10000k or 12000k for better coral growth?

[pyro]

I was just wondering BRS, what's better for optimal coral growth? I have a 24"
48 what T5HO nova extreme light fixture with (1)24w 450nm actinic blue & (1)24w 12000k power white over my 10 gallon. I was wondering if I replace the 12000k bulb with a 10000k bulb instead? Any input? Thanks guys? Everyone's so helpful here

 

[nicks387]

I doubt you will see much of a difference in growth with that unit. If you were talking about a 10k Metal Halide bulb vs a 12k Metal Halide bulb then maybe you would notice some faster growth with the 10k, and even then it would depend on which brand of bulb, and ballast combo, but replacing a single 24watt, 12k T5 bulb for a single 10k T5 bulb is not likely to give you faster growth in my opinion. If you want better growth from that unit, get rid of the actintic and get a blue bulb with more par, like an ATI Blue plus in its place, If the 12k is a standard no name bulb then probably replace that one with a quality one as well, like an ATI aquablue special, its also a 12k bulb, but it puts out alot of light.

 

[pyro]

Both bulbs are made by tru-lumen. so upgrading my stock hood fluorescent, to this T5HO, served no purpose in the GROWTH of my corals? And I've I've heard the downside to using 6500k bulbs is the algae growth it produces so people use 10000k instead.. when I bought my nova extreme T5HO fixture, I was hoping my corals would grow faster/ better due to having a better light upgrade. Was I misguided in my decision? Bcause now I feel like my purchase isn't going to serve me any good

 

[Trevor]

the fixture you just purchased will be fine you'll just have to get some quality bulbs like nicks was saying, im not even sure your fluorescent fixture would have grown corals... you did make the right decision with purchasing the t5ho fixture

 

[pyro]

Thanks trevor. All I had with my stock lighting was a kenya, some green button polyps, and a red mushroom. What lights would everyone recommend as far as a combination of good color but faster coral growth?

 

[wrassefan]

it's not just lighting...it can be a combination of water quality and correct levels of each. For instance, if you touch and move corals around every few wks, the coral will not grow very quickly. Just remember, nothing good happens quickly in reefing...or something like that. Just set it in place and let it do its thing.

 

[pyro]

Thanks for all the advice guys! What 24w T5HO bulbs would you guys recommend for my 24" nova extreme 24x2 fixture as far as the bulb length and quality brands? Should I measure from the pins on one side to the pins on the other side to get bulb length?? Not sure how is figure that out

 

[nicks387]

I would get one 24w ATI Blue plus, and one 24w ATI aquablue special. They will fit that fixture, no need to measure the bulb length, all 24w T5 bulbs are the same size.

 

[JohnK]

I would get one 24w ATI Blue plus, and one 24w ATI aquablue special. They will fit that fixture, no need to measure the bulb length, all 24w T5 bulbs are the same size.

I would suggest the same. Probably the best color/intensity you will get from 2 t5 bulbs.

 

[CoralJunkie]

you could try 1 blue plus and one coral plus

 

[pvh]

I would listen to Nick. He is one of the club "Elite". lol

But seriously ATI bulbs are the way to go. I use them as well.

 

[JohnK]

I would listen to Nick. He is one of the club "Elite". lol

But seriously ATI bulbs are the way to go. I use them as well.

Aint that the pot calling the kettle black

 

[pyro]

so nicks the bulbs you suggested will help promote good growth and color? Will they cast off lots of blue light? Will my corals fluorece a little bit better?

 

[JohnK]

Yes on all counts.

All three of the ATI bulbs mentioned have very good intensity. The blue plus are very blue looking to the eye because they don't have a lot of the rest of the spectrum. The aquablue specials also have a lot of blue, but they also have more of a balance of the rest of the spectrum so they look more white (but they won't drown out the blue from other bulbs because they are more blue than they look to the eye if that makes any sense?) I haven't tried the coral plus personally, but IIRC they should be similar to the aquablues but with a hint more purple.

 

[CoralJunkie]

im using the coral plus with a purple plus and 2 blue plus and it looks great, the reason i went with this setup is for the same reason i wanted some of the best colors out of my coral and good solid growth if you search my threads there is one that has a lot of talk about t5 setups and lights, someone posted a pic of an 8 bulb setup in which you could see the difference between all of these bulbs, which made up my mind, but either way with ati you cant go wrong like everyone said they are great and no matter what you pick you will notice a difference

 

[CoralJunkie]

here is the link http://www.bostonreefers.org/forums/showthread.php?125926-T5-lighting

 

[pyro]

I don't want TOO much blue light to be cast off, as its on my computer desk. So what if I went with one of these said blue ATI bulbs, and another 10000K daylight (for the white), would the ATI still give good color/ fluorescence? Would the 10000K daylight from a quality brand encourage growth as well? I think I've personally noticed a difference in my corals just since buying the T5 fixture itself, nvm better lights!

 

[JohnK]

ATI blubs tend to beat most others in performance in general, that's why we are all reccomending them.

If you are happy with what you have now then run it til the bulbs start getting old, then start experimenting with different bulbs when you need to buy some anyway.

 

[pyro]

I just want my corals to fill in quickly/look nice. So I'm guessing the 10000k is better than 6500k, 15000k, etc. is just a myth?

 

[LoveTheReef]

for looks and growth combined, 10000 is best yes. If you want "just growth", 6500 is ideal if you can avoid the algae from spreading.

for what it's worth, like many others will chime in, nothing in this hobby happens quick (aside from disasters unfortunately). It'll take a decent amount of time until the corals will grow out to fill in.

If you are looking for an immediate "full" look, I'd advise buy some corals like the Frogspawn, torches, etc. These corals really open up (when happy) and cover a huge area, giving that nice "filled in" look with fewer corals.

(While I'm sure you already do, but please don't mind this friendly reminder -- Please do your homework on the corals before getting them to make sure your tank is suitable for them)