[Nigel95]

I wonder if a 6 bulb combo not in terms of power but more bulbs opens up doors to create more aesthetically pleasing view. It's way too much power as my next layout doesn't have stem plants. Could dim it with something like this but just use the 6 bulbs for a nicer spectrum?

With some sheets like this
sheet by Nigel Aquascaping, on Flickr

Not sure if it works with the heat my ati sunpower unit generates. Maybe I could stick it between the transparant protection panel and the fixture so it's on the outside and not directly against the bulbs... Did anyone every try to dim their t5 without being able to dim on the unit itself?

 

[Hendy8888]

So in short lol... have to buy bulbs and just 'try'. However which bulbs are worth a try for my goal so I don't buy ones that will never be used maybe... What in your opinion should I add to my bulb collection to try?



My goals for next layout and t5 bulb combo

• Different shades of green plants / moss
• Make colors of Bucephalandra pop (greenish / blueish)
• Simulans fish
• No yellow tint but I don't mind a blueish tint, like that actually like ADA RGB Solar makes the green really pop and the walls are blueish.

Your goals don't line up together very well. The green pop and blueish tint of a signature ADA light generally makes most greens the same colour. If your looking for this I'd try an ATI aquablue special or similar (white/blue) combo reef bulbs. This will have to be mixed with something warmer to tone it down though, possibly 3000k/6500k.

And yes....we probably all have a stash of t5 bulbs we don't use. That elusive perfect look might not actually exist but we sure try.

 

[Nigel95]

Your goals don't line up together very well. The green pop and blueish tint of a signature ADA light generally makes most greens the same colour. If your looking for this I'd try an ATI aquablue special or similar (white/blue) combo reef bulbs. This will have to be mixed with something warmer to tone it down though, possibly 3000k/6500k.

And yes....we probably all have a stash of t5 bulbs we don't use. That elusive perfect look might not actually exist but we sure try.

Thanks for the recommendation I try that bulb in the mix. Well just wanted to give a reference of the ADA RGB Solar. I mainly bought the t5 unit because it's very nice if I want to create colorful layouts. Now I just have to find out a bulb mix that would make me satisfied with a greenish plant layout. Then I could easily swap some bulbs depending on the plants I choose.

 

[Hendy8888]

Thanks for the recommendation I try that bulb in the mix. Well just wanted to give a reference of the ADA RGB Solar. I mainly bought the t5 unit because it's very nice if I want to create colorful layouts. Now I just have to find out a bulb mix that would make me satisfied with a greenish plant layout. Then I could easily swap some bulbs depending on the plants I choose.

Here is an old photo using all ATI aquablue special bulbs for reference. This was temporary until new bulbs were purchased.

 

[Grobbins48]

A while back we were discussing the difference between the powerveg 660 and the agromax pure bloom.
@burr740 i know you were one of the people who have run both the 660 and the pure bloom. I am curious, now that it has been almost a year of running a the pure bloom how you feel about each of the bulbs.

 

[Greggz]

A while back we were discussing the difference between the powerveg 660 and the agromax pure bloom.
@burr740 i know you were one of the people who have run both the 660 and the pure bloom. I am curious, now that it has been almost a year of running a the pure bloom how you feel about each of the bulbs.

Hey you forgot to mention a possible group buy!

If anyone is interested in stocking up on some Powerveg 660's, PM me.

They are getting hard to find, and I trying to work out buying a case.

 

[burr740]

A while back we were discussing the difference between the powerveg 660 and the agromax pure bloom.
@burr740 i know you were one of the people who have run both the 660 and the pure bloom. I am curious, now that it has been almost a year of running a the pure bloom how you feel about each of the bulbs.

Whats up G? yeah I like the pure bloom, its not quite as red as the pv, and I feel like it's lost a little red after about a year but I could be imagining that. Its a good bulb

I like their Pure Par too. Its about like ATI purple color-wise, it's a little less bright though.

For the money you cant beat them. I'll be using more in the future Im sure

 

[Grobbins48]

Whats up G? yeah I like the pure bloom, its not quite as red as the pv, and I feel like it's lost a little red after about a year but I could be imagining that. Its a good bulb

I like their Pure Par too. Its about like ATI purple color-wise, it's a little less bright though.

For the money you cant beat them. I'll be using more in the future Im sure

Good to know! I still do want to try a 660 out if Gregg is able to procure them. Overall I think I have found a good setup, but as we all know, that is subject to change during a long, cold winter!

Hmm... wonder if I can fit another sunblaster single fixture under my hood....

 

[Quagulator]

I'd be in on a pair but I'm also in Ontario like @Hendy8888

I'll be part of the 4' club here shortly

 

[Hendy8888]

I'd be in on a pair but I'm also in Ontario like @Hendy8888



I'll be part of the 4' club here shortly

Check out growlights.ca they have Fusion Bright 420nm, 460nm, 620nm, 660nm bulbs for $14.99 cdn and pretty cheap shipping if I remember correctly. Not PowerVeg's but I'm happy with mine.

 

[Quagulator]

Check out growlights.ca they have Fusion Bright 420nm, 460nm, 620nm, 660nm bulbs for $14.99 cdn and pretty cheap shipping if I remember correctly. Not PowerVeg's but I'm happy with mine.

I've already got a link saved to that website

I was going to ask if you've used them / how you like them before I ordered anything, but that answers that!

 

[Greggz]

Check out growlights.ca they have Fusion Bright 420nm, 460nm, 620nm, 660nm bulbs for $14.99 cdn and pretty cheap shipping if I remember correctly. Not PowerVeg's but I'm happy with mine.

I was just searching around for red bulbs and ran across the Growlight Real Red. Is this the one? If so, color graph looks more like 633 than 660? Or are the ones you mentioned something different?

https://growlite.com/content/pdf/spec/GLL-3-T5HO-24-54.pdf

 

[Hendy8888]

I was just searching around for red bulbs and ran across the Growlight Real Red. Is this the one? If so, color graph looks more like 633 than 660? Or are the ones you mentioned something different?



https://growlite.com/content/pdf/spec/GLL-3-T5HO-24-54.pdf

Here are the ones I have, as far as I can tell they are knock-off powerveg bulbs. I have never run a powerveg so can't compare but the marketing comes off as such, they even have a fs+uv.

The 660 is a bit deeper red to the eye vs the 620. I don't know if you can trust the graphs but it's what they give.
https://www.growlights.ca/4ft-t5-ho-54w-specialized-grow-lights-fs-uv-420nm-460nm-620nm-660nm.html

 

[jeffkrol]

Here are the ones I have, as far as I can tell they are knock-off powerveg bulbs. I have never run a powerveg so can't compare but the marketing comes off as such, they even have a fs+uv.

The 660 is a bit deeper red to the eye vs the 620. I don't know if you can trust the graphs but it's what they give.
https://www.growlights.ca/4ft-t5-ho-54w-specialized-grow-lights-fs-uv-420nm-460nm-620nm-660nm.html

Interesting that they spike to 630 w/ IR emitting phosphors.
General "what the colors do"
https://www.cannagardening.com/effect_light_spectrum_plant_development


Not sure FR works the same way in aquatics since their world is err turned upside down..
Red being filtered out rapidly means plants seeing little red are technically "shaded".
Opposite of terrestrials.
Many effects are similar though

 

[Hendy8888]

Interesting that they spike to 630 w/ IR emitting phosphors.
General "what the colors do"
https://www.cannagardening.com/effect_light_spectrum_plant_development


Not sure FR works the same way in aquatics since their world is err turned upside down..
Red being filtered out rapidly means plants seeing little red are technically "shaded".
Opposite of terrestrials.
Many effects are similar though

Thanks for the link, I always enjoy when you share your lighting knowledge LED or otherwise, it's greatly appreciated.

 

[mcmitchell8212]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the forum and wanted some advice for lighting over a 75-gallon aquarium. My only background is with an old low tech setup. I have recently gotten pressurized co2 and will be dosing EI. I've read and learned a lot while reading through this thread. I'm working with a 4 bulb fixture and seem to find it difficult to find a combo that will not only grow high demand plants but also be pleasing to the eye. I was thinking of going with these bulbs but have no clue what they would look like. I liked the look of the bulb combo mentioned by mboley post #148 but want to stay more budget-friendly.

AgroMax Pure Bloom
AgroMax Pure Par
AgroMax Finisher 10,000K
Agro Max Grow 5400K

Maybe sub one for 3000K?

Please help me out! Any recommendations or info would be great!

 

[jeffkrol]

Heavy blue w/ a cyan/green blue doping.
ATI Aquablue special would be the closest match but doesn't look that close.
Listed as 12000k-ish light

Azure blue It seems fairly unique.

Mimic with their spectral composition the natural light conditions underwater
Very high colour stability through premium-grade fluorescent substances
Highlights colours of fish and corals
Mimicking natural light spectrum at about 17.000 K
Supporting coral proliferation
Absolutely brilliant and natural colours

@ about $24/bulb you would probably only use on w/ 4 tubes.


Pleasing to the eye is of course relative.

Hmmm there are 2 really different spectrum for the same Azure bulb on the internet..
One doesn't "look" like this desc. at all:

With its white/turquoise/cyan-coloured light and a colour temperature of about 17.000 K it can be used as main light source or in combination with other light colours of our POWERCHROME T-5 range.

 

[jeffkrol]

Seperate post because it's a write up of a bunch of "blue" tubes..
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WHuol0uRn2W7Jk-rxYWmtNgUF-lkY_VlUpAiNsMwME4/pub

BTW: think it solved my mystery..too bad too , the old "Azure" was pretty unique spectrum, now just eh..

I then saw in a discussion that Coralvue was the distributor for Giesemann’s new lamp line. They reworked a few of the lamps from the old D-D line and added some new ones, increased their output, and changed the name on some.

 

[Grobbins48]

Hi everyone,



I'm new to the forum and wanted some advice for lighting over a 75-gallon aquarium. My only background is with an old low tech setup. I have recently gotten pressurized co2 and will be dosing EI. I've read and learned a lot while reading through this thread. I'm working with a 4 bulb fixture and seem to find it difficult to find a combo that will not only grow high demand plants but also be pleasing to the eye. I was thinking of going with these bulbs but have no clue what they would look like. I liked the look of the bulb combo mentioned by mboley post #148 but want to stay more budget-friendly.



AgroMax Pure Bloom

AgroMax Pure Par

AgroMax Finisher 10,000K

Agro Max Grow 5400K



Maybe sub one for 3000K?



Please help me out! Any recommendations or info would be great!

I'll need to look through my notes, but I feel like somewhere in this thread I must have posted a similar setup to what you mentioned. I do have all those bulbs.

If you cannot find it in one of my earlier posts, maybe this weekend I can find time to put that setup in my tank and snap a few pictures for you.

I'll do the best I can to make the picture match what my eye sees, but remember, a lot of this is personal preference.

Also, you could just order up one of each of the agromax (that is what I did) and play around with them. They are a good budget friendly bulb, so IMO it is worth ordering all 6 or 7 and playing around with them.

 

[ReeferRusso]

I'll need to look through my notes, but I feel like somewhere in this thread I must have posted a similar setup to what you mentioned.

Another fine example of the need for a "bookmark" option on the forum. Nearly every single time I get on here, I end up having the need for a bookmark option. I'm not sure how hard it would be to build one into the forum but it sure would be nice. Over on reef2reef I have a mountain of bookmarks with individual titles for each one for very easy referencing.

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