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View Full Version : T5 Colour temperature arrangement


serbusfish
02/09/2015, 03:35 PM
I am setting up a 71 US gallon reef tank soon and plan to use 4x T5 54w bulbs, but I am unsure about the best colour layout for them. I dont like the look of tanks that are 'too blue' if that makes sense, obviously blue is fine for simulating night time, but I prefer a more whiter tint to reef setups for most of the time.

So with that in mind, can I get some advice on the colour temperature layout I should use with 4s T5's? Should I simply do 2 blue at the back and 2 white at the front? To be honest im a bit confused about the kelvin of some of the 'white' bulbs, most seem to be 15000k, yet this is a blue not white colour?

JBL are a company that does a 9000k 'natural' light white supposedly simulates natural sunlight, and although it is aimed at planted freshwater tanks they claim it can be used in reef tanks too. 9000k looks more white to me than the 15000k bulbs, so which would be better for my purpose?

erickcooper
02/09/2015, 09:33 PM
I know a lot of people here like a bluer tank, but I do not. I've found that I really like the Red Sea Reef-Spec. It's about 15,000K and has a good spectrum but not too blue.

Cowdogz
02/09/2015, 09:57 PM
I find that 2 ATI Blue Plus and 2 ATI Coral Plus give a nice balance. It's not overly blue, and not washed out, with a hint of red/purple to boot. To brighten it a little you can do 2 Coral Plus, 1 Blue Plus, and 1 Aquablue Special.