Whats a good combination of light temps to bring out coral color

chrisbenavides

New member
My fixture (260w PC) has three switches. One for Actinics, the other for I'm guess the brighter white lights, and the other for moonlights. Please help me find a right combination, as I explain what I want in the following.

I was wondering what was a good combination of light temps to bring out the brighter greens and yellow in corals and fish. I notice that with my cheap bulbs I have right now (Odyssea), my actinics bring out my zoanthids and other brighter colors like the Yellow Tang. My green striped mushroom even glows!!! This is what I want, BUT from a better bulb!!!

I know that any of these bulbs are better than Odyssea:
http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium...lbs.asp?CartId=

Whats a good combinatino from here: http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium...information.asp to make some of the living things glow in my tank, while also having the ability of keeping bright crisp light?

Would it be better to get the Actinic 03 bulb for my actinic switch, or the Actinic 03/7100K?

What about for the whiter lighting? Would a pure 10K bulb do?

Or would it be better to use a 7100K/10k bulb?

What would you rate the Odyssea bulbs at as far as actinic goes???


THANKS!!!
 
How many actinic bulbs are you running. You could put more than one in there. I run a current sunpaq retro kit with actinics, 2x150 HQI 10k and the colors are great. I believe that the 10k is primarily for photosysntesis. Blue is what is going to help your colors.
 
Well I was thinking (since I have two switches to work with, each powering two bulbs), of putting two 7100K/Actinics 03 on one switch, and two 10K on the other switch.

Now I am wondering if I should just use two pure Actinics 03 on one switch and use pure 10K on the other?

How much does the 7100K differ from the Actinics? Please look here:
102345powercompact_bulb_colors_small.jpg


Should I mix my actinic switch with one 7100K and one Actinic/7100K, or ould that look awkard?
 
It is mainly going to be based on what you like. Actinics will bring out the glowing colors of the corals where as the 10000k will make the yellows and oranges etc. of your fish and corals stand out with vivid color.
Actinic light is more beneficial to corals than the other end of the spectrum, as the reddish end of the spectrum promotes the growth of microalgae.
The Blue/purple end of the spectrum represents the deeper water found in our reefs, where the whiter colors represent the shallow lagoons and fringing reefs.
 
Is this a good combo to bring out "phosphorescent" or "glowing" effect..........

Is this a good combo to bring out "phosphorescent" or "glowing" effect..........

What I am really looking for is for a light combination that will be bright and yet still bring out the "phosphorescent" or "glowing" effect in the corals (without having to run actinics only). Right now I can only see the "phosphorescent" or "glowing" effect when I have my actinics only on, but I want to see them glow when I have all four of my lights on. Which is why I am thinking of this combo: One switch has two Actinics/7100K and the other switch has two 10K bulbs. Will this make my corals like the zoanthids and mushrooms glow when all lights are turned on, or only when actnics are turned on. You see the problem comes when I have not seen any other PC bulbs but my own cheap Odyssea bulbs. I don't know how much better these bulbs (found at marinedepot or liveaquaria) are.
 
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