ckyuv Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 So I recently got a new tank that I will soon be upgrading too. I got a quad t5 lamp for the tank until I can afford to add a second kessil. My question is what is the best combo of bulbs for the tank? I have sps, nps and zoas, sps primarily. I was thinking of doing this combo front to back: Ati blue+ Ati blue+ Ati aquablue special Ati blue+ Is this too much blue for coral growth? Any better suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wesreyn Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 (edited) Have you looked into the newer ATI Coral Plus bulbs. I'm going to replace my aquablues and my purple + for coral plus when I but new bulbs. Supposed to be a little more Par and a better color. The Aquablues tend to wash out colors but the coral plus is supposed to make colors pop. I have front to back: Blue + Aquablue special Blue + Purple + Blue + Aquablue special Blue + Edited March 14, 2013 by wesreyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 I currently use: Purple+ Blue+ Aquablue special Blue+ I'll be replacing my aquablue special for a ge6500k bulb soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobR Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 So I recently got a new tank that I will soon be upgrading too. I got a quad t5 lamp for the tank until I can afford to add a second kessil. My question is what is the best combo of bulbs for the tank? I have sps, nps and zoas, sps primarily. I was thinking of doing this combo front to back: Ati blue+ Ati blue+ Ati aquablue special Ati blue+ Is this too much blue for coral growth? Any better suggestions? Like wesreyn said look at replacing the aqua blue with the coral +, the 3 blue + and 1 coral + is pretty blue, but it looks really good when all 4 bulbs are on. It is what I am running on my tank right now, and I really like it. The other option would be the kz new generation bulb it is similar to the coral +, but a little more expensive. IMO I would stay away from the ab special, it really does wash things out. Hth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckyuv Posted March 14, 2013 Author Share Posted March 14, 2013 Awesome so y'all think 3 blue+ and a coral+ should be a nice color and provide sufficient par for growth? Do you have any sps rob? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobR Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 Awesome so y'all think 3 blue+ and a coral+ should be a nice color and provide sufficient par for growth? Do you have any sps rob? I have been very happy with this combo on my tank, and yes it will grow sps. I have a 55 and keep sps and clams on my sandbed. This combo gives the tank a nice blue look. What look are you looking for more blue or white? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 Hmmm I think I have an old coral plus bulb that someone gave me that I never used because it was....well used. Maybe I'll pop it in place of the aquablue and see how it looks. I agree the aquablue special makes everything very washed out. I was going to go with a 6500k bulb for a little more full spectrum punch for growth purposes. Maybe a coral plus or a kz new generation would be the ticket though. Decisions. Don't mean to hijack. I'm literally in the exact same position. Bulb change time on my 4 lamp fixture and wanting to ditch an aquablue special. To the OP I really like the purple plus bulb in this fixture. Some may say its too powerful of a red bulb to go in a 4 bulb fixture but I think it looks quite nice when all 4 are firing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobR Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 Hmmm I think I have an old coral plus bulb that someone gave me that I never used because it was....well used. Maybe I'll pop it in place of the aquablue and see how it looks. I agree the aquablue special makes everything very washed out. I was going to go with a 6500k bulb for a little more full spectrum punch for growth purposes. Maybe a coral plus or a kz new generation would be the ticket though. Decisions. Don't mean to hijack. I'm literally in the exact same position. Bulb change time on my 4 lamp fixture and wanting to ditch an aquablue special. To the OP I really like the purple plus bulb in this fixture. Some may say its too powerful of a red bulb to go in a 4 bulb fixture but I think it looks quite nice when all 4 are firing. Purple plus is a nice bulb. The coral plus according to ATI's website is a mix of the blue plus, ab special, and purple plus. It is a really nice bulb and for me I would pick it over the purple plus. But you could get a nice looking combo with 3 blue plus and a purple plus as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 What do you think about two blue plus, a purple plus, and a coral plus? I am afraid 3 blue plus would be a little blue for my taste. Excessive blue light gives me a bit of a headache. Lol. I have only blue plus running for my dusk and dawn cycles. I love the fluorescence it gives the corals, but I wouldn't be able to handle that look all day. But the aquablue special tends to take all the color out of everything. The bright reds and greens suddenly turn kind of an olive brown color when the aquablue special comes on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckyuv Posted March 14, 2013 Author Share Posted March 14, 2013 I like the blue look! I'm glad I know the aqua blue washes it out because that's what I don't want!y'all prob have the 46" bulb fixtures too I'm guessing? They seem like they would be powerful enough for a 65g? Its the same footprint as 55g just a lil taller Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobR Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 What do you think about two blue plus, a purple plus, and a coral plus? I am afraid 3 blue plus would be a little blue for my taste. Excessive blue light gives me a bit of a headache. Lol. I have only blue plus running for my dusk and dawn cycles. I love the fluorescence it gives the corals, but I wouldn't be able to handle that look all day. But the aquablue special tends to take all the color out of everything. The bright reds and greens suddenly turn kind of an olive brown color when the aquablue special comes on The 2 blue plus, purple plus, and coral plus is a nice combo, I ran something similar for about a year and liked it. But I prefer the bluer look and do prefer the 3 blue plus. If you are looking for less blue the combo you suggested will be good. I like the blue look! I'm glad I know the aqua blue washes it out because that's what I don't want!y'all prob have the 46" bulb fixtures too I'm guessing? They seem like they would be powerful enough for a 65g? Its the same footprint as 55g just a lil taller If you like the bluer look then I would def suggest the 3 blue plus with either a purple or coral plus with my prefrence being the coral. Yeah the AB special washes out real bad. My fixture has 48" 54 watt bulbs and yes I believe that the 65g is the same footprint as a 55g only a few inches taller. $ should be powreful enough for a 65g the extra depth I don't think would cause any problems, may just have to move SPS up a little. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckyuv Posted March 14, 2013 Author Share Posted March 14, 2013 Rock on I just ordered 2 of the bulbs I have 2 new bulbs now so ima wait a bit on the others. No one around here carries the 48" ati bulbs right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 Thanks for the input. I like a blue look but not the point of unrealistic. I think what I'll do is spend the extra $20 and get an additional coral plus bulb and compare that to the ge6500k bulb. Here's a reference pic of my tank. Stock iPhone photo I just took with no editing. Taken right this second. FRONT Purple+ Blue+ Aquablue special Blue+ BACK 55 gallon standard 48" tank with aquatic life 4 bulb fixture with individual reflectors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobR Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Rock on I just ordered 2 of the bulbs I have 2 new bulbs now so ima wait a bit on the others. No one around here carries the 48" ati bulbs right? No I have not found anyone that does carry the 48" ATI in town, but BRS has em and reef geek has some good prices as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobR Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Thanks for the input. I like a blue look but not the point of unrealistic. I think what I'll do is spend the extra $20 and get an additional coral plus bulb and compare that to the ge6500k bulb. Here's a reference pic of my tank. Stock iPhone photo I just took with no editing. Taken right this second. FRONT Purple+ Blue+ Aquablue special Blue+ BACK 55 gallon standard 48" tank with aquatic life 4 bulb fixture with individual reflectors. If you change out the AB special with a coral plus or KZ new gen your colors will be much better IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckyuv Posted March 16, 2013 Author Share Posted March 16, 2013 Ok so I'm in Houston right now and all the stores here carry geisman brand. Do they have a comparable light to ati or should I not waste my money and just wait to get 2 more ati? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobR Posted March 16, 2013 Share Posted March 16, 2013 From what I have read (have not used geissman) they are good bulbs, but the PAR compared to ATI isn't quite as high for a comparable bulb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted March 16, 2013 Share Posted March 16, 2013 The giesemann blue bulbs aren't my favorite. I swapped mine out for ati blue plus before they were even ready. There is alot of info online about average par values and giesemann bulbs are usually on the lower end for every bulb type. Their midday bulbs look fantastic on my planted tank, but for your purposes I'd stick with ati. They're cheaper and more powerful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckyuv Posted March 17, 2013 Author Share Posted March 17, 2013 OK thanks a lot fellas ima wait till I can get the ati, cheapest place in Houston with geisman was fish gallery but they were still a lot more then ordering ati bulbs online Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 Would be good if we could get a group buy going. I need to order bulbs but would love to avoid paying shipping Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 Gonna revive this. My bulbs just came in today. I'm going to replace one bulb per week to ease the transition. I started with a coral plus. I had mentioned earlier two things that I was wrong on. First, I didn't have an old coral plus to test, second, my daylight bulb was not an aquablue special, instead it was a giesemann aquablue plus. Don't know how I mixed that up but it's been forever since a bulb change. The giesemann is fairly yellow, id call it 10000k at absolute most. Probably lower. The other bulbs are two blue + and one purple +. Man this coral plus bulbs blows the giesemann bulb out of the water. It makes for a much bluer overall look than I'm used to, but the color is so much better. The corals actually fluoresce while the daylight bulbs are on which never used to happen before. Thanks for the recommendation. Very glad I went with this one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobR Posted March 29, 2013 Share Posted March 29, 2013 Gonna revive this. My bulbs just came in today. I'm going to replace one bulb per week to ease the transition. I started with a coral plus. I had mentioned earlier two things that I was wrong on. First, I didn't have an old coral plus to test, second, my daylight bulb was not an aquablue special, instead it was a giesemann aquablue plus. Don't know how I mixed that up but it's been forever since a bulb change. The giesemann is fairly yellow, id call it 10000k at absolute most. Probably lower. The other bulbs are two blue + and one purple +. Man this coral plus bulbs blows the giesemann bulb out of the water. It makes for a much bluer overall look than I'm used to, but the color is so much better. The corals actually fluoresce while the daylight bulbs are on which never used to happen before. Thanks for the recommendation. Very glad I went with this one! Glad that you like it, the coral plus is a great bulb. So what is your final bulb config? the two blue+, coral + , and purple+? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted March 30, 2013 Share Posted March 30, 2013 That's right. I absolutely love the color now. Think it would be too fast to replace the other bulbs every two or three days instead of weekly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobR Posted March 30, 2013 Share Posted March 30, 2013 That's right. I absolutely love the color now. Think it would be too fast to replace the other bulbs every two or three days instead of weekly? When I replaced mine I did every 3 IIRC, and did not have any problems. I would not do less that 3 though.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckyuv Posted March 30, 2013 Author Share Posted March 30, 2013 Did you already order your bulbs? I need one more blue+ lol that's funny you took out the geisman , when I was in Houston that's the brand all the stores carried so I got that instead of the coral plus because I read they were so similar. I'm not noticing any was out yet but I do like the white color Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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