lighting woes... t5 combos for 4 bulb fixtures are hard to get right

[REEFLECTIONS]

i have a 4 bulb fixture had to replace bulbs, went with ati's:
blue plus
blue plus
aqua blue special
blue plus.
i thought it was too blue, shocker, right? so i went today, and got some purple plus's, so now i have:
blue plus
purple plus
blue plus
aqua blue special
now it's not blue enough, maybe a lil pinkish? i'm not sure. some colors are improved. my flame angel never looked better, like seriously, incredibly neon orange. but the blues and greens are kinda muted. and can anyone guess the most prominent color in my tank? did you guess green? then you are correct... not much to do now i guess. i plan on adding a reef brite fixture in the not too distant future, hopefully that will give me the perfect balance. now on the reef brite. i was gonna get the reef brite tech, then they came out with the xho... only problem? it costs $320ish. too much for me to spend on supplemental lighting. hopefully i won't buy the reg. tech series and hope i had just a few more leds in the mix. i hate buyers remorse.... but i guess live and learn, and trial and error is what this hobby is all about.

 

[Brando457]

I'm going to be doign a 6 bulb and my config will be ATI Blue Plus, Ati Blue Plus, Ati Blue Plus, Pink, Blue Plus, Blue Plus if it is too blue I'll swap out the Blue Plus for a GE daylight and then do supplemental led like yourself.

LED is nice, but idk t5 makes me happy in the heart.

There is a thread on Reef Central by Grimm Reaper who if you ask he will give you a good recommendatino.

 

[Fish Brain]

What about:
Blue+
Purple+
Blue+
Blue+

?

 

[mnat]

you might want to try
blue plus
blue plus
fiji pink
blue special

 

[REEFLECTIONS]

i'll have to look into that mnat... i wish i had a six bulb fixture... if i did i would do
blue plus
blue plus
aqua blue special
blue plus
purple plus
blue plus.
i think that is the perfect combo. i'll ask aquatic obsessions about that fiji pink, but i thought those were alot like the purple plus. and thermo i think what you recommend would be even a lil bluer than my original combo. i think my ideal lighting would be t5 whites and led blues.... but i haven't seen the right all blue led fixture in my price range... yet. i think there will be one soon enough.

 

[kschweer]

I run:
Blue+
UVL 75/25
Blue+
Blue+

I am pretty happy with my combo. Will post pictures when I get a chance.

 

[REEFLECTIONS]

cool, i'm open to suggestions, and brando, i think that is a whole lotta blue you are planning. unless very super blue is your thing. but with six bulb you should consider some more non blues to bring out some other colors in your tank... jmo

 

[Brando457]

Yeah if it is too too blue then I'll do a different combo, when I had the 6 bulb tek on my 180 I did 4 blue plus, ge 6700, fiji pink and it was great.

 

[Fish Brain]

Try swapping the Blue+ and Purple+ you have in there now. The order of the bulbs does make a difference.

Try:
Blue+
Blue+
Purple+
Aquablue

 

[mnat]

Nikkit posted for me and I agree with her except one thing, ati has a new bulb. So:

Blue+
ATI purple/KZ pink
Coral plus
Blue+

 

[jgraz]

I have
Blue+
Coral+
Purple+
Blue+

Love the look.

 

[kschweer]

For those who are running the new coral+ bulbs, how are they? Do you guys like them? And maybe some pictures if you have them

 

[REEFLECTIONS]

Try swapping the Blue+ and Purple+ you have in there now. The order of the bulbs does make a difference.

Try:
Blue+
Blue+
Purple+
Aquablue

that's what i have thermo

 

[Fish Brain]

You said you have:
Blue+
Purple+
Blue+
Aquablue

I was was saying to put both Blue+ at the front of the fixture:

Blue+
Blue+
Purple+
Aquablue

 

[REEFLECTIONS]

ok, i got you... do you think that would make a difference? i kinda just figured that the lights would just blend once they all hit the water

 

[Fish Brain]

That is one of the great things about T-5's. Not only will changing bulbs change the color but placement of the bulbs will also change the appearance of the tank.

Try swapping the middle bulbs and see what that does for you.

 

[mnat]

For those who are running the new coral+ bulbs, how are they? Do you guys like them? And maybe some pictures if you have them

I have only had mine going for a week or so but so far I like them. They are just a touch bluer than the aquablue specials, gives a little more pop but nothing crazy. You are going from 12k to 14k, so not a major difference.

 

[REEFLECTIONS]

as mentioned earlier, i finally got the reef brites, and i love them!!! only wish i got the 60" rather than the 48" but after rearranging some corals in my tank it'll do. thanks aquatic obsessions.