Buying bulbs, T5 user thoughts

[Mark_C]

So I'm running 2 blue+, 1 coral blue, and one coral +
Thinking of cutting back mildly (or severely) on the whites.
I love color pop and like some of the detail whites can pull in, but experimenting.
Would like max amount of various color pop.
So...

For folks that have run various T5s...

First thought...
2 Blue+
1 Purple+
1 Coral+

Second call...
3 Blue+
1 Purple+

Third call...
2 Blue+
1 Purple+
1 True Actinic

Ordering this weekend, any thoughs on best tank pop combo that covers a decent color spectrum appreciated.

 

[DEL]

I would go with the first set. that's what I had in my aquatic life along with the kessil 360we.

 

[Deleted member 27248]

Purple plus and coral plus are too much alike in my opion. Obviously coral plus is much more white and purple plus more purple.

 

[jgraz]

Not a fan of the ATI purple+. I'm currently running all blue+ in my 20, but only 2 bulbs now.. But on my bigger tanks with more bulbs I ran Blue+and Coral+.
From my research on the topic, there's nothing the purple+ can offer that the coral+ can't, and better

 

[Mark_C]

KK, thanks folks. Will go 3 Blue+ and 1 Coral+
OR!
Any thoughts on this...

2 Blue+
1 True Actinic
1 Giesemann Tropic 6500

 

[Mark Shelly]

I found that uneven numbers of bulbs made an obvious color difference between parts of a tank. This was with a black hinge on glass covers. I went 2 blue + and 2 Coral+. But I also had a timer that allowed me to use just blues to start and end the day when I appreciated the pop more.

 

[jgraz]

KK, thanks folks. Will go 3 Blue+ and 1 Coral+
OR!
Any thoughts on this...

2 Blue+
1 True Actinic
1 Giesemann Tropic 6500

Haven't tries that Giessemann bulbs, but I have used others and liked them as much or better then ATI.

 

[ecam]

The 6500 is pure yellow bro. It could overpower the other two bulbs. I had it in the middle of an 8 bulb fixture and I knew when it was in

 

[Mark_C]

Mmmm.
I went with 3 Blue+ and the Geissman 6500 in the end.
Can easily order a Coral+ to replace if the Geissman is too yellow, but read a few articles/posts that mention it complimenting the oversaturated blues quite nicely.

 

[MadReefer]

I used to run opt 3 you mentioned. Great color in my opinion.

 

[amado]

So I run the 4 t5 from a aquatic life hybrid fixture. Since I get my blues from leds I don’t need to run heavy blue.
I run 2 coral + and 2 blue +
I only run t5’s for 5hrs a day and I like to run a full spectrum.