Review on KZ T5 Bulbs

[chris88]

I have been using T5HO lights for 3 years now and I have tried every major bulb company including ATI, GIESMANN, CURRENT, AQUA SCIENCE, UVL, AQUATICLIFE, and now KZ. I am not biased and I am not being paid to write this, I just wanted everyone to know how great the KZ T5HO line of bulbs really are. I have just recently purchased the following from red coral in Calgary AB.

2X KZ SUPERBLUE (POPS COLORS BETTER THEN ATI BLUE PLUS OR AQUA SCIENCE 22,000K)
2X KZ CORAL LIGHT (BRIGHT WHITE BULB WITH THE HIGHEST PAR TESTED ON ANY T5 BULB OUT THERE)
1X KZ NEW GEN (14K AMAZING STAND ALONE BLUB)
1X KZ FIJI PURPLE (BLUE RED SPECTRUM BRINGS OUT COLORS OTHER BULBS LEAVE OUT)

This combination has made my corals look better than anything I have tried before. It has made me notice colors and corals that I used to over look. It is a crisp white blue color with a noticeable pop in green, blue, and red corals. It is too soon to say how well it does for growth but I will post pictures soon so I can track progress. I have honestly used tons of various combinations of the major bulb makers that I have listed above and up into this point aqua science and ati were my favourite. Well it is very easy to say that now KZ is hands down my favourite for overall color, brightness, and the effect it has on coral color. This has been one of the all time best purchases I have made and I am completely satisfied with the bulbs and the customer service I received from red coral in Calgary AB.

[Red Coral Aquariums]

Glad you are happy Chris;

KZ bulbs continue to get great reviews and better results.

What order did you place them from front to back?

Thanks again for your business.

Kevin

[staceyd72]

Hi Chris,
What type of fixture/ reflector and wattage are you using? I’m due for a replacement of 10 bulbs next month; I’m leaning to 6 New Generations, two(one) Fiji Purples and two(three) Super Blues. Having difficulty locating Super Blues in 80W though (I’ve emailed a couple of sponsors??)


It’s great to see some reviews for these bulbs, especially the Super Blues.

Thanks for posting your views, looking forward to your updates.

[chris88]

Back
coral light
fiji purple
super blue
coral light
super blue
new gen
Front

I love the look of the kz new gen bulb! I would take some pictures but all i have is my camera phone and it doesnt show well.

[chris88]

I have a 6 bulb 36 aquaticlife t5 fixture; it has individual reflectors and is a pretty solid fixture.

The superblues are very similar to an aqua science 22,000k or an ati blue plus but not as deep of a blue color. It’s definitely different from the other bulbs and is more of a metallic blue color and is very close to what the manufacture list it as "20,000k". I was worried that it wouldn't fluoresce as much as the aqua science 22,000k but it does, and it appears to be brighter to the eye, but the eye isn’t a great indicator of par. I think the future par test are going to show that this bulb will have as much if not more par then an ati blue plus. I personally like the new gen bulb better then the coral light bulb and if I were to do it again I would have got two new gens and 1 coral light instead of the other way around. You will not regret going with these bulbs. I also really like the Fiji purple it isn’t as overpowering as I thought and it really helps with purple, reds, and blues.

[TheKid]

What you recomend as a four bulb combo

or an equvalent to ati blue + and aquablue + , and uvl actinic white

[chris88]

Keep in mind this is a camera phone and it does not show the colors very well, but its better then no pics.

OLD LIGHTS
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff42/chrishenz/april%202010/013.jpg
NEW LIGHTS
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff42/chrishenz/april%202010/044.jpg
OLD LIGHTS
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff42/chrishenz/april%202010/020.jpg
NEW LIGHTS
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff42/chrishenz/april%202010/045.jpg
Full tank shot
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff42/chrishenz/april%202010/033.jpg
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff42/chrishenz/april%202010/050.jpg
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff42/chrishenz/april%202010/034.jpg
Coral pics
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff42/chrishenz/april%202010/041.jpg
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff42/chrishenz/april%202010/039.jpg
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff42/chrishenz/april%202010/047.jpg
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff42/chrishenz/april%202010/027.jpg
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff42/chrishenz/april%202010/049.jpg

[chris88]

More pictures:

Super blues only:
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff42/chrishenz/april%202010/054.jpg
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff42/chrishenz/april%202010/059-1.jpg
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff42/chrishenz/april%202010/061-1.jpg
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff42/chrishenz/april%202010/062-1.jpg

[chris88]

4 bulb i would do the following

KZ SUPERBLUE X2
KZ NEW GEN X1
KZ CORAL LIGHT X1

If you really want the red i would use a fiji purple but it might be overpowering on a 4 bulb. If you were to use a fiji pruplei would use this.

KZ SUPERBLUE X2
KZ CORAL LIGHT X1
KZ FIJI PURPLE X1

The coral light is suposed to have 6% of its spectrum in the red so you might not need the fiji purple.

[Fishgirl]

Holy crap (nice camera phone pictures for one) and secondly and most important WOW huge difference I am glad you posted this I am getting the aquaticlife 12 bulb T5HO fixture. How do you like yours? I will be looking into getting those KZ bulbs and along the same combo you go. Simply put beautiful corals and tank. Thanks for sharing.

Jenn

[chris88]

No problem you will like both the fixture and the bulbs, the combo is spot on, if you like a little bit more blue you couold go with 1 more super blue or new gen in place of the coral light but i prefer a natural look then the over powering blue color some people run. Ps, tehe led on the fixture are really cool.

[Fishgirl]

What combination of bulbs would you recommend for the 12 bulb fixture? its really only 6 bulbs on either side of the fixture. And what order front to back would you recommend? I love how much of a difference your lighting made. I want to have beautiful lighting and amazing coloration on my fish and corals. And I can't wait to see this fixture when I get it. Its sounds amazing just reading up on it. So Nice to see that someone else has this same fixture and has some imput about it, for that thank you very much.

I have been using T5HO lights for 3 years now and I have tried every major bulb company including ATI, GIESMANN, CURRENT, AQUA SCIENCE, UVL, AQUATICLIFE, and now KZ. I am not biased and I am not being paid to write this, I just wanted everyone to know how great the KZ T5HO line of bulbs really are. I have just recently purchased the following from red coral in Calgary AB.

2X KZ SUPERBLUE (POPS COLORS BETTER THEN ATI BLUE PLUS OR AQUA SCIENCE 22,000K)
2X KZ CORAL LIGHT (BRIGHT WHITE BULB WITH THE HIGHEST PAR TESTED ON ANY T5 BULB OUT THERE)
1X KZ NEW GEN (14K AMAZING STAND ALONE BLUB)
1X KZ FIJI PURPLE (BLUE RED SPECTRUM BRINGS OUT COLORS OTHER BULBS LEAVE OUT)

This combination has made my corals look better than anything I have tried before. It has made me notice colors and corals that I used to over look. It is a crisp white blue color with a noticeable pop in green, blue, and red corals. It is too soon to say how well it does for growth but I will post pictures soon so I can track progress. I have honestly used tons of various combinations of the major bulb makers that I have listed above and up into this point aqua science and ati were my favourite. Well it is very easy to say that now KZ is hands down my favourite for overall color, brightness, and the effect it has on coral color. This has been one of the all time best purchases I have made and I am completely satisfied with the bulbs and the customer service I received from red coral in Calgary AB.

[chris88]

No problem the fixture is great, well crafted and the built in timer in leds really sets it apart from other fixtures. here is what i sugesst for a light set up for you.

Option one 14,000k look with great pop in color.

Back:
KZ New gen
KZ Fiji purple
KZ Superblue
KZ Coral light
KZ Superblue
KZ New gen
Front:

Option two 17,500k look with more visible blue and even more pop

Back:
KZ New gen
KZ Fiji purple
KZ Superblue
KZ Coral light
KZ Superblue
KZ Superblue
Front:

I promise you will be happy with either set up. Most people like the blue look but i prefer the 14,000k look myself.

[chris88]

I forgot to mention, that the 2nd and 4th slot is controlled buy on a timer called blue. So that is why i have the bulbs set upt his way. So you can control a dusk dawn setting. The leds have thier own switch as well which i run only when all of the other bulbs are off during the night time.

[Fishgirl]

WOW thank you so much for such a fast responds I will let you know what i go with and how it looks thanks again for your help I really appreciate it.:)

[chris88]

no worries just try and take some pictures i would love to see how they turn out. what size tank do you have?

[Fishgirl]

Once up and running it will be 112gal its 72'' x 20'' x 18''.

[Blowfish]

in your previous pictures of your old bulb setup what was your bulb brands and combo?and how old were the bulbs?

[chris88]

The bulbs were 4 months old and they were:

Aqua Science
x2 22,000k
x2 17,500k
x2 15,000k

I did really like the aqua science bulbs and i had very good gowth with them.

[freddy]

Just wondering how the growth was with the kz bulbs,have to replace mine soon so just curious,thks.

[chris88]

like i said i have used tons of bulbs and they are not paying me to say anything. they growth has been awesome in my sps and zoanthids and the same as always with my lps. My sps are growing much faster to the point now that it is getting annoying to add all of the cal/alk. Colors have improved but i was expecting a lot more in the red corals because of the fiji purple. if i were to do it again i would mix the super blues with an ati blue plus and i would drop the coral lights all together and uses new gens instead.

for a 6 bulb it would look more like this.

BACK
KZ NEW GEN
KZ FIJI PURPLE
KZ SUPER BLUE
KZ NEW GEN
ATI BLUE PLUS
KZ SUPER BLUE OR FOR A WHITER LOOK ANOTHER KZ NEW GEN
FRONT

The coral light bulbs are bright but they are not as crips as the new gens and the new gens make the colors look so much nicer.

[chris88]

Here are some recent pics. Remember that i use a camera phone and I did a rescape recently. I am still impressed with KZ bulbs and I have seen tremendous growth in my sps. A few are still a bit pastel in color but i contribute that to the vinegar dosing. Let me know what you think.


http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff42/chrishenz/r047.jpg
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff42/chrishenz/r046.jpg
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff42/chrishenz/r045.jpg
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff42/chrishenz/r044.jpg
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff42/chrishenz/r042.jpg
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff42/chrishenz/r040.jpg
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff42/chrishenz/r034.jpg
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff42/chrishenz/r039.jpg

AND JUST FOR FUN, THIS WAS A YEAR AGO!

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff42/chrishenz/1228081227.jpg

[Madreefer]

Nice Tank! What a change in a year. I wish my tank could get growth like that. Awesome:clap2:

[chris88]

Thanks, some of the corals grow too fast for my tank. I wish i could get a couple of them to color up a bit more but ill keep working at it.

[Zoaelite]

Gorgeous tank! Really like the zoa corner but totally agree KZ bulbs are the way to go!

[kien]

Holy Hanna-Barbara!! You've got some phenomenal growth there! Looks awesome, well done!

[Blue World Aquariums]

Great tank!

[chris88]

Thanks everyone. I am not going to lie i cut a lot of corners but it seems to work. Everything you see has grown from a frag or a small colony over the past year. Tap water, water changes every 3/4 weeks, and i dose everything manually. That has to be the biggest pain in the but. My tank consumes 1dkh a day and 15ppm of calcium per day. I have to does a lot to keep up with it.

[kien]

The fact that you have such a nice tank with tap water makes me wonder why I am wasting so much water making RO for my tank.. :neutral: I've seen a few other nice tap water tanks too.

[chris88]

I have never used anything but tap water and i dont get any algae growth at all. Here is an even bigger shocker i only declorinate when i do water changes. when i top off, which is multiple times a day, i used straight up tap water from the bath tub lol. I know its not the smartest thing but i know what my system can handle and it doesnt bother it. I haven't lots a fish or coral in a very long time due to poor health so there is no reason to change anything. If i had an RO system hooked up to my tap i weould use it but i dont feel like investing in one at this time.

[Blue World Aquariums]

The fact that you have such a nice tank with tap water makes me wonder why I am wasting so much water making RO for my tank.. :neutral: I've seen a few other nice tap water tanks too.

There are people that have good luck with tap water, but there's a lot to be said for peace of mind. Especially when you're dealing with sensitive livestock worth thousands! Also, when you're having a problem, it's nice to be able to eliminate source water as the cause.

[chris88]

Very good point. You also have to know what is in your tap water and know that not all tap water is the same. Also you are adding way more phosphates from feeding then you do from tap water. My biggest worry would be metals from the pipes. Things that i can't test for.