Two 12,000K T5's Enough for SPS?

[HollyG]

I have a dual bulb T5 fixture. And I am thinking of ordering two 12,000K bulbs for the fixture to get a little more of a blue tinge to the tank than what a 10,000k and actinic is giving me. It's a 10gal tank, and the fixture holds two 18wat T5HO bulbs. Are two 18wat 12,000K bulbs enough to keep my SPS happy and growing? Will I be getting more light with two 12,000K bulbs than I am getting with one 10,000K bulb with an actinic bulb?

 

[bellis31]

I have a dual bulb T5 fixture. And I am thinking of ordering two 12,000K bulbs for the fixture to get a little more of a blue tinge to the tank than what a 10,000k and actinic is giving me. It's a 10gal tank, and the fixture holds two 18wat T5HO bulbs. Are two 18wat 12,000K bulbs enough to keep my SPS happy and growing? Will I be getting more light with two 12,000K bulbs than I am getting with one 10,000K bulb with an actinic bulb?

Hi HollyG, 2 12k's wont be as blue as you think it is since your coming from 1 actinic and 1 10k but it will have more PAR for your SPS than your previous setup.

I would think something like an ATI Blue + and one KZ New Gen 14k bulb would give you the blue your looking for and plenty PAR.. Just a thought.

 

[HollyG]

My fixture is only a 20" for a 10gal... they don't make 16.5" bulbs in those bulb you mentioned. I am very limited on what i will be able to get. So, I was thinking two 12,00K and I also have a blue LED accent strip to add a little more blue to the tank aswell. I have the LEDs on with the 10,000K and actinic but it isn't very blue. That's why I thought maybe two 12,000K with the LEDs would give me a little more bluish and add more lighting for the sps at the same time.

 

[bellis31]

My fixture is only a 20" for a 10gal... they don't make 16.5" bulbs in those bulb you mentioned. I am very limited on what i will be able to get. So, I was thinking two 12,00K and I also have a blue LED accent strip to add a little more blue to the tank aswell. I have the LEDs on with the 10,000K and actinic but it isn't very blue. That's why I thought maybe two 12,000K with the LEDs would give me a little more bluish and add more lighting for the sps at the same time.

I think with the added LED blues then you should be fine, I knew ATI didn't make bulbs for that size they were just examples of color range...

The 2 12k's will be far more PAR than what you had...

 

[HollyG]

Ok, I think I'm gunna order them then. I mean if worse comes to worse, I can always get another LED accent strip to add more blue, they are cheap.