Time to change T-5 bulbs and want a more blue look

[glb]

I have an ATI 4 bulb t5 fixture. Right now I’m using 2 ATI blue plus, 1 coral plus and 1 blue actinic. My tanks is mixed with mostly LPS and softies. I’d like the corals to pop a little more and wonder if a different bulb configuration would help. Do ATI bulbs have basically the same par for different colors? In other words are they interchangeable? Is there anything I could add to get more blue? Reefbrite lights would probably add too much par for my setup. Any help is appreciated!

 

[Miami Reef]

I have an ATI 4 bulb t5 fixture. Right now I’m using 2 ATI blue plus, 1 coral plus and 1 blue actinic. My tanks is mixed with mostly LPS and softies. I’d like the corals to pop a little more and wonder if a different bulb configuration would help. Do ATI bulbs have basically the same par for different colors? In other words are they interchangeable? Is there anything I could add to get more blue? Reefbrite lights would probably add too much par for my setup. Any help is appreciated!

Can you try 3 blue plus and 1 coral plus?

In my experience, 4 blue plus gets great color fluorescence, but it’s very green and the pinks and reds don’t get highlighted.

If 3 blue plus and 1 coral plus is still too white, then I’d recommend switching to LED’s or a hybrid.

Let me know what you decide.

 

[t5Nitro]

Probably can swap the actinic for a third blue plus.

 

[Miami Reef]

And coral plus/ blue plus have similar par outputs, but all T5 colors are not the same. Aquablue and actinics are lower in par.

 

[Miami Reef]

Here’s my tank with 100% blue plus. Green, right?

 

[mfinn]

Too get that "Pop", I went with a pair of Reef Brite XHO blues mounted ( direct fit) on my ATI T 5 fixtures.

 

[oreo54]

I have an ATI 4 bulb t5 fixture. Right now I’m using 2 ATI blue plus, 1 coral plus and 1 blue actinic. My tanks is mixed with mostly LPS and softies. I’d like the corals to pop a little more and wonder if a different bulb configuration would help. Do ATI bulbs have basically the same par for different colors? In other words are they interchangeable? Is there anything I could add to get more blue? Reefbrite lights would probably add too much par for my setup. Any help is appreciated!

"Theory" has it to swap out a blue plus (more cyan than green really) for another actinic.
Would need to see numbers (there there are par differences between "colors") but more than likely minimal with one bulb swap.
Found some..
Well bit more than I expected at 100hrs.. 14%-ish. Any bleed into UV would not be measured though it counts.
Remember though 14% of 25%.. (1630 vs 1577 3.4%)

Both have the green spike.

 

[glb]

Here’s my tank with 100% blue plus. Green, right?

It is green!

 

[glb]

Too get that "Pop", I went with a pair of Reef Brite XHO blues mounted ( direct fit) on my ATI T 5 fixtures.

I saw that I can mount reefbrites right onto my fixture. But I’m concerned about a dramatic increase in par. How much par did they add to your setup? I have a par meter.

 

[rtparty]

The ATI Actinic is within like 20 PAR (IIRC) of the Blue Plus after burn in. It makes no difference what bulb combo you run as far as PAR goes. You'll have enough.

If you are after the pop, you'll be better off retrofitting in some LED bars

 

[mfinn]

I don't remember exactly. I don't have my par meter atm. But I asked about this back several years ago and I'm thinking it was said that they add about the same as another T5 bulb. But I could be wrong.

 

[Drendo]

Too get that "Pop", I went with a pair of Reef Brite XHO blues mounted ( direct fit) on my ATI T 5 fixtures.

I would love to see a photo or two of how you have this mounted.

 

[undermind]

I saw that I can mount reefbrites right onto my fixture. But I’m concerned about a dramatic increase in par. How much par did they add to your setup? I have a par meter.

I think that using different configurations of T5 bulbs to chase color pop is kind of futile. With your bulb combo, I think you've seen the pop T5 has to offer. At this point, you will be playing with <5% gains in pop with other configurations.

I would just add the Reefbrites like you seem tempted to do. If pop is what you're after, you'll get it for sure.

One RB XHO strip is going to add a little more par than a T5 bulb of equivalent length. And if you just add a strip and leave your 4 bulbs running, then yes you'll have a decent bump of par.

But my vote would be: add the RB strip, pull out 1 T5 bulb of your choosing (running 3 T5's then). You'll get the pop you're after, and the par difference will be negligible.

 

[mfinn]

I would love to see a photo or two of how you have this mounted.

The Reef Brites come with brackets that mount on ATI fixtures using existing holes.

 

[Potatohead]

Three Blue+, one of either Coral+ or Purple+ whichever you prefer the look of. Then add a Reef-Brite LumiLite for some added LED pop when the ATI is in dusk/dawn mode. You don't need XHO's just to get pop unless you actually want more par. The cheaper ones work fine for that.

 

[Drendo]

The Reef Brites come with brackets that mount on ATI fixtures using existing holes.

That’s really cool, thanks.

 

[undermind]

One more angle...

I run T5s and RB strips myself. This combo lets you think a little differently about things. I think about the RBs having my "pop spectrum" on lockdown. Blues are solid. So now I can use other T5 colors to fill in gaps and to deepen the fluorescence (this is what the actinic does nicely). And with the royal blue from the RB, you don't have to run so much Blue Plus. You can use the bulbs to pull in other colors. It gives you more freedom.

And try a purple plus if you haven't! There's a lot of mention of the green/cyan in this thread and I agree - I never liked that in several of the bulbs. The purple plus counters that I think.

 

[Potatohead]

FWIW I have an eight bulb fixture and I run six blue, an actinic, and a purple. I agree the purple looks a lot better than a coral with so much other blue.

 

[rtparty]

On a side note, if you're running a true T5 ballast, you can't just remove one bulb and not run it. The circuit won't be completed and the ballast won't fire.

If you're running a non-spec T5 ballast then you can do this but with risk. A lot of risk. You'll have an open socket with power to it

 

[glb]

The Reef Brites come with brackets that mount on ATI fixtures using existing holes.

I saw that when I bought them. That’s one reason I chose ATI when I bought the fixture.