What t5 bulds do you recommend

[itsamyheff]

I just picked up a aqualife t5 hybrid fixture. I went from metal halides back in the day to leds. I never had t5's. What do you guys and girls like to run?

 

[sharis100]

ATI Blue+ and Coral+

 

[hiimsean]

Here’s what I ordered for my fixture

 

[Cook]

Agree with @sharis100 . When I researched this topic a while ago, I found that most go with 2x Blue Plus for a 4 bulb fixture leaving the other two selections up to you. The Coral Plus is the next must have in my opinion, whether the 4th is another coral plus, a purple plus (more white light spectrum than Coral Plus) or an Actinic (not a significant contributor to par, but providing lower end spectrum) is personal preference.

For my hybrids I use 2x Blue Plus, 1x Coral Plus, and 1x Actinic. I dropped the Purple plus when I was having an algae problem and never really missed it afterwards. Also, I only run my T5's for 4 hours a day (Peak), using my LED's for the majority of the time including to ramp up and ramp down.

Also, if you put a brand new bulb in the socket and it doesn't light, try another bulb before going further. I have had a higher number of DOA bulbs than I would have expected. One out of every 4 generally. I order mine and have them shipped in, so maybe it's related to that.

 

[timeconsumer]

I'm in general agreement with the above. On my hybrid setup I run 2x Blue Plus and 2x Actinics. For a bulb only combo I think 2 blue plus, 1 actinic, 1 coral plus is always a pretty solid way to go. I'm bigger on the actinic bulbs than your average reefer.

What size fixture are you working with? I have a bunch of old used 24" T5 bulbs if you want to give some combos a test drive.

 

[dball711]

When I ran T5's (ATI 6 bulb unit) I got my best growth and color running 6 Blue + bulbs.

 

[itsamyheff]

Agree with @sharis100 . When I researched this topic a while ago, I found that most go with 2x Blue Plus for a 4 bulb fixture leaving the other two selections up to you. The Coral Plus is the next must have in my opinion, whether the 4th is another coral plus, a purple plus (more white light spectrum than Coral Plus) or an Actinic (not a significant contributor to par, but providing lower end spectrum) is personal preference.

For my hybrids I use 2x Blue Plus, 1x Coral Plus, and 1x Actinic. I dropped the Purple plus when I was having an algae problem and never really missed it afterwards. Also, I only run my T5's for 4 hours a day (Peak), using my LED's for the majority of the time including to ramp up and ramp down.

Also, if you put a brand new bulb in the socket and it doesn't light, try another bulb before going further. I have had a higher number of DOA bulbs than I would have expected. One out of every 4 generally. I order mine and have them shipped in, so maybe it's related to that.

That's alot of doa. Thanks for the info.

 

[itsamyheff]

I'm in general agreement with the above. On my hybrid setup I run 2x Blue Plus and 2x Actinics. For a bulb only combo I think 2 blue plus, 1 actinic, 1 coral plus is always a pretty solid way to go. I'm bigger on the actinic bulbs than your average reefer.

What size fixture are you working with? I have a bunch of old used 24" T5 bulbs if you want to give some combos a test drive.

It's a 48". I appreciate it.

 

[snowmansnow]

Search for the T5 thread… years ago I took info from grim’s famous T5 post on rc. Also did lots of color pics


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[snowmansnow]

BooM

THE T5 Question and Answer Thread

THE T5 Question and Answer Thread

If you are over driving them, then you need a fan (or 2) blowing across both ends of the bulbs otherwise they will get too hot and not last more than 6 months. I am using ATI bulbs in my T5 fixture along with Maxspect Razors in my DT and would love to get some PAR readings in my DT. Does...

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