Getting zoa colors to "pop"

[Malenurse]

I have a 24 gallon Aquapod with a 150W Viper light. I've tried a Hamilton 20K, JBJ 14K, and "Ebay" 14K but the colors on my zoas just don't pop. I tried supplementing with 2, 8-bulb blue LED strips, glued to the inside upper edge with little difference. Does anyone have any ideas about how to supplement the HQI lighting with some type of PC actinics? The dimensions of the (open) tank top are: 19 1/2 (across) by 16" deep?

Thanks!
Chris

 

[rams]

they do make an actinic 9? 13? or 38? watt power compact bulbs I believe. Well at least a size your looking for. Actinic obviously make stuff pop. Don't know what happened with your 20k bulb there. Been a while since I looked at changing the type I use. A 250w XM20K made stuff pop but my tank was too purple. sorry if I'm rambling just caught your thread. Actinic are a way to go to make stuff pop/glow :thumbsup:

 

[Skeptic_07]

i'm useing a coralife NO T-5 fixture. wont do diddly for growth but its gives a little more pop. i swapped out the 10k for a second actinic.

http://www.hellolights.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=131

 

[Skeptic_07]

that might look kindof awkward on the tank though..

 

[rams]

^^^^^ wow I didn't know those were that cheap...

you could DIY with a smaller PC too

http://www.hellolights.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1364

 

[Malenurse]

I was thinking about building a hood (or finding someone who actually knows about building a hood!) about 9" tall to cover my viper clip-on and then I could mount a couple small, actinic fixtures in there. What do you think?

 

[EvoX]

the leds dont do anything when its combined with an mh
current makes a 20" t5 fixture if thats an option

 

[Malenurse]

I decided to try a 20K Radium HQI bulb. They have better PAR values than any of the other 14 or 20K bulbs and I've read some reviews saying that others have not need actinic supplementation to get coral colors to pop. I'll let you know the results when I receive it.