what do you prefered 420nm or 460nm?

what do you prefered 420nm or 460nm?

  • 420nm

    Votes: 29 72.5%
  • 460nm

    Votes: 11 27.5%

  • Total voters
    40

manuelink

New member
420nm
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460nm
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460nm is "blue" and the lamps have signifigantly higher par than the 420nm which are "violet" and generally called super/pure/true actinic. The T5 420nm actinics are the lowest par fluorescent lamps typically used in our hobby.

Actually, the T12 420nm actinic lamps are really violet in color. The T5 420nm are more of a blue/violet. But you would have to have used/seen both types of lamps to see the difference. The T12 is still the best 420nm super actinic in terms of color.

Which one is "better" depends on which one you like better in terms of your tanks color and how you feel your corals look under them. But if par is an issue, the blue 460 nm lamps produce signifigantly more of it.
 
anyone seen the new t12 454 bulb? looks like a good mixture of blue and actinic 03. Im considering trying a combination of these and the super actinic to see how it looks with 10k halides
 
The 454 is available as a T5 and a T12 VHO.

Looking at the spectral plots, the peak of the ATI blue plus is actually a hair lower than that of the new 454. Looks like UVL's attempt at trying to compete with the ATI lamp which is probably the most popular T5 in the hobby but I havent seen the UVL's.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15446624#post15446624 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by maynardjames
like the 420 on your tank. use the 460 on mine for par.
anyone know where i can get the t5 454`s online

Champion lighting carries all or most all of the UVL lamps. They have both the T12 VHO and T5 UVL 454's. Im sure other vendors that carry UVL would have them as well but I have seen them on Champion for sure.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15449716#post15449716 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sjfishguy
I absolutely hate the 420 bulbs. They make colors look so artificial. 460 all the way.

Using them as halide supplements (depending on the halides) or one or two in a multilamp T5 system, they can really bring the flourescence out in some of the corals. Especially if they are the T12 VHO 420nm lamps.
If they are used to provide the main color, then you end up with a tank that has a violet tint which doesnt look natural. But then again, some tanks are do blue dominant that they dont look natural either. But everyone likes what they like.
 
I have 6 t5s and threw 1 actinic white (which is a light purple) in there and couldnt stand it. I just absolutely hate that purple hue. Each to their own....
 
Freakin love the 420... I had some 50-50 PC bulbs that had half 420 and half 460 from Coralife and Ill be buying them again eventually. I also have these little bars with 4 LEDs of 420nm light, they are super bright and make stuff look great.
 
I use 460's. At first I had supplemental actinic 03 PC's on my display tank, then I bought new T5 fixtures for my frag tank and they came with 460's (Nova Extreme). The color in the frag tank was so superior that I replaced my display PC's with 460's as well. I have to say all the colors pop, reds, pinks, greens . . . all of it. So it's 460's all the way for me now.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15443343#post15443343 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tigerarmy40
anyone seen the new t12 454 bulb? looks like a good mixture of blue and actinic 03. Im considering trying a combination of these and the super actinic to see how it looks with 10k halides

I am running a VHO system and just added a 454. Great addition, I changed out 1 of my atinic white for the 454 and now have 2 atinic whites, 1 454 ans 1 03 super atinic. The additional blue really made everything pop and corals (sps/lps) have responded very well.
 
I agree in mixing a 420 and 460 if you have the availability to. I have the Current Nova Extreme fixture from 2006. I switched the 2 10k's and 2 460's to 1 UVL 12k, Current 10k reef blue, UVL 420, and UVL 460. Colors are much nicer now that i've switched the bulbs out. Lots more depth in terms of coral color, and the greens and pinks pop a lot more
 
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