T5 or LED?

[Sohal Tang Tim]

I would like all feedback I can get....state your minds people please!

I have tank 100 gallon 48x24 x 20 high

I want to have sps and lps reef combo.

I currently have ATI 6 bulb and 2 x reefbrite actinic supplement and I am
not happy with the colour... However, I am unsure what bulbs are in this
used fixture...

I am SOOO tempted to go to the new LED fixtures that are out...There are some that are cheap that immitate the Kessils...I am thinking of adding two of those for POP... or should I go back to straight LED? This is a damn confusing subject...The best YOUTUBE videos I have seen on LED are RADION PRO all the way..but I just paid off my mortgage and am not anxious to take another! lol

Speak please and give me your 2 cents..anxious to hear!
Thanks, Tim:beer:

[Sohal Tang Tim]

oh ya...what bulb combo do you recommend for 6 bulb ati T5...
starting from FRONT TO BACK please.
Thanks kindly...
I asked before but I lost a few emails...I have one left but I am not sure thats the right combo..need a few more comparisons pls thanks kindly everyone again! Much appreciated.

[Wazzel]

Your cheapest option is to sort out your bulbs in the fixture you have. That fixture will grow what you want in the tank you have no problems. Lots of people have great success with it so look around and get some bulb recommendation. Even tho I run only LED on my tank with success I do not see swapping to LED to be the best advice for you.

[DivingTheWorld]

Well, I'll tell you from the perspective of LED. I've been running two Radion G3 XR15 Pros on my 40x24x20H tank for a little over two years. It took me about a year to really dial in the settings for my corals (mostly sps). But the sps colors are still not where I want them and the growth is VERY slow. Which is why I'm likely going to do the opposite flip as you from LED to T5.

I have to say, Radions are super nice fixtures that are fully programmable and the tank looks great! But the most important thing for me is growth and color and I think they just don't cut it.

My decision was, either switch to T5 or a pair of G4 XR30 Pros. But the difference in price, $650 vs $1600 is a little ridiculous. And not only would the G4s be a $1600 experiment, but based on my previous experience I'm not confident.

So IMO, you should stick with your T5s and play around with replacing the bulbs until it looks good to you.

[75mixedreef]

With a 6 bulb, I would say 3 blue+, 2 coral+, and one purple+ in no particular order, or swap one blue+ for a 3rd coral+. That should give you decent color. Depends on the color of the reef brights, you say actinic, but is that all blue, mixed, UV (purple-dark blue) or what? I personally am a fan of mainly LED with T5 supplement because of the low upkeep and operating cost of the LEDs, but if you already have the 6 bulb fixture with LED supplements then why replace it?

Much of the coloring in the tank is personal preference. You want to get something with good par but after that you just want to customize it. The first set of bulbs is where you want to experiment with it, getting an extra bulb that you would use later anyways. So in my example, 3 each of the blue+ and coral+ then just test them out to see what you like. When I had a 4 bulb fixture I just ran 2 each of the blue+ and coral+ and I was happy.

[mcgyvr]

Here are ATI's recommendations for their fixtures and they give you a few "options" if you like Whiter light or whatever..
http://www.atinorthamerica.com/faq.php

[JeffyT]

Here are ATI's recommendations for their fixtures and they give you a few "options" if you like Whiter light or whatever..
http://www.atinorthamerica.com/faq.php

+1 good guy McGyver always coming in clutch.