T5/led hybrid bulb question

[Rmachnowski2000]

Hello, been lookong at upgrading my lighting.

Thinking of using a 48" t5 aquatic life fixtue
1 radion xr15 blue
1 radion xr15 pro
1 ati purple
2 ati blue plus
1 ati atentic

Would this be a good combination

Ati recommeds 3 blue one purple for 16k-20k
Replace purple with atentic for lps.

I am looking at a mix of sps and lpa.. would I have a good combo if not what to change.

 

[Doctorgori]

might be turning up that white channel on those Radions, with those T5’s that looks like over 15K and pretty darn blue otherwise... Your gonna grow corals fine looks like
opinions vary as I like 12k personally

 

[Biglew11]

using 2 Kessil a360x i went with, 2 ATI Blue Plus, 1 ATI Aquablue Special, 1 ATI Actinic

 

[Rmachnowski2000]

might be turning up that white channel on those Radions, with those T5’s that looks like over 15K and pretty darn blue otherwise... Your gonna grow corals fine looks like
opinions vary as I like 12k personally

What combo would be best? Not intirely set on one blue and one pro either. May do 2 pros.. haven't seen a down side to using both. But also am clueless.

 

[Bpb]

Why one pro one blue. What’s the benefit of not matching them?

 

[cshouston]

There’s no benefit to mixing the two. Just get two Pro modules so you have the flexibility to add more white. Those T5 bulbs are going to be very blue on their own.

 

[Doctorgori]

What combo would be best? Not intirely set on one blue and one pro either. May do 2 pros.. haven't seen a down side to using both. But also am clueless.

If it were me I’d use the T5’s in lower kelvins like maybe blue special or Geismanns New Generation and add in another purple or even a quality 6500k ... maybe use the leds for blue channel all day ... maybe 6hrs of white T5 the rest of the day being programmed bluish LED
Just my opinion but if you want natural looking pop that’s under 15k IMHO

 

[Rmachnowski2000]

Why one pro one blue. What’s the benefit of not matching them?

No benefit just haven't been given a reason of why not.. so much info on them out there I've watched both brs videos and still ╮(╯_╰)╭

 

[Doctorgori]

using 2 Kessil a360x i went with, 2 ATI Blue Plus, 1 ATI Aquablue Special, 1 ATI Actinic

that’s sorta similar to my setup: 4 Kessil 350/360 and 4ea blue + and 2 purple plus ... I add in white with the Kessils tho

 

[Rmachnowski2000]

If it were me I’d use the T5’s in lower kelvins like maybe blue special or Geismanns New Generation and add in another purple or even a quality 6500k ... maybe use the leds for blue channel all day ... maybe 6hrs of white T5 the rest of the day being programmed bluish LED
Just my opinion but if you want natural looking pop that’s under 15k IMHO

My other plan was to use 1 bulb each of ati
Coral+ purple+ antentic and blue+. 乁( •_• )ㄏ

 

[Sticker shock]

I'm a big fan of 2 blue + & 2 Coral + from ATI. But based on what you are planning on buying I'm guessing you are looking to have a much bluer tank than I run. However, I only run my T5 for 6 hrs so the rest of the time the blues shine from my LEDs.

 

[Doctorgori]

My other plan was to use 1 bulb each of ati
Coral+ purple+ antentic and blue+. 乁( •_• )ㄏ

you got a lot of options...I think a lot of the confusion with light is between color temp and wavelength... oversimplified version is that a lot of color combos can create a more natural whitish sunlit appearance... all the blue hype is for chlorophyll and color pop. Those Radions are really all you need. The T5’s mute some shimmer and add spread ... buy for appearance and balance and spread
you could theoretically go all actinic or 6500k with the T5’s and still be cool. Algae fears with white light is malarkey ..
You won’t be mad with Actinics purple and/or Blue specials for Midday appearance and pop... I believe the Radions can provide all the blue bandwidth you need
Hardly the last word tho...The more sample of options the better

 

[Daniel Waters]

Hello, been lookong at upgrading my lighting.

Thinking of using a 48" t5 aquatic life fixtue
1 radion xr15 blue
1 radion xr15 pro
1 ati purple
2 ati blue plus
1 ati atentic

Would this be a good combination

Ati recommeds 3 blue one purple for 16k-20k
Replace purple with atentic for lps.

I am looking at a mix of sps and lpa.. would I have a good combo if not what to change.

Don't mix / match the XR15s because it will look different on both sides of the tank. Either do two blues or two pros. I'd be inclined to say go with the pros, unless you prefer the deep blue color. Plus, it's a whole lot easier to tweak your color by turning your white channels up and down with LEDs versus trying to swap in various daylight bulbs on the T5s. If you go with the newer blue XR15s, they just aren't going to have enough non-blue LEDs to give you much ability to fine tune your color. Note, I'm talking about the color of the tank to you visually and not spectrum. I wouldn't worry about spectrum, as you'll be fine with any final combination you decide to go with on the T5 bulbs and however you decide to set your radions.

As far as T5 bulbs, on a 4 bulb setup with the aquaticlife fixture, I personally would skip the actinic just because it is much dimmer than the other bulbs (dimmer to our eye visually but still a perfectly good bulb).Plan on at least 2 blue plus bulbs and 2 other bulbs of choice (such as coral plus, purple plus, or 10k type bulb). There's only several hundreds of similar posts on this forum of people asking T5 bulb choice combinations. No one is going to be able to tell you exactly what you will like (for instance, I can't stand the purple plus bulb but other people love it). Buy a blue plus bulb with a coral plus bulb and see if you like the color of those 2 together. If it's way too white looking for you, then you know you prefer a bluer type look and may only want to use 1 daylight bulb. If the coral plus and blue plus is close to what you like (but still slightly too blue), then you should be able to tweak from there with your white LEDs (if you buy the pro version). If the blue plus and coral plus together is way too blue for your liking, then you know you may want to use a whiter daylight bulb like a 10k bulb or aquablue special instead of the coral plus. You might wind up buying 2 or 3 extra bulbs you don't need, but that's the only way you'll know is to be able to swap them out and try them (unless you have someone who has a T5 fixture you can go take a look at some bulb combinations). Having a couple of extra T5 bulbs lying around in case you need one is always convenient, so don't sweat having to maybe buy an extra bulb or two to try out. I still have an extra purple plus bulb lying around somewhere that I still occasionally try out in my ATI fixture (but I always ultimately pull it out as it has just too much red in it for my liking)

 

[Rmachnowski2000]

Thank you.
I guess it the ultimate question comes down to. Brs video shows 2 on a 4 foot tank ans then they add another 2 xr15 for a toal of 4 for sps.

Plan is to run on ab+ adjust where needed. Ramp up and down for sunset and sunrise. Then once lights are at strength have a timmer kick on the t5 and then kick off before sunset.

Will the 2 xr15 pro /t5 hybrid setup grow anything i put in the tank?

 

[cshouston]

Thank you.
I guess it the ultimate question comes down to. Brs video shows 2 on a 4 foot tank ans then they add another 2 xr15 for a toal of 4 for sps.

Plan is to run on ab+ adjust where needed. Ramp up and down for sunset and sunrise. Then once lights are at strength have a timmer kick on the t5 and then kick off before sunset.

Will the 2 xr15 pro /t5 hybrid setup grow anything i put in the tank?

On a 4’ tank? Sure. The T5 will add some PAR and good spread which will help. You’d still want to rent a PAR meter to map out your specific tank and know how much you’re getting at different settings.

 

[Rmachnowski2000]

75 gallon setup. Par meter is a must. Can rent one from lfs.

 

[derekgoude]

I run 2 hydra 32s, which are right above my two rock structures. Bulbs are 1 purple plus, 1 coral plus, 2 blue plus. I prefer a bit more blue and will switch it up when bulbs are due to be replaced.

16K – 20K – Bluish white with a noticeable blue and red under-tone
3 ATI Blue Plus
1 ATI Purple Plus

12K – 16K – Cool white with a noticeable blue and red under-tone
2 ATI Blue Plus
2 ATI Coral Plus

10K – 14K – Crisp white with just a hint of blue
2 ATI Blue Plus
1 ATI Aquablue Special
1 ATI Purple Plus

 

[Clownfishgang]

I run 2 hydra 32s, which are right above my two rock structures. Bulbs are 1 purple plus, 1 coral plus, 2 blue plus. I prefer a bit more blue and will switch it up when bulbs are due to be replaced.

16K – 20K – Bluish white with a noticeable blue and red under-tone
3 ATI Blue Plus
1 ATI Purple Plus

12K – 16K – Cool white with a noticeable blue and red under-tone
2 ATI Blue Plus
2 ATI Coral Plus

10K – 14K – Crisp white with just a hint of blue
2 ATI Blue Plus
1 ATI Aquablue Special
1 ATI Purple Plus

You have a pic of the bulb combo your running now, I would like to see as I just ordered this combo for my tank

 

[derekgoude]

 

[Clownfishgang]

Thank you I like the look those give, nice tank by the way