Lighting Question

[ENGINEER]

I am going to purchase the 2x13watt kit for my 5.5 gallon nano from AH supply. However, they are out of the blue actinic bulbs. Should I just get two combos (1tube 10000K and the other dark blue) or 1 combo and 1 6400K. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

[MKramer]

I really like the look of their combo bulbs. And I really hate the look of 6400K bulbs. I would definitely recommend the combo bulb, but only if you can live with the fact that you'll never see your critters under just actinic light, which is when they really flouresce.

 

For my 5g, I got 2x6500k and 1xactinic. I really wanted the actinic-only viewing for this tank, so I was willing to settle for the look of the 6500K bulbs. The overall color with all thel ights on is allright, but it's nothing to call home about.

[Djm9288]

U do realize that A H Supply's actinics arent real actinics. But Hellolights has the real kind.

[MKramer]

Who cares if they're "real" actinics? There are "not real" actinics out thre that actually produce more actinic radiation than the phillips 03 Actinic bulbs. Why are people so damned obsessed with the 03's? The only advantage I see is that a true actinic (by which I don't jsut mean the 03 bulbs, but any bulb whose only first-order spectral output peak is in the 400-450nm range) looks crisper, and really draws out the flourescent pigmentations. Because "fake" actinics have a little extra spectral noise, this feature is reduced.

 

03 bulbs, like a lot of products in this hobby, are all hype.

[Dave ESPI]

UMMMmmmmmm......

Never mind.

 

 

Ya think the corals mind? ???

[glazer]

Engineer,

 

Just a thought... only options through AH for the 5.5 is the 13 watters... they jump to 36 then, these are too long. You do know that there are other choices with the PC's to get ALOT more light over your tank if you are so inclined. I don't know what you plan on keeping coral wise.... I have a 2x32 (1 10,000K & 1 actinic) that are supporting some SPS, color and growth nicely.

 

Also you can get your kits from AH but check out the bulbs at HelloLights... nice actinics they have. If you do go with AH's bulbs I think I would go with the two combos.

 

(jus' some feedback since ya asked, hehe)

[MKramer]

Originally posted by Dave ESPI

Ya think the corals mind? ???

 

I assume you're referring to my "who cares about true actinic" statement.

 

In which case, the answer is: No.

 

Non-"true" actinic bulbs aren't considered "true" because in addition to the significant amount of actinic lgiht, they produce a non-nominal amount of light in other spectrums. They may produce a significant spike around 500nm or something. But they still have a significant output in the actinic range, which is all that matters to the corals. But it's because of this noise that they do not look as crisp or flouresce as much as a "true" actinic.

 

Think of it this way.... Your body needs protein. You could be a purist and get all your protein, every day, from 4 tablespoons of whey protein isolate. Or you could eat meats, beans, etc., which all have the protein in them, as well as other "noise."

 

Considering people tend to put too much actinic over their tanks as it is, what's the point in making sure your actinic light is ultra-efficient, putting every ounce of its energy into making the perfect-spectrumed light? That's all fine an good, but I don't think it's worth squabbling over when the alternative is 95% as efficient, and the other 5% is just turned into other light colors. So many people, especilaly in the nano-crowd have 50% as actinic, which is too much unless you're keeping deeper-water corals. 20-30% is more accurate for shallow-water, so what's the big deal about a 5% difference in a bulb's output?

 

I think I've had too much coffee this morning.

[Lunchbucket]

i would get the bulbs from www.hellolights.com

 

get a 03 actinic and either a 6500k or a 10,000k. you will like the look of the 03 better.

 

Lunchbucket