need some input on bulb selection

[jolson10450]

i currently have 4x t5's over my 29g tank 24" and i use the following front to back

ATI blue +
ATI aquablue special
KZ Fiji purple
ATI blue +


i need new bulbs soon so i am wondering what other people use for their high par bulb layouts. i was thinking of skipping out on the purple all together and going

ATI blue +
ATI blue +
ATI aquablue special
ATI blue +

this will give it a lot more color pop to the tank while still having generally the same par. i am working on switching my tank over to a few softies and then the rest sps so the tank will mainly be sps.

[Heidi]

I don't know a lot about t5s yet but what I have observed in the new system is this: I have the blue specials and blues running right now cause I am waiting on another ballast, it washes out my reds and purples look like blue and reds look like purple. I am looking forward to getting my ballast back so I can put one "fiji purple" in the mix to keep my reds from washing out. Just a thought.
Heidi

[jolson10450]

that is what i was thinking that it will wash some of the reds out, currently though when i put on just blue + bulbs the only thing it washes out is my pink birds nest...

any other input?

[Heidi]

Do you think that half "special" and half blue might not wash out the pinks and reds as much? Just wondered, like I said I am just learning about the T5 set up. I know my preference seems to be with a "whiter" blue light. I am used to MHs so maybe that is why. Maybe you could just get like a 3 red leds plug and play number in there to keep some of that pink color?? Just a thought.

[binford4000]

I'd keep the fiji and replace the special with another blue +,if it was me.Par levels are about the same and the extra blue with a touch of purple should really make the color pop

[rmalone]

The figi purple really makes oranges and reds light up, my flame wrasse is sooo much prettier with figi purple than blue+, ditto with orange digi and setosa. I have found that the figi purple makes purple actually purple rather than more of a blue color. But crap, it really seems to depend on the exact coral or fish as to how the color renders from different bulbs. Personally I like a little change now and then anyway.

Forgot to mention my t5's are supplemental to 14k phoenix mh.

[jolson10450]

what do y'all think of the ATI purple plus? maybe i should do front to back:

blue +
purple +
purple +
blue +

or instead of purple plus use the KZ bulbs again?

thanks for the input so far!

[Sir Patrick]

Are the ATI purple plus and the Fiji purple all that different?

[jolson10450]

Are the ATI purple plus and the Fiji purple all that different?

not to sure, i have used fiji purple not the purple plus yet....

[bigbill]

well i not in to all the blue bulbs i use 2 ati 10k AND 2 antic blues stock from Fish need it iam not in to all the fake color u get from useing the all blue bulbs and purple but this is just my opinion

[jolson10450]

well i not in to all the blue bulbs i use 2 ati 10k AND 2 antic blues stock from Fish need it iam not in to all the fake color u get from useing the all blue bulbs and purple but this is just my opinion

technically though its not fake color though its their true color, the bulbs just bring out that color a lot more, why look at a brown piece of coral when you can throw some nice lights on it to make it glow?

[bigbill]

blue and purple bulbs do nothing make the coral grow and i dont see a blue sun its yellow witch from everything i have read is 6700k is the closest to the sun true colors

[jolson10450]

blue and purple bulbs do nothing make the coral grow and i dont see a blue sun its yellow witch from everything i have read is 6700k is the closest to the sun true colors

the blue and purple bulbs have just as high of par as the white/yellow bulbs and we see the sun as yellow but in the ocean the yellow is filtered out by the sea water at a certain depth so usually the blue spectrum is more visible so technically no matter how you look at it yeah 6700k is best for growth of plants and freshwater but 10k-14k is just as good for saltwater because the coral at the depths they come from a lot of the yellow is filtered out by seawater.

[redemer123]

heres the combination I use on my 24" fixture. Blue +, White, Purple +, Blue +...I think its the best ever :)

[jolson10450]

heres the combination I use on my 24" fixture. Blue +, White, Purple +, Blue +...I think its the best ever :)

yeah that is what i use currently i am debating on just keeping it. i really like it but was wondering if there were any other good combo's that people like that i should try

[redemer123]

im not sure it gets much better...I really like it because it has a nice blue color yet a cool redish purple tint from the purple light

[Rabidgoose]

I use this combo and like it alright.....

ATI blue +
ATI blue +
ATI aquablue special
ATI blue +

I'm still not completely sold on the T5's though.

[jolson10450]

I use this combo and like it alright.....

ATI blue +
ATI blue +
ATI aquablue special
ATI blue +

I'm still not completely sold on the T5's though.

yeah that is what i was thinking possibly but maybe instead of the aquablue special use a purple + or something...

i wish someone would have that configuration with the purple plus and could post a picture of the color... that is what i hate about bulb selection lol you never know what it is going to look like until you buy it and do it.