T5 bulb choice..

[dtprkr]

I have the standard size 55 gallon tank with a TEk t5 (4x54) fixture. I'm having trouble deciding which bulbs to run. I like a lil blue tint color to my tank,, but not totally blue. I also would like for my corals (softies & LPS)color to "pop"out without sacraficing to much par. I initial thought was to go with 2-blue+, 1-65k daylight, and 1-aqua blue. I really have no clue, I need help! Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

thanks,
dtprkr

[The Grim Reefer]

Go with what you listed. That if anything might not be quite blue enough. I personally like having the 6500 lamp (Get the GE if you can find it, more PAR than any other T5 lamp) in the mix. It makes red and yellow colors look much more real. If you do decide you want more blue do a 50/50 aquablue/Blueplus mix. The Aquablue has the next highest PAR output to the GE daylight 6500K, then the Sun 6000K but the funny thing is the Blueplus is just a tad below the Sun. We dont talk about the actinic

[dtprkr]

Thanks Grim for your answers. Also, in what order should they go in the fixture? blue+, 65k, aquablue, blue+ ????

thanks again,
dtprkr

[The Grim Reefer]

As long as a blue is in front the others wont matter much. I actually have mine like this do to the way I wired the system,

Blueplus
Actinic
GE
Blueplus
Aquablue
Aquablue