wilson Posted May 31, 2004 Share Posted May 31, 2004 i plan on getting MH lightin for my 15 gallon nano( this one to be exact http://www.jlaquatics.com/cgi-bin/shopping...alogno=pfo-hpen ). What i was wondering was if it is ok to say just get a 10k bulb and not have nay actinics?Thanks for your help. Link to comment
Undertheradar Posted May 31, 2004 Share Posted May 31, 2004 You can run it with only 10,000K, heck 6500K, but you prolly wont like the way it looks, and so you will most likely add on actinics with one of these. If you want to run halide alone, then a bluer bulb is usually the way to go. A 15,000-20,000K bulb is the norm for this. The downside is that their outputs are often half of their 10,000K cousins at the same wattage, so if you go with say a 15,000K, and you were planning on just a 70watt...bump it up to a 150 (youre loosing the output from the actinic as well FWIW). A 150wattDE at 20,000K would be perfect for a 15...dont waste your time with single ended. Link to comment
wilson Posted May 31, 2004 Author Share Posted May 31, 2004 wat if i were to say use a 10k bulb, and then get no actinics maybe. Its fine to use no actinics tho, its just for looks. Link to comment
MakoMan36 Posted May 31, 2004 Share Posted May 31, 2004 i heard some corals absorb blue light to stay healthy .10k itself will give you yello-white color ,algea like toward the yellow spectrum .with aticnic will make your tank look a whole whole whooole lot better .a retrofit 36w aticnic cost around $30 so stop being soo greedy. Link to comment
wilson Posted May 31, 2004 Author Share Posted May 31, 2004 yes but im guessing thats american. It is probably almost twice or triple that and im not really a diy type guy. Could i get NO actinic lighting, just for looks, or maybe get a 12k bulb. Link to comment
irishbing Posted June 1, 2004 Share Posted June 1, 2004 I plan on getting a 14k bulb, its not too blue from what i see, and has a tint of blue in it. I dont plan on running actinic. If i were you, i would get a good halide, and just run a 15-20K bulb. I think its cheaper, and takes less room. Link to comment
kris_willard Posted June 1, 2004 Share Posted June 1, 2004 Just go get a NO actininc bulb/fixture its cheap and some say its a nicer color of blue! Its also good to have actinics to come on before the MH's just to lessen the shock factor. Imagine going to sleep in the bathroom with no windows then someone opens the door to a high noon sun! That will burn you eyeballs right out. The actinics will help ease te fish/corals into the bright light. Creates the dusk dawn effect. Link to comment
wilson Posted June 1, 2004 Author Share Posted June 1, 2004 k i will start looking for some no actinics. should i get the 10k bulb still, and should i leave the actinics on whle i have the MH one. Link to comment
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