lighting question

[cyclops23]

I just got a 6x54w t-5 light hood. but the bulbs aren't very good. what color of bulbs would be the best? ocean blue? ocean white? i guess i just don't know the difference. all i want to put in there later on is soft corals

 

[rustybucket145]

If you aren't familiar with the terms Actinic and Color Temp (measured in Kelvin=K) you should do a little research on it.

There is by no means a rule that holds standard for lighting a reef aquarium but I will give you my opinion.

If I read your post right you have 6 bulbs? If so I would use 2 100% Actinic bulbs. These will give you a 'blue' spectrum of light. As for your others you need something in the range of 10K-14K (10,000 deg Kelvin- 14,000 deg Kelvin) These will provide you with a 'white' spectrum. The 10K bulb will be 'whiter' and the 14K bulb will be 'bluer'. I am not really familiar with the terms 'ocean blue or ocean white' but I assume that the white is in the range of 10k and the blue is in the range of 20k.

Good luck.

 

[reefin'aggie]

Also depending on the fixture(individual reflectors) and depth of your tank, that hood should easily handle softies, lps, and even some sps.

Jacob

 

[cyclops23]

i was going to go with at least 3 of the 10,000k, but i didnt know about the actinics. the bulbs i was looking at were labeled ocean blue and white, but were listed seperately from the actinics and the 10000s, so i didn't know if they did anything special that the other ones didnt. its 6 bulbs, but its one solid reflector above the bulbs, not individual

 

[cyclops23]

it's about 24" from the light to the sandbed, so hopefully it will be alright if i get good bulbs. the bulbs in there now are catalina, and they kinda suck

 

[reefin'aggie]

Yeah, the GE Daylights and ATI(Geissman sp?) bulbs rock. You won't be dissappointed.

Jacob

 

[cyclops23]

thanks!

 

[mr pink floyd]

im getting T5 soosn too, im looking into the lighting bulbs too. its a 4x56

i want 2 white, 2 blue, probably 2 100%actinics, and 2 10K

 

[cyclops23]

ill probably go half and half, too