Why do people run 6500K bulbs?

[FarmerTy]

I’m a big fan of the 6500k t5ho bulbs. I use

4 blue+
2 True actinic
2 6500k.

It is probably whiter than a lot of newer reefers would prefer, but the blue and actinic darken the look up quite a bit and tame the 6500k. Having been out on the water a handful of times it looks to me similar to what my eyes see at about 15-20 feet deep.

Really wish I had access to a par meter to see what kind of neighborhood I’m in.

I’ve never used the famous iwasaki 6500k bulbs. But I have used Radiums, xm10k, all manner of t5ho, and pure LEDs. I’ve always had the most stable growth from t5ho. I did have the most explosive growth from xm10k and I loved the look of them, but my bulbs frequently wouldn’t fire and would shut off randomly, despite trying several batches, and using brand new m80 ballasts. So I bailed on them because I value reliability above all.

To be honest, I’ve befallen tank tragedy after tank tragedy and have never gotten to observe a tank grow out from frags to big colonies, so performance difference between various color bulbs on t5ho has been negligible to me. I tend to just shoot for what I like the best looks-wise. Mostly from the overall ambience of the room. A blue dominant tank tends to make the room look too cold.

I've never tried the 6500k and I'm actually a fan of more white tanks than most. I just swapped to:

3 Blue +
2 Coral +
1 actinic
1 Aqua blue Special
1 Purple plus

Nice balance of 12k ish and reflective and fluorescent colors are both showing well.

 

[Bpb]

I've never tried the 6500k and I'm actually a fan of more white tanks than most. I just swapped to:

3 Blue +
2 Coral +
1 actinic
1 Aqua blue Special
1 Purple plus

Nice balance of 12k ish and reflective and fluorescent colors are both showing well.

You’re running the sbreef actinic strips too right? I’d love to pick up a pair of those if it were in the budget.

 

[FarmerTy]

You’re running the sbreef actinic strips too right? I’d love to pick up a pair of those if it were in the budget.

Yeah, I have one on the front. I'm thinking of dimming mine a bit. It blues everything just a little too much with my current bulb combo. Very nice strip though... looks very well made.

 

[Bpb]

If the budget were more friendly with me I’d love to grab one of those led strips and replace an Actinic with another 6500k. I feel like I would even enjoy a shade whiter

 

[xiaoxiy]

For those curious as to what bulb combos with the 6500k look like, here's my powermodule loaded with 2x GE6500k and 2x B+. Granted, the 6500k bulbs just got in today and haven't had a chance to burn in yet.
Untitled by Xiaoxi Yang, on Flickr

Untitled by Xiaoxi Yang, on Flickr

 

[A. grandis]

Where did you get those GE 65K from, please?
Grandis.

 

[jda]

You can get them almost anywhere online. They are between 4-6 bucks a bulb usually. 1000bulbs usually has them.

 

[xiaoxiy]

Where did you get those GE 65K from, please?
Grandis.

Like Jda mentioned in his post, I got mine online from Amazon. It was approximately $3 a bulb with $6 shipping!

 

[A. grandis]

Thanks guys! I'm gonna get some to try..
Grandis.

 

[A. grandis]

Any links for individual sale?
I can find only sold by the case.
Thanks,
Grandis.

 

[xiaoxiy]

Any links for individual sale?
I can find only sold by the case.
Thanks,
Grandis.

Here's what I bought. They shipped it Monday, and I got it by Thursday.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002CYQ1YG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[A. grandis]

Thanks!
Grandis.

 

[xiaoxiy]

I finally got my ATI/Nanobox hybrid back. It has 4 T5 bulbs and 4 of the latest Nanobox Arrays.

Bulb combo of B+, GE6500, LEDS (Max Blue, Royal Blue, Violets), GE6500, and B+.


I'm very interested in the GE6500 given the anecdotal evidence of increased growth and better coloration as well with acropora. For those of you who have experience with this bulb, do you think running 2 of these bulbs gives better growth/coloration as compared to running just 1 of them? I ask because running 2 of these bulbs makes it relatively hard to get good blend.

 

[A. grandis]

Looks good in the picture. Not yellow...
Grandis.

 

[xiaoxiy]

Looks good in the picture. Not yellow...
Grandis.

I don't find it terribly yellow either. My significant other though, walked in the door and asked "why is the tank so yellow?!"

 

[dricc]

You can get them almost anywhere online. They are between 4-6 bucks a bulb usually. 1000bulbs usually has them.

Off topic are the 1000bulb metal halide bulbs good or not?Thanks

 

[jda]

Which ones do they sell?

The Plusrite ones have good reviews from most folks. They seem to not be all that well reviewed by people who want the absolute best... but some of them could be brand snobs... ala, my current Genesis g90 is every bit as good as my BMW 750 was, but some people would never be able to see it as soon as they saw where it was made. I would probably use a Plusrite if I was wanting to try out different colors and temperatures, but since I absolutely love what I have now, I will not be changing. I am sorry if this is not clear.

 

[dricc]

Which ones do they sell?

The Plusrite ones have good reviews from most folks. They seem to not be all that well reviewed by people who want the absolute best... but some of them could be brand snobs... ala, my current Genesis g90 is every bit as good as my BMW 750 was, but some people would never be able to see it as soon as they saw where it was made. I would probably use a Plusrite if I was wanting to try out different colors and temperatures, but since I absolutely love what I have now, I will not be changing. I am sorry if this is not clear.

Understood and thanks

 

[xiaoxiy]

It keeps getting warmer and warmer as the bulbs burn in .

 

[Bpb]

After running 2 6500K and 2 True Actinic bulbs in my 8 bulb mix I removed one of each and replaced with purple+ bulbs. While I liked the previous look, over time the visualized colors began to fade and brown out despite not having any sort of alk swings or nutrient bombs. I still am enjoying the spectral benefits of the 6500K and the actinic but now the tank is visually a lot more appealing. There’s more daytime fluorescence and some new colors are now coming out that I had previously never seen on some acros. Neat to see.