actinics useful in spite of low PAR?

[jeremy K]

I have been given conflicting information regarding lighting for an SPS tank. On the one hand, people say to use T5 bulbs with as high PAR as possible. So they say to use the blue lamps rather than the actinic lamps, as the blue lamps have much higher PAR (eg. ATI blue plus vs. actinic).

On the other hand, however, I have occasionally seen people posting that their SPS have lost color, and people have suggested the possibility that the corals need more light in the UV spectrum. I assume that actinic lamps have the most UV light of any bulb?

In this case, is there a benefit to adding actinic lamps to an SPS T5 set-up in spite of their low PAR, just for the extra UV for coloration?

 

[nikesb]

interested to know this as well. As stated, i've noticed some color loss in my corals too. my problem is that i dont want to put a actinic bulb into a 4 bulb fixture.

 

[Allmost]

actinic brings out color
lower K values promote growth.

I love actinic bulbs for SPS, since I dont want a grow out tank lol,
on my 8 bulb fixture, I have 5 actinic, one fiji purple, and only 2 new Gen whites all from KZ ! the coloration is really good (comparing to before where I had 3 white and 5 actinic)

I also know many of many tanks which run Pure actinic, no growth but nice colors.

I personally like the bluer look.

 

[Froggy]

I do not think they are neccessary in an all T5 setup. I do not have experience with it personally but there are so many full spectrum bulb combo's out there for T5 that the combinations seem limitless. I would go with the higher par blue bulb along with other bulbs like the aqua special and KZ Figi purple etc.

I personally use two blue plus bulbs as supp's to may halide lighting. I do not miss the actinic's personally.

Joe

 

[jeremy K]

I do not think they are neccessary in an all T5 setup. I do not have experience with it personally but there are so many full spectrum bulb combo's out there for T5 that the combinations seem limitless. I would go with the higher par blue bulb along with other bulbs like the aqua special and KZ Figi purple etc.

I personally use two blue plus bulbs as supp's to may halide lighting. I do not miss the actinic's personally.

Joe

Although the blue and fiji purple bulbs to have a bit of UV spectrum, it is nowhere near as much as the actinic bulbs. Hence my question - is the UV spectrum itself helpful in maintaining the best coloration.

 

[Froggy]

Although the blue and fiji purple bulbs to have a bit of UV spectrum, it is nowhere near as much as the actinic bulbs. Hence my question - is the UV spectrum itself helpful in maintaining the best coloration.

I see your point but using an actinic T5 seems like a waste of the T5 space to me. Check out the T5 tank threads. You will find many tanks with amazing coloration with no "actinic" T5 bulb in the mix. That alone tells me they are not neccessary to maintain good coral color.

 

[Reefaholik]

Interested in more opinions as well. Right now my fiji purple and aquablue outshine my 4 blue plus bulbs

 

[nikesb]

I dont consider blue+ actinics. theres coloration in my tank, but i just feel that the corals need a true actinic to use.

 

[jeremy K]

I dont consider blue+ actinics. theres coloration in my tank, but i just feel that the corals need a true actinic to use.

+1. I am not talking about blue bulbs here, but literally ACTINIC bulbs. That's kind of the point - blue bulbs have high PAR, while actinics don't (generally), but they do have higher UV...

 

[sslak]

Interesting question.

I run a 175w 14k Hamilton, and I just replaced my 2x39w supplimental 03actinics with ATI Blue+

Are you suggesting I may actually end up with less growth even though the Blue+ have higher PAR?

The color difference is amazing, the Blue+ are great bulbs, my pinks and oranges really pop.

 

[jeremy K]

Interesting question.

I run a 175w 14k Hamilton, and I just replaced my 2x39w supplimental 03actinics with ATI Blue+

Are you suggesting I may actually end up with less growth even though the Blue+ have higher PAR?

The color difference is amazing, the Blue+ are great bulbs, my pinks and oranges really pop.

No. I think you can be fairly certain you will get more growth with the Blue Plus vs. the actinics, due to the higher PAR. What I am asking is specifically about coloration, not growth. If the colors on a coral are like skin pigments that arise in response to UV radiation, does it not make sense that corals would color up more if exposed to more UV (to a point, of course). And in that case, would actinics be better than blue bulbs for coloration (not growth)?

 

[unseen_clone]

Jeremy I understand what your trying to ask and YES I do think actinic bulbs are good for t5 set ups. I run a TEK 8 bulb on my 100g. For about 8 months I ran my t5 without any actinics, the colors looked alright, but I wasnt totaly happy. Now ive seen with my own eyes t5 tanks that have no actinics and they look great, but thats not my tank. EVERYONES TANK IS DIFFERENT.
Now I run 3 actinic+ 3 blue+ and 2 aquablue specials. I like my tank blue, a 20K look and with those ABS they still out shine nicely. Almost all my colors on all my corals are starting to come back. It never hurts to try, I tryed the actinics before I went back to MH so i'll see how it turns out for now.

 

[upsetter]

I also wonder about this. Old schoolers will tell u vho actinic do more than dawn to dusk for sps coloration. And since the t5 actinics are not nearly as powerful as the vhos, I've even considered trying xm 10k or ushio 10k because the actinic end is fairly high in their spectrum if u look at Sanjay's site, compared to 14k & 20k bulbs. You can't see the actinic in it because they're 10k but it's in there & the corals can see/feel it-- then just run all 4 blu+ t5s as supplements to help "blue up" the tank to my viewing pleasure. Haven't had the guts to try it yet though.

 

[LifeAquatic]

I run 14k halides with power compact supps. Bulbs are pure actinic. Great colors! Not sure if its the actinic but it seems to work very well. I also hear t-5 is much better then a power compact, but honestly the PC work really well. Havent had any complaints so far. I did just order a new light that will be using t-5 for supps instead of PC. I will let you know how it works out.

 

[Spongie]

IMO you won't get the same great colouration on most SPS as you see in many of the pictures on here without some supplemental actinics. I personally use PC 420/460 on my SPS tank but if given the option I think I would've gone VHO actinics. Also as far as T5s go, I think that some combination of Blue+, Fiji Purple, and Actinic+ is probably your best bet as far as color supplementation goes.

 

[chuckreef]

for coloration? ---> This is a personal choice. If it looks bettter to you, then yes its better. If not, then no.

Is there a benefit otherwise? Probably, yes. Adding energy in the violet area of spectrum will fill in this portion of the specturm that other lamps missed. It is unlikley that at least one or a few corals have not evolved photroreceptors/photosystems that can capture light in this area of the spectrum. Of course, they can adapt and survive without it.

Look at Danna Riddle's article on the spectrums of the Fl lamps to get a visual idea of why you might want to keep one actinic lamp in the mix.

 

[Amphiprion]

I'm sure they are capable of using that portion of the spectra, but how necessary is it? I doubt it is actually necessary at all, similarly to individual corals that live in deep water absolutely requiring red in the spectrum. They are extremely flexible and adaptive in this regard and exhibit this same flexibility in nature. As long as PAR needs are met, I doubt "actinic" spectra will make that much of a difference, if any, due to the above. An individual's aesthetics are a whole other story, however.

That being said, many lamps do feature a small amount of emission in this range--not as much as an actinic, but it is often still there. Full spectrum lamps tend to be more complete in this regard.

 

[Reefer08]

fwiw, I notice much better coloration on my purple acroporas thanks to my actinics.