T5HO lighting question

H

hux

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Oct 8, 2009
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im currently building my first mrine 75g tank...
i have a thread in the equipment, diy etc...

i was asked a question about my 4 globe T5HO system..

the question was why did i have my two actinics on the outside and my two white (10,000k) bulbs on the inside?

i didnt know the answer to this, i said this was how it was in the box?


this has got me thinking..

my question is...
whats the best formation or does it not matter of the formation of light bulbs using two actinics and two white bulbs for a reef system?

- blue, white, blue, white
- blue, white, white, blue
- white, blue, white, blue
-white, blue, blue, white


all feedback is welcome
cheers guys
 
It boils down to more aesthetics than anything. You'll get more banding by grouping bulbs with similar colors. Depending upon the height, this may not be as noticeable. It also allows you to highlight certain parts of the tank, if you wish. But overall, arranging B-W-B-w or W-B-W-B will look more "even." (Where "W" is a white lamp and "B" is a blue lamp--all in the broadest sense) The arrangement is entirely up to you. For example, I have a 6 lamp fixture that goes something like W-B-W-W-B-W. Except for the two blue bulbs, each "white" lamp is actually different, ranging from 6000K to 12000K. So I basically get a broad range of color, which I tend to prefer.
 
so its just a preference thing?

your not really going to get any benefit from having a certain arrangement?
 
hux said:
so its just a preference thing?

your not really going to get any benefit from having a certain arrangement?
Click to expand...

Beyond personal aesthetic? Not in my experience. I suppose the one time it would matter is with a lot of bulbs and if there is a drastic difference in intensity between the bulbs. I could see the utility in that, but with 8 bulbs or less, I just don't see much use or difference.
 
If your light unit has multiple power plugs, you may want to consider how the lights are turned on and off. I like to have the blue lights come on first, then 30 minutes later add the white lights. Then about 12 hours later, reverse the sequence to turn them off.
 
same answer as AMF600 above...........
but if no multiple plugs, to flip the lights as wanted, then BWBW is prefered.
 
I have a 4 bulb t5ho setup on my tank and i have the bulb configuration as w-b-w-w. I am using giessman aquablue+ and man the colors of the reds really pop under this configuration as do the blues.
 
This is one of those "ask 10 people and get 10 answers" thread isn't it? ;)

I go B-B-B-W-B-B on my 6 bulb setup. If I put any more whites in I burn things.. but then again, how many others put 6 T5HOs on a 29G. ;) I went 6 bulbs just so I could add more blue to please my personal preference and still have enough PAR for the tank to be happy.

Still, for the OPs setup and question, I agree with the above answers, doesn't matter too much which way you put the bulbs in and I would go B-W-B-W as a personal preference on a 4 bulb setup.
 
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