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Help picking six T5 bulbs with IceCap ballasts

redfishbluefish

redfishbluefish

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
I’m starting the build on a new tank that will run six t5 bulbs with two IceCap ballasts. The 660 will run four bulbs, while the 430 will run two bulbs. A current post prompted this query because it stated that ATI bulbs had higher PAR values. One point not discussed in that post was the type of ballast. I will be running IceCap ballasts. I’ve heard that the 660 overdrives four foot T5s from 54W up to 85W, but the 430 does not overdrive.

What bulb combination should I consider? My interest would be for the two bulb combo to come on first and go off last, while the four bulb combo would be the “midday” lights. Please specify what bulbs you would suggest for the two bulb combo and four bulb combo.

From the prior post of a four bulb fixture (ballast unspecified), the recommendation was two ATI Blue Plus and two ATI Aquablue Specials.
 
J

jceli728

The basic bulbs are the ATI Blue-plus & Aqua-blue special. Then is up to your preference on how much blue or white you want, for me I try to keep 50/50 of each. Finally try the ATI Pro color it will make some of the color pop out(This is usually good if you have a good amount of red, pink, purple corals) but always use it in the center of your fixture.
 
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