Gauging interest: T5 URI super actinic bulbs

[rjd]

picked my order up today. thanks

 

[Mchava]

hey benny sent you a pm for pick up info. I can stop by your house to pick up. Let me know if thats okay.
Mario

 

[bennyinca]

Great to hear! Keep posted how these work on your tank.

Wow Gabriel, just one of the fixtures you got would have been too much light for my tank!

PMs replied, but Mario, I did not get a PM from you. Do you want to meet up tomorrow? CO?

 

[Mchava]

hey benny sure where do you want to meet. Here are the choices Thongs, Fish & coral center or Island Oasis. I have not been to I.O in a while so that would be a good spot but u let me know what works out for you. I dont get off work till 4pm just let me know when.
Mario

 

[migston]

So what do you guys think of the new actinics? I'm sorta on the fence. i feel like they're a little bit better in terms of flourescing but I wasn't blown away or anything.

Still experimenting with bulb placement and ratios though till I find one I like.

Edit: Ok I kind of take it back. My original bulbs went like this.

Front:
Actinic 03
Aquasun
Blue plus
Aquasun
Back:

This got me a very very white looking tank. Very bright but no colors really popped because everything was more or less equally bright.

After getting my order I tried this configuration
Front:
Super Actinic
Blue Plus
Aquablue
Blue Plus
Back:

This made the tank look uniformly purple. The corals did pop more but the color was unpleasant. So I then tried this:

Front:
Super Actinic
Aquablue
Blue Plus
Blue Plus
Back:

Ths one looked a little bit better but the tank looked cut in half with the front being whitish and the back being very blue. When looking at the shadows on the sand you could see a clear line where the color shifts. I didn't like this either. So then I tried:

Front:
Super Actinic
Aquablue
Blue Plus
Super Actinic
Back:

This one hit the spot. The weird blue shadow is still visible in the back but not quite as prominent . The color is a nice soft white overall and the corals pop pretty nicely. I'm thinking of trying this configuration with an Aquasun in the back instead of a Super actinic but I have a feeling it'll make the tank look overly white again. We'll see.

Anyways, These new Super Actinics definitely give off a lot more PAR than the old Actinic 03's. So I'm liking em now. I feel like they can still be improved but they're way better than the old Actinic 03's.

 

[bennyinca]

Migs, thanks for the info, let us know how your other setups turn out.
Are you running a tek light fixture?

 

[bennyinca]

I'll be at Coral Oasis this afternoon at 4:30pm. If anyone is interested in picking up at that time, let me know.
So far, Mario is planning to be there.

Thanks!

 

[migston]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7509711#post7509711 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bennyinca
Migs, thanks for the info, let us know how your other setups turn out.
Are you running a tek light fixture?

I've got a retrofit kit in my canopy atm. I'm not exactly sure where I got it from because it was a while ago but I'm pretty sure it was from Reefgeek as well.

I tried a few more combos today.

Front:
Super Actinic
Aquablue
Super Actinic
Aquablue
Back:

This set up completely eliminates the blue plus bulb which kind of sucks because then I'd have two brand new useless bulbs. Heh. Anyways, I'm surprised at how purple/pink the overall hue is because I thought the aquasuns would wash out the Actinics more. The glow is really neat but the look is too unnaturally purple for my taste.

Front:
Super Actinic
Aquablue
Blue Plus
Aquablue
Back:

This is the set up that I think I will run with. I love the color because it is mostly white with a hint of blue. The colors do pop reasonably well albeit less so than the setup with the dual Super Actinics. Mostly I think it's just because the overall tank is brighter though.

I think if I had a 6 bub set up I'd be able to use the perfect configuration of:

Super Actinic
Aquablue
Blue
Aquablue
Blue
Super Actinic

But for my humble 4 bulb setup, my current bulbs come close to the color and floresence that I'm looking for. My tank definitely looks a lot better than it did yesterday. Granted, it's partly because I replaced my two year old bulbs but the new Actinics definitely do make a difference.

 

[bennyinca]

<b>Picked up:</b>
moonpod
bebo77
migston
rjd
reefguy (from bebo77)
F18-hornet
mchava
<b>Will pick up at later time</b>
Picking up later
diddye
pookstreet

<b>Waiting to confirm pick up time:</b>
laverda
won_digity
luvtolean
tamphuong
Tomorrow I will be at work in the afternoon, and all day Thrusday and Friday. Let me know what time works for you, I sent PMs with my address and phone #

Thanks

 

[bennyinca]

Migs, are all 4 bulbs in one ballast, or are they run by 2 ballasts, 2 bulbs in each ballast? I am curious how it looks like when the DD Blue+ and the UVL SA are on at the same time. Blue / purple?

For my 5 bulb setup, I am planning on running:

Front:
Super Actinic (ballast 1)
Aquablue (ballast 2)
Blue + (ballast 2)
Aquablue (ballast 2)
Blue + (ballast 1)
Back:

 

[migston]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7513143#post7513143 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bennyinca
Migs, are all 4 bulbs in one ballast, or are they run by 2 ballasts, 2 bulbs in each ballast? I am curious how it looks like when the DD Blue+ and the UVL SA are on at the same time. Blue / purple?

For my 5 bulb setup, I am planning on running:

Front:
Super Actinic (ballast 1)
Aquablue (ballast 2)
Blue + (ballast 2)
Aquablue (ballast 2)
Blue + (ballast 1)
Back:

I have 2 ballasts for the 4 bulbs. They're wired like this

Super Actinic - Ballast 1
Aquablue - Ballast 2
Blue Plus - Ballast 1
Aquablue - Ballast 2

Ballast 2 is on 12 hours a day and ballast 1 is on for 10.

With only ballast 2 on (actinic and blue plus), the tank is actually a deep blue with a slight touch of purple and the corals absolutely pop! They really stand out against the rest of the tank. Wish I could take pics but I haven't saved up enough to get a digital SLR and I refuse to get a point and click so I'm stuck cameraless

My trumpet/candy cane coral is absolutely loving the new bulbs. I've never seen it as full and extended as it was today.

Your plan sounds good. Your tank will definitely be bluer than mine.

I wish i could add more bulbs but there's just no room in my canopy. I'm thinking of swapping the Super Actinic and the Blue plus around since the majority of my corals are more towards the back of the tank and I would like more of a blue tint to my water. Swapping the bulbs should accomplish both goals.

 

[bennyinca]

Migs, I am seeing the same. I am still running on a 4 bulbs setup:
One ULV SA and one DD Blue+ on one ballast, and 2 aquablues on the second ballast. The SA and Blue+ together is a good combo and really bring out the reds and greens.

 

[bennyinca]

Update:
Coral Oasis has allowed to let people pick up the bulbs at their store, as long as they don't sit there too long.
I will be dropping off tamphuong's bulbs there on Monday. If anyone else wants them dropped off there too, let me know.
Thanks!

 

[tamphuong]

Thank a bundle Ben.