What's next?

[greech]

The Blue+ are roughly 14K but the one ABS will offset them pretty well IME. I run 3 Blue+ and a Superactinic now and I like the look. I used to run 3 Blue+ and an ABS and when the ABS kicked on it definitely made the tank a lot whiter. I also ran 2 Blue+, 1 Superactinic and 1 ABS which was ok but still too yellow/white for my taste. Hope I didn't steer you wrong. Everyone has different tastes when it comes to color combos.

2 bulbs every couple of days is going to be a bit too quick IME unless you cut the light cycle on those 2 bulbs back for a little while. Just keep a claose eye on your corals and adjust as needed. The ATI Blue+ and ABS are two of the higest PAR T5 bulbs out there and you are replacing bulbs that are fairly old if I remember correctly.

Yes, the PO4 is a bit high but it sounds like you found at least part of the cause. That concentration should be handled by some water changes and a little GFO to polish it off if you need it.

 

[dlyon101]

I'm looking forward to seeing the new color. My tank is very white/yellow right now.

How would you recommend I proceed with the change over? More like two bulbs a week? I don't want to kill or bleach any corals. Honestly, if you hadn't said anything before I would have just changed them all out at once. I'm inpatient like that sometimes.

 

[greech]

If it were me I would add 2 and cut the cycle on those 2 bulbs so that their light cycle is only about 4 hours/day. Let that go for about 5 days and if all goes well bump the light cycle on those to 8ish hours, add 2 more new bulbs and run those 2 bulbs for 4 hours, repeat.

The Superactinic is a fairly low PAR bulb compared to the ATI.

 

[dlyon101]

I'm not sure if anyone is still looking at this thread, but I wanted to post an update. I've been going through the process of changing out all of my T5 bulbs over the last couple of weeks. The first week I added the Superactinic (kind of purple), the Aqua Blue Special (really white), and one of the Aqua Blue Plus (blue). I cut my photoperiod back to 5 hours with 30 mins before and after for dusk/dawm. The fixture only lets me control two different groups of bulbs (FYI it is a 6 row fixture). The dusk/dawn bulbs are one Aqua Blue + and the Superactinic. After a week of this everything seemed fine. So, this past weekend I added two of the Aqua Blue + to the main group of lights and left the photoperiod alone. The tank looks a lot bluer now than it did before. I really like the color. I still have one set of the Aqua Blue + that I haven't added. I am kind of thinking I'll raise the photperiod back up to 6 hours this weekend and see how that goes for a week or two.

So the fixture looks like this 3 ATI Aqua Blue+, 1 UVL Superactinic, 1 ATI Aqua Blue Special, 1 UVL Aqua Sun (of course everything x2 since it is a 72" fixture using 12 36" bulbs). If I end up adding another Blue + I will remove the UVL Aqua Sun (these are only a couple of months old). I like the color right now and I'm not sure if I want it much bluer. I guess my question is which one is better for my corals (mostly softies and LPS)? The Aqua Sun or the Aqua Blue + ?

I'm taking it slow and I'm noticing no effects on my corals or any new algae growth thus far. So far so good with the new bulbs. I'll post some picks of the tank soon.

 

[Cheech]

unrelated to your question but I noticed you have a blue jaw trigger as well. What do you think of it? I love its personality, and it's very docile, much more than I thought!

By the way, great looking tank!

 

[dlyon101]

Thanks for the compliment. The Blue Jaw is my favorite fish! He is the biggest fish in my tank but doesn't bother anything. I love watching him every day.

 

[Cheech]

^^ Has he ever tried jumping out? First day I bought mine I found it on the floor.. Fortunately he hadn't been there long. I put him back int he tank and he lived. Months later (last week) I found him in the overflow.

 

[greech]

I run 3 Blue+ and a Superactinic and have never looked back. Also have a 453nm LED bar (yes I like the color blue ).

No experience with the Aquasun but I would venture a guess that the Blue+ will have a fair amount more PAR than most/all UVL bulbs. Blue+ is not too far below the Aquablue Special in terms of PAR. Is the aquasun a fairly yellow bulb?

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2096816&highlight=t5
Warning!: This thread is massive but it pretty much includes everything you ever wanted to know about T5 bulbs and combos .

 

[Benson]

Wonderful tank!!!

 

[dlyon101]

Cheech, I did find my Blue Throat in one of the overflows a couple of months ago. Not much really spooks him anymore so I'm not too concerned about him jumping. When I walk into the room the Blue Throat and my Gold Banded Maroon clown are front and center waiting for some food. Last night I was putting a small algae sheet on a clip on the glass and the Blue Throat bit my finger. He was apparently anxious for me to get out of the way. He tears up that algae and then all of the other smaller fish eat the scraps that come their way. I didn't think Triggers were big algae eaters. This one is though.

Man that is a good thread on T5 bulbs. I do think the Aqua Sun is more of a yellow bulb. In a week or so I'll probably change out that one and put in the Aqua Blue+. So my configuration will be 4 Aqua Blue +, 1 AquaBlue Special, and 1 Superactinic.

Thanks for all of the comments. I will post some more pics after I get the remaining bulbs changed out.