LED / T5 Hybrid Lighting Question - Best T5 Bulbs & LED Settings for SPS

sgrosenb

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Hi all - I have a 60" T5/LED Hybrid fixture for my 165g SPS tank. Currently for LED's I have 4x Radion G4 Pro w/ diffusers set to SPS AB+ mode. For T5 bulbs I have 4 total - 2x ATI Blue Plus, 2x ATI Coral Plus.

It seems like my coloration is a bit blue, but I don't mind it. What I'm wondering is if this is the ideal setup for coral growth. My SPS do not grow fast at all, and I wondering if lighting has anything to do with it. Any thoughts are welcomed - thanks!
 

Chibils

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You might want to try asking this in the SPS forum as well. There are some very knowledgeable and experienced people there. Off the top of my head, I think @Big E has a lot of success with the same bulb combo as you do. He runs a 6 bulb T5 though, not a hybrid. A much whiter look than AB+ is popular with the Radion users that I've seen over on the SPS board, but again I'm not one of them so you may want to inquire for yourself.
 

Big E

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Hi,

I always suggest using white bulbs with hybrid type setups as most commercial LED units are loaded with lots of blue diodes, so if you want more visual blue it's easier and less stressful to raise the levels of blue.

The white T5 bulbs also have a more consistent and favorable spectral plot vs white diodes. At the very least I would run the Coral+ in the inside nearest the LED fixture and do the blue+ in the outside spot.

I run T5 only coral+ and blue+ so it's nothing like a hybrid setup with LEDs doing the heavy lifting. Hybrid systems are popular because people have already invested in the LEDs and the T5s fix mainly the coverage issues from not hitting corals from more than one angle. They also aid in filling gaps in spectrum and it's less expensive than buying more LED units to fix the problems.

Try not to change spectrum over the course of the day except for dawn/dusk which should only be an hour or two on each side. You can also look at your duration of light. I run 7-8 hours of full lighting and that's plenty, it's possible you could have some photo inhibition from lights being on too long.

Lighting is just one variable for growth, so nutrient levels and flow play important roles as well.
 
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sgrosenb

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Thanks @Big E that is very helpful. I actually ordered Coral+ and Purple+. Any thoughts on using 2x Blue+ on the outer two slots and then one Coral+ and one Purple+ on the inner slots?
 

Big E

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That can work.........I prefer the white bulbs vs Purple+ as it was too much pink/purple for my eyes. That's more a visual preference more than anything. Those 4 bulbs should be ok for the corals to excite pigments for colors in the corals.

So it's mostly comes down to what you prefer from a visual ambience perspective.
 

Cbones1979

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I’ve been using 2 blue and 2 actinic in my t5 hybrid with some cheap black box leds. Probably will upgrade leds a tad in the future.
 
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sgrosenb

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I always suggest using white bulbs with hybrid type setups as most commercial LED units are loaded with lots of blue diodes, so if you want more visual blue it's easier and less stressful to raise the levels of blue.
Hi there @Big E I'm reviving an old thread here! When you say "white bulbs" which ATI bulb(s) do you recommend? I'd like to move my four T5 bulbs s towards a whiter spectrum and would be interested in what you recommend. Thanks!
 

Big E

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Coral+ will give you enough white and that's my bulb of choice but if you want more white than the ABspecial would be the ticket.

I really don't know why people run Blue+ to supplement LEDs as leds have plenty of blue already. You want more of the colors that make up a visual white look as fill in.
 

oreo54

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Screenshot_20221206-112137.png

Screenshot_20221206-112111.png
 

oreo54

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Thanks @oreo5457 - as a newbie to lighting, could you expand on what those charts are telling us? Appreciate your help and insight.
Generally the Aquablue special is more white than the other bulb (RGB=W) but also has a slight cyan (touquise blue) hint.
Really a shallow lagoon type bulb.

The Coral plus is just a slightly "deeper" bulb with less of the cyan/windex look.

Both look to have a "violet" undertone than a blue look. 435nm peak plus the rest of the "far left" output.
That somewhat depends on individual perception.
Spectrums often don't exactly match "what you see".

Both look to pair well with Blue plus bulbs.
Interesting that both are "classified" RGB bulbs..

atitubes.JPG


Going a bit deeper and not documented here the Geisseman line ( both pretty much mirror each other) is slightly less violet than the ati RGB line.

AFAICT


Bottom images have a misprint I believe.
Upper set of blue bulbs. First bulb is prob aquablue special special not coral plus.
Bottom purple sets fine.
 
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Variant

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From my experience using an ATI led/t5 hybrid powermodule, I get excellent results relying on the LEDs to do the heavy lifting with blues and using t5s for the lighter blue and whiter (broad spectrum) colors.

In my 6 bulb slots, I have had great results with acro growth using 4 Blue + bulbs from ATI and either 2 ATI aquablue special or 2 Giesemann Tropics.

If you have radions for the LED, which is more capable in putting out blues, I would try either 2 blue plus with 2 aquablue specials or tropics. In terms of placement put the aquablue special or tropic bulbs closest to your radions to lessen the whitening/yellowing look and have the blue plus on the outer edges to help with maintaining a crisp blue look. Tldr... bulb placement matters. If you put two tropic bulbs towards the display side, it'll look terrible versus in the middle with blues surrounding it.
 
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sgrosenb

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This is all great stuff thank you all. I've ordered a few coral plus and ABSpecial to see what looks good (I already have blue plus). I currently have 4 Radion X15 with diffusers and AB+ setting, but I added a bit of white to the AB+ setting. I also ramp up for about 4 hours in the morning with blues and ramp down for 4 hours in the evening with blues. Curious if that might cause issues to...
 
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