ATI Aqua Blue Special or KZ New Generation

[ken6217]

Which is the better bulb for coral growth first, and appearance second. Which has a higher PAR rating?

Thanks,
Ken

[Froggy]

Which is the better bulb for coral growth first, and appearance second. Which has a higher PAR rating?

Thanks,
Ken
Here are the results for some common bulbs tested by Grimm a while back. The new Generation is a newer test. The ATI bulbs may be a bit higher now - see below **note. No experience but I hear the New Generation looks better and the Aqua Special washes out color a bit.

Aquascience Special:
15K 320*
DUO 15K 334*
22000K Blue 302*


AquaZ:
Sun Pro 285
Ocean Pro 323
Blue Pro 266


ATI:
Sun Pro 357
Aquablue special 336
Blue Plus 311
Actinic 137 (Old Style)
Pro Color 215 vs 300 for a UVL Aquasun in a later test


Current Sun Paq:
Daylight 10K 272
Blue 252


D&D/Giesemann:
Midday 325
Aquablue 324
Actinic Plus 264
Pure Actinic 157


General Electric:
GE Daylight 340
GE3000 319*


Helios:
Daylight 309
Super Blue 225


KZ:
Coral Light 342*
Fiji Purple 330*
New gen is 330 a true 15,000k bulb that burns into a little whiter after 6 months

UVL:
Aqua sun 345
Actinic White 293
Super Actinic 210
75/25 "Aquablue" 254 vs 300 for an Aquasun in a later test.

*Note:
The Aquascience, GE 3000K and KZ lamp readings included here were taken from a later lamp test.

**Note : quoted by Grimm - "ATI juiced up their Blue Plus a little and I no longer recommend UVL lamps. Other than that I really don't know. I don't even run T5's any more so I wont be spending any more of my money on test subjects." ( so ATI may be a bit higher since the tests )

Hope this helps,
Joe

[rtparty]

I don't think you would see a noticeable difference between the two.

[ken6217]

I don't think you would see a noticeable difference between the two.

I know you're not a fan of them Aquablue Special. Why is that?

What do you think of this configuration for a 6 bulb Powermodule?

Blue +
Blue +
Purple +
Aqua Blue Special
Blue +
Blue +

Too much blue?

Note that positions 2 and 5 are on same plug and would be dawn/dusk.

Thanks,
Ken

[rtparty]

I know you're not a fan of them Aquablue Special. Why is that?

What do you think of this configuration for a 6 bulb Powermodule?

Blue +
Blue +
Purple +
Aqua Blue Special
Blue +
Blue +

Too much blue?

Note that positions 2 and 5 are on same plug and would be dawn/dusk.

Thanks,
Ken

The Aquablue washes colors out for me. With your above setup you won't see a difference in growth.

The New Gen will make it more blue than the Aquablue. I personally like your setup but switch the Aquablue out for a GE6500k or even another Purple Plus.

My favorite 6 bulb combo is 4 Blue Plus and 2 Purple Plus.

[jbannick18]

RT you by chance have a picture of a 4 blue + 2 purple ?

Would sps grow well with that combo compared to one with a white in it? I used to run a 6k in my set up but it was making my cyano get out of control.

[ken6217]

The Aquablue washes colors out for me. With your above setup you won't see a difference in growth.

The New Gen will make it more blue than the Aquablue. I personally like your setup but switch the Aquablue out for a GE6500k or even another Purple Plus.

My favorite 6 bulb combo is 4 Blue Plus and 2 Purple Plus.

Hi Ryan,
How would the GE6500 look compared to the Aquablue?

I think 4 blue and 2 purple will be too blue for me.

Thanks,
Ken

[Logzor]

I agree. Avoid the AB Special, washes out colors badly me for also.

The 6500k is going to be more yellow while the AB is going to be more white.

[ken6217]

I agree. Avoid the AB Special, washes out colors badly me for also.

The 6500k is going to be more yellow while the AB is going to be more white.

So you are saying that the yellow look is better than a white look? I'm not sure if you're saying the GE is a better solution.
Ken

[ken6217]

I think I made my decision (for the 10th time). :)

Front to back:

Purple +
Blue +
GE 6500K
KZ New Generation
Blue +
Blue +

What do you all think?
Ken

[rtparty]

I personally don't like the Purple up front. It makes the tank look weird and the light from that bulb is practically wasted.

I like the Purple in the second slot personally for my dusk/dawn but that is all personal taste.

Try this

Blue Plus
Blue Plus
Purple
Blue
GE
KZ New Gen

I am totally swacked on that order but it is hard having 3 white bulbs in the mix and trying to not clump them together.

I would be inclined to switch the New Gen with the Blue Plus in the second slot. Then use 3 Blue Plus and 1 Purple for dusk/dawn. Let the KZ and GE come on for daytime lighting.

[ken6217]

I personally don't like the Purple up front. It makes the tank look weird and the light from that bulb is practically wasted.

Ryan,
I like the Purple in the second slot personally for my dusk/dawn but that is all personal taste.

Try this

Blue Plus
Blue Plus
Purple
Blue
GE
KZ New Gen

I am totally swacked on that order but it is hard having 3 white bulbs in the mix and trying to not clump them together.

I would be inclined to switch the New Gen with the Blue Plus in the second slot. Then use 3 Blue Plus and 1 Purple for dusk/dawn. Let the KZ and GE come on for daytime lighting.

1. The purple can move away from the front.

2. I'm not sure what you are explaining about having the three white bulbs clumped together. I didn't see where I had that? What does swacked mean?

3. I'm not married to any configuration and I have extra bulbs to play around with. So with that said, these are the bulbs I have and the quantities of each one. Let me know what you think would be ideal. I'm not looking for a 20k look, but am also not looking for washed out either. Please lay out 6 bulbs in order. Note that positions 2 and 5 are on same circuit and would be also used for dawn/dusk.

Blue + (4 bulbs)
Purple Plus + (1 bulb)
KZ New Gen (1 bulb)
GE 6500K (1 bulb)
Aqua Blue Special (2 bulbs)

Thanks,
Ken

[IndyReefMan]

I've tried a LOT of different bulb combos over the years and this is one I really like. You might want to give it a shot and see if you like it. It is somewhat similar to rtparty's (2)Purple Plus/(4) Blue Plus (a combo that I really like too), but this one brightens things up a bit while still lending a good amount of red light:

Front
Blue Plus
Purple Plus
Blue Plus
UVL Actinic White
Blue Plus
Blue Plus
Back

[ken6217]

That might be too much blue for me. I think I may be shying away from 4 Blue Plus.

What do you guys think of:

Front to back
Blue Plus
Blue Plus
Purple Plus
GE 6500K
KZ New Gen
Blue Plus

Ken

[ken6217]

George at Reef Geek (great service I might add) sent me a link to someone's tank with the following bulbs in his 8 bulb Powermodule. Below are pictures of his tank. Color looks very nice.

Front
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Purple Plus
ATI Blue Plus
GE 6500
ATI Blue Plus
KZ New Generation
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Blue Plus

http://i930.photobucket.com/albums/ad142/ken6217/37254ea5a5ba158b1.jpg

http://i930.photobucket.com/albums/ad142/ken6217/37254ea59a6524a54.jpg

http://i930.photobucket.com/albums/ad142/ken6217/37254ea599d9c5107.jpg

http://i930.photobucket.com/albums/ad142/ken6217/37254ea59a65bdfa5.jpg

http://i930.photobucket.com/albums/ad142/ken6217/37254ea5a3cad082b.jpg
Ken

[row12]

Good info!

[solitude127]

Hey, I know that tank. :D
George at Reef Geek (great service I might add) sent me a link to someone's tank with the following bulbs in his 8 bulb Powermodule. Below are pictures of his tank. Color looks very nice.

Front
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Purple Plus
ATI Blue Plus
GE 6500
ATI Blue Plus
KZ New Generation
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Blue Plus

http://i930.photobucket.com/albums/ad142/ken6217/37254ea5a5ba158b1.jpg

http://i930.photobucket.com/albums/ad142/ken6217/37254ea59a6524a54.jpg

http://i930.photobucket.com/albums/ad142/ken6217/37254ea599d9c5107.jpg

http://i930.photobucket.com/albums/ad142/ken6217/37254ea59a65bdfa5.jpg

http://i930.photobucket.com/albums/ad142/ken6217/37254ea5a3cad082b.jpg
Ken

[row12]

Is that your tank Ken? If so, how do you like the GE6500 bulb? Which bulbs do you get your primary growth from?

[Froggy]

I love Kens tank ^

I personally use 5 blue plus, 2 purple plus and 1 GE 6500. The color is great looking to me. I love both looks of dusk dawn ( 3 blue plus and 1 purple plus ) as well as when all 8 are on. I personally really like the GE bulb in my mix. It really brightens the look of the tank and not yellow at all when mixed with the amount of blue plus I use.

row12, all of the bulbs used above are high PAR bulbs. The great thing about T5's is the Blue Plus is a high PAR blue bulb so you can tailor your personal look preference without sacrificing intensity. The blue plus ATI bulb is one of the higher PAR bulbs.

Joe

[GSMguy]

That's not Kens tank its Mike's(solitude)

[rodneyri]

Ive just put up a 10x80 ATI PM on my tank with this light combo

Front
KZ New Gen
Super blue
Superblue
Fiji Purple
KZ New Gen
Super blue
KZ New Gen
Fiji Purple
Super blue
KZ New gen

[Froggy]

That's not Kens tank its Mike's(solitude)

DOH !! I got mixed up on the names. I knew that but you know how that goes. :crazy1: Thanks for the correction.

[mordibv]

Hey, I know that tank. :D

Nice tank .

Thanks for the heads up on the CP bulb . I was able to get a few new bulbs in ..

I have finalized to this combo .

F 2 B

B+
A+ Looks like a blue plus bulb to me ..
PP
B+
CP this helps tone out the white a lot .
B+
CW ..Funky colored bulb
B+