Need help with ATI 6 bulb combo

xyzner · Feb 18, 2018

Daniel Waters said:
#xyzner How did your bulb combination turn out? Let's see pictures!

I ended up going with:
Front
B+
CL1 10K
P+
CL2 14K
B+
TA
CL1 10K
B+
Back

I ended up liking the way the Purple + and true actinic looked together, at least enough to put more usage on those bulbs and preserve my other bulbs. Tidal Gardens on YouTube had a pretty good video of T5 combo options to give me an idea of how it'd look.Once I figure out how to take a picture on my phone without looking like everything is pure blue, I'll upload some photos. Tank still isn't set up yet but I'm making headway - finishing my DIY sump in the basement and putting together my aquascape now. It's my first time putting a sump so far away from the tank so hopefully I accurately matched the pump (went with a panworld 100 if I remember correctly). The plumbing has me nervous. I don't know if it's my old halide experiences or what, but I almost think I need a hint more yellow [emoji51] to give it a more natural look. I'm going to see what it looks like after I get some Coral in there. If I think it's too blue still then I might swap the middle bulb (Coral Light 2, 14K) for a 6500K. Crazy, I know. The ATI is unbelievable and this being my first T5 experience, I'm looking forward to seeing the results. I admit, I do miss the shimmer of other lighting sources though - I guess the trade off is the reduced light bleed and uniform color.

Any ideas for moon lights? I've been thinking of ways to incorporate some type of moonlight but would hate to take away from the clean look of the ATI. And while I'm at it, what would it take to get some shimmer effect on my tank? I don't need the extra PAR but I've been brainstorming ways to cheaply throw some LED in to at least give the shimmer effect.

This was long winded, I think I need to start a build thread .

Daniel Waters · Feb 18, 2018

I can't wait to see the pictures. I suspect a 6500k bulb should get you where you're wanting. In all honesty, if you're just having to buy one bulb to tweak to get the combination you were wanting, then you did a great job planning. It would take me forever if I had that many bulbs to swap out and try!

I keep playing with the idea of going to an 8 bulb ATI setup and just using some LED strips on each side for some shimmer, but I don't want to fool with selling my kessils and radions. I really loved LEDs when I kept zoas and more LPS but I prefer my T5s for my acros. But, like you, I do like having some shimmer. I think you could get some LED strips and they should provide you with some shimmer. I know a lot of people use the reefbrite ones, and they have a 50/50 blue/white combo you might prefer. I don't use moonlights so I can't help you there. But let me know what you wind up finding if it works out well.