run this by the team given it's unique spectrum and recent conversation on this topic

 

[Erasmus Crowley]

Thanks! I appreciate it!

There are a few other people selling KZ brand T5 bulbs in the USA, but none of them have this particular bulb for some reason. I'm being very serious when I say that I will be ordering these the moment I find out that you guys put them on the website. Ryan really convinced me that peridinin is important. I can't be the only person feeling that way recently.

 

[Cflow]

I wish I would’ve known about this sooner. I just bought KZ bulbs for my kessil hybrid. I ended up with a Fiji purple and 4 super blues. Kessil and t5 is a great combo.

 

[Erasmus Crowley]

@Bulk Reef Supply

Also on the topic of KZ T5 bulbs... Many of them are missing spectrum data on the BRS website, and I can't seem to find the spectrum data even on KZ's own website. So I would have to purchase them "in the dark", so to speak.

It would be very helpful if you guys could use something like a Seneye or the new PARwise or some similar tool to offer spectrum data for all the bulbs. I would maybe even suggest making the spectrum chart be the default thumbnail for T5 bulbs instead of a generic picture of the bulb itself, which is not helpful at all. I would appreciate that a lot while I'm shopping for new bulbs.

 

[Erasmus Crowley]

Well, I reached out to Korallen-Zucht's customer service to see if they would give me a quote for international shipping so that I could get some of these bulbs.

Unfortunately, they just said that because of breakage rates and the ridiculously high cost of sending relatively small numbers of large and fragile items like T5 bulbs overseas it just wasn't possible for them to attempt to send them to me. Instead, they suggested that I should reach out to @Bulk Reef Supply and ask them if they would offer the bulbs for sale to the US market.

So you guys appear to be the only hope of anyone in the US getting their hands on these bulbs. Are there any updates on if that might happen or not?

 

[ryshark]

Well, I reached out to Korallen-Zucht's customer service to see if they would give me a quote for international shipping so that I could get some of these bulbs.

Unfortunately, they just said that because of breakage rates and the ridiculously high cost of sending relatively small numbers of large and fragile items like T5 bulbs overseas it just wasn't possible for them to attempt to send them to me. Instead, they suggested that I should reach out to @Bulk Reef Supply and ask them if they would offer the bulbs for sale to the US market.

So you guys appear to be the only hope of anyone in the US getting their hands on these bulbs. Are there any updates on if that might happen or not?

Interesting. I’d also swap out a blue+ to try one of these.

 

[ryshark]

I was browsing the interwebs today pondering light spectrums and bulb combinations (as one does), and I stumbled across the existence of a T5 bulb made by Korallen-Zucht that I hadn't seen before. It was called Great Barrier Turquoise. It has a very interesting spectrum to me, because it's peak in the cyan spectrum is missing in the vast majority of bulbs and fixtures that I've looked at.

I'm currently running Kessil a360x in a T5 hybrid fixture with some blue plus and actinic T5 bulbs. After watching some of the recent BRS lighting videos where Ryan brought up the spectrum usage of peridinin being in the cyan end of the blue spectrum, I've been messing with my lights trying to add more coverage to that specific spectrum range. While I was doing that, it made me realize how much closer my tank looked to underwater ocean photography, which is often drowning in cyan instead of the dark 'windex blue' of common reef lighting setups.

Unfortunately, the best that I could figure out to fill this bit of spectrum was to just crank up the green supplemental channel on my Kessils and hit the cyan where the main blue channel and the green channel overlap.

Which brings me back to this Great Barrier Turquoise bulb. It's spectrum seems absolutely perfect for filling in the cyan color band. Since my Kessils cover most of the same spectrum as my Blue Plus bulbs, I would LOVE to experiment with swapping the Blue Pluses for some of these in my T5 setup. Is there any chance you guys might decide to carry them in the near future?

It seems to me a video comparing the output of these bulbs to the "peridinin shoulder" that Ryan referenced multiple times would make for a great marketing opportunity to sell a bunch of these.

I'm attaching the spectrum chart for the bulbs that I'm referring to to save the curious a few clicks hunting it down.

The spectrum chart looks more to be like an Aquablue Special than Blue Plus. But definitely more focus on the turquoise.

 

[Erasmus Crowley]

The spectrum chart looks more to be like an Aquablue Special than Blue Plus. But definitely more focus on the turquoise.

Aquablue Special does have a small bump of the 490nm cyan in the mix, but it's also got a bunch of orange-red in there too that I'm trying to avoid as well as the royal blue that I'm oversaturated on already.

I have a strategy in mind that requires these bulbs. Basically, my ATI True Actinic will fill the 425-ish violet range. Then my Kessils will fill the 450-ish royal blue range, and these "Turquoise" bulbs will fill in the missing 490-ish cyan which I'm currently not getting enough of for my liking.

I would replace my "Blue Plus" bulbs with the "Turquoise" because the "Blue Plus" and the Kessil are filling the exact same range of spectrums, and I don't need both of them at the same time. So if I had to choose between them, I would choose the Kessils for the shimmer and ditch the "Blue Plus".

 

[ryshark]

Aquablue Special does have a small bump of the 490nm cyan in the mix, but it's also got a bunch of orange-red in there too that I'm trying to avoid as well as the royal blue that I'm oversaturated on already.

I have a strategy in mind that requires these bulbs. Basically, my ATI True Actinic will fill the 425-ish violet range. Then my Kessils will fill the 450-ish royal blue range, and these "Turquoise" bulbs will fill in the missing 490-ish cyan which I'm currently not getting enough of for my liking.

I would replace my "Blue Plus" bulbs with the "Turquoise" because the "Blue Plus" and the Kessil are filling the exact same range of spectrums, and I don't need both of them at the same time. So if I had to choose between them, I would choose the Kessils for the shimmer and ditch the "Blue Plus".

I reread your first post and caught that about the Kessils covering the same range as the Blue+. My only LEDs are an XHO strip. My main lighting is 8-bulb T5. I’m using. 4x blue plus, 2x actinic, 2x Coral+. So, this KZ turquoise would fill the spectrum gap for me as well. But would also make my tank a little more white, I think.

 

[Erasmus Crowley]

I reread your first post and caught that about the Kessils covering the same range as the Blue+. My only LEDs are an XHO strip. My main lighting is 8-bulb T5. I’m using. 4x blue plus, 2x actinic, 2x Coral+. So, this KZ turquoise would fill the spectrum gap for me as well. But would also make my tank a little more white, I think.

You could play with leaving the Blue+ and instead replacing the Coral+. You would lose the orange-red, and trade it for more cyan and more green. It might end up making your tank look less white overall.

Aside from the orange-red, I don't think you're getting anything unique from the Coral+ bulbs. Although, I'm guessing you like that bit of orange-red to make colors less washed out in shades of blue?

 

[ryshark]

You could play with leaving the Blue+ and instead replacing the Coral+. You would lose the orange-red, and trade it for more cyan and more green. It might end up making your tank look less white overall.

Aside from the orange-red, I don't think you're getting anything unique from the Coral+ bulbs. Although, I'm guessing you like that bit of orange-red to make colors less washed out in shades of blue?

I just went with the BRS Investigates recommendation when they looked into all the T5 bulbs they sell and then recommended bulb combos for 4, 6, and 8 bulb fixtures. Their recommendation for the best combo for corals is what I listed above.
I think the Coral+ bulbs add more "daylight" or white spectrum to help with growth. They are pretty much a combo of Blue+ and Aquablue Special.

 

[Erasmus Crowley]

@Bulk Reef Supply

Hello again.

It's been over 8 weeks since I made this post. Was there a conclusion reached in your guy's offices about carrying this bulb or not?

It's totally understandable if the decision was made that you're not going to invest warehouse space for these bulbs because they're too niche and sales would be too low or something like that. If that was the decision, then I'm ready to accept it gracefully. But I've been waiting and hoping that I might check your website and see these bulbs pop up on your "new products" page. If it has been set in stone that you're not going to carry them, then I would really appreciate a heads up so that I can stop watching for them.

 

[Bulk Reef Supply]

@Bulk Reef Supply

Hello again.

It's been over 8 weeks since I made this post. Was there a conclusion reached in your guy's offices about carrying this bulb or not?

It's totally understandable if the decision was made that you're not going to invest warehouse space for these bulbs because they're too niche and sales would be too low or something like that. If that was the decision, then I'm ready to accept it gracefully. But I've been waiting and hoping that I might check your website and see these bulbs pop up on your "new products" page. If it has been set in stone that you're not going to carry them, then I would really appreciate a heads up so that I can stop watching for them.

After talking with the team, this is unfortunately not a bulb we plan to stock.

Given the somewhat niche nature of the spectrum and declining popularity of T5s overall, it would be difficult to justify the minimum order quantity. Sorry to disappoint.

 

[Erasmus Crowley]

After talking with the team, this is unfortunately not a bulb we plan to stock.

Given the somewhat niche nature of the spectrum and declining popularity of T5s overall, it would be difficult to justify the minimum order quantity. Sorry to disappoint.

No worries. I understand where you're coming from. Even though the outcome wasn't what I was hoping for, I still appreciate your time and attention that was put into arriving at that decision.