Best Hybrid T5 Bulb Combo?

[Tiki Reef Joshua]

I’m getting ready to purchase a 48” hybrid Aqualife fixture using my AI primes... what would you recommend as a good T5 bulb compliment? I know people rave about the blue +.

thanks everyone!

 

[Coastie Reefer]

B+ and True Actinic

 

[bobnicaragua]

I run 3 blue + and 1 coral plus, which is whiter than you would expect. I then add more blue with leds.

 

[Tiki Reef Joshua]

I run my AI primes at the BRS settings, so basically the AB+ settings. Not exact, but I run them close, if that helps. I wish my blue digitata showed up a bit more, but it’s not too bad. Everything else pops pretty good other than my pink tip torch.

 

[Chibils]

Depends on your color preference. It's hard to go wrong with the popular bulbs from ATI, Giesemann, and Korallen-Zucht. All offer solid PAR numbers and can grow things. The ATI Coral Plus is very white, but gives good color rendition. The Blue Plus is their most famous bulb for giving excellent fluorescence and without being overwhelmingly blue. Actinics are all pop, they make fluorescent corals glow. ATI and Giesemann look a little different, but have the same effect. The KZ Fiji Purple is famous for bringing out red, yellow, and orange colorations that blue LEDs wash out. I wouldn't recommend more than one of them.

 

[Bpb]

If it were mine I’d do a coral+ and a blue+ in each bank

 

[Shaka_Reefer]

I like it more on the whiter side so I have two Blue+ and two Coral+

 

[Tiki Reef Joshua]

Thanks for all the input so far!

 

[yeldarbj]

If it were mine I’d do a coral+ and a blue+ in each bank

This. I just installed this combo and think it looks great.

 

[djray77]

I recently switched mine around, I first tried the common 2x blue+, 1x coral+, 1x Purple+ I didn't like the look (I ran my xr15's on the AB+ program). so I switched out the coral+ with a purple+ and I really like this combo. 2x blue+ on the outer and 2x purple+ on the inner. I wonder if it matters on locations of the bulbs that much?

 

[madweazl]

They will all grow corals; pick the look you prefer from this thread.

 

[Tiki Reef Joshua]

So many options!

 

[Tiki Reef Joshua]

They will all grow corals; pick the look you prefer from this thread.

thanks! I love my blue look and pop with my primes. I’d like to keep that to a degree but bring out a bit more pink and blue in the coral.

maybe 3 blue+ and a coral +. I dunno. Maybe I’ll just pick from that list. Thanks!

 

[SofishticatedREEFER]

In my hybrid fixture it’s currently b+ c+ b+ b+ when it’s time for a bulb change I’m going to change it up how ever to b+ c+ Actinic b+ I also run 3 prime 16hd and a orphek or3 blue plus

 

[SofishticatedREEFER]

Also I recommend grabbing a extra bulb or two so you can experiment an figure it out early on

 

[TexasReefer82]

This is my rationale regarding bulb choice in a hybrid fixture...

You've got two light sources: the Primes and the T5's. The advantage of the Primes is that they are controllable, give good fluorescence, and provide the shimmer effect (make the tank look pretty); however they provide poor coverage and will make heavy shadows because they're point sources. The T5's are good because they provide comprehensive coverage of light coming from nearly all directions and significantly reduce any shadows; but they're bad because they're provide no shimmer, aren't controllable, and generally aren't super flattering to our tanks (IMO).

Since T5 gives full coverage I'd choose bulbs that provide for the fullest spectrum possible (from UV to IR so to speak) so that a full spectrum of light hits your corals from all directions for good growth. This probably won't look flattering to the tank by itself so then you tune your primes to provide the right amount of blue to make everything look pretty as well as to provide for dawn/dusk effects.

My current bulb choice is a equal mix of SuperActinic and Aquablue Azure (Giesseman) or you could use True Actinic and Coral Plus from ATI. The Actinic bulbs provide the UV-A, violet, and short wavelength blue which are somewhat neglected by many LED fixtures but are very important wavelengths. The other bulb is a daylight bulb that contains peaks of green, yellow, orange, and red as well as plenty of blue. Pick any daylight bulb you want - I consider the Aquablue Azure a 50/50 bulb between a daylight and a Blue+. Other people might choose a 6500k Tropic. The point is that you're providing every wavelength your corals might need to use coming from all directions.

Then program your Primes with the appropriate mix of blue and white that's to your liking. With four T5 bulbs and probably two primes I'd expect that it's the T5's that will be doing the heavy lifting here so you don't need to worry too much about getting the spectrum "right" with the LED's - the T5's have the spectrum covered.

 

[Barnabie Mejia]

I am currently running all Blue+ and the AB schedule on my Prime HDs, I like the way it looks, and its too early on to know if my coral like it. I will say that it is a little different, I was used to the saturated blue from just running primes on my 29g.

No filter:

With filter:

 

[Tiki Reef Joshua]

Nice. Maybe 2blue+, 1 true actinic, and 1 coral + ?

 

[TexasReefer82]

Nice. Maybe 2blue+, 1 true actinic, and 1 coral + ?

I think you'd do really well with that. I always forget that not everyone tank is a peninsula tank (like mine is) and so there's no need for them to have two of each bulb, haha.

 

[dwest]

2 bp, 2 cp then adjust your blue preference with led.