vanz Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 Anyone tried these from Hellolights yet? 24" (HO,T5) 10,000K 24W - TRU • One of the only T5 lamps with 100% 10,000K Phosphors • T5 diameter high output fluorescent lamp. • The standard when people talk about "crisp white light. • High intensity bulb simulating a bright, clear tropical day. • Promotes the growth of zooxanthellae algae, essential for the growth and well being of all photosynthetic corals and invertebrates. • A great quality lamp with a great price. I have the 4 bulb tek light. Should I get 3 of these 10k bulbs and use 1 actinic? I haven't been experiencing much growth on my corals. currently I have 2 actinics, 1 midday, and 1 bright white.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pledosophy Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 I think you'll need more atnic then that or it will look pretty yellow. I think I have two atnics and two aqua blue's on my Tek unit. The color is pretty nice for my taste. Using pure atnic which is the purple bulb is supposed to help even more with coral growth but I've never used it myself. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanz Posted June 11, 2008 Author Share Posted June 11, 2008 I might just replace my midday with another 10k then. So 2 10k in the middle and 2 actinics outside. Aquablue is the 10k, correct? I was originally told that the midday (6.5k) would give the most coral growth out of the t5 bulbs, but I haven't seen that happening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAVES Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 Vanz I have some running here at the shop (48") Both TRU 10k and actinic. I dont have any 24" for sale currently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanz Posted June 11, 2008 Author Share Posted June 11, 2008 Vanz I have some running here at the shop (48") Both TRU 10k and actinic. I dont have any 24" for sale currently. How do you like them compared to other bulbs, like Geismann? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kriswaters Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 I don't have the HO, but I run 2 10K's and 2 460 actinics. I really like the color and my LPS are doing just fine! Kris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pledosophy Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 The Geismann rock buddy. I had some generic brand before there is a big difference. Since the bulbs last so long IMO it's better to pay the extra ten bucks a bulb to get the good stuff. One of the benefits of buying local is that when I went to Waves looking for bulbs I got to see how they looked, there is this little display thing there where they can plug them in. It was a big help for me. You can always stop buy and see how the combo looks on my tank if you want. I have the Tek unit too, just the 36" so the color should be about the same. If you come by a bit earlier in the evening we could frag some stuff (zoo's, acans, purple gorg, or samll monti) for you too if you like. Make a night out of it, could be fun. Personally I want to try one of the pure atnic bulbs soon just for fun to see how much different the color is and see if there is as big of a difference as I have read about. There is a brand besides Geismann that many like but the name escapes at the moment as I have never used it. JMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanz Posted June 12, 2008 Author Share Posted June 12, 2008 The Geismann rock buddy. I had some generic brand before there is a big difference. Since the bulbs last so long IMO it's better to pay the extra ten bucks a bulb to get the good stuff. One of the benefits of buying local is that when I went to Waves looking for bulbs I got to see how they looked, there is this little display thing there where they can plug them in. It was a big help for me. That's what I have right now and the brightness is amazing. I bought them at an lfs so I saw how the combo looked. Just trying something different to see if I can get some faster coral growth. You can always stop buy and see how the combo looks on my tank if you want. I have the Tek unit too, just the 36" so the color should be about the same. If you come by a bit earlier in the evening we could frag some stuff (zoo's, acans, purple gorg, or samll monti) for you too if you like. Make a night out of it, could be fun. That's awesome! I would love that, but not tonight or this week...I have this reoccurring cold that will not go away. Sux. Personally I want to try one of the pure atnic bulbs soon just for fun to see how much different the color is and see if there is as big of a difference as I have read about. There is a brand besides Geismann that many like but the name escapes at the moment as I have never used it. JMO. The brands are probably UVL or ATI, that's the one I read most use besides the giesemanns. I might have to try that 420nm bulb you are talking about. If it produces a blue actinic like light, it can replace one of them. I was wondering, are the actinics purely for looks or does it actually do something? If it's just for looks, why is it recommended that it to be replaced every 18 months? Even with the shift in the spectrum...the light will still emit a blue light to counter the yellow from the white bulbs, correct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamatSLS Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 I was wondering, are the actinics purely for looks or does it actually do something? If it's just for looks, why is it recommended that it to be replaced every 18 months? Even with the shift in the spectrum...the light will still emit a blue light to counter the yellow from the white bulbs, correct? Actinic light does much more than that. They promote coloring and flourescing. The lamps closer to 420NM, like Pure Actinic and Super Actinic provide the best flourescence in LPS corals, simply creates the POP. Lamps closer to 450NM do wonders for bringing out blues in SPS. The combination of blue spectrums will bring out maximum color and pop.... I usually recommend a 50/50 ratio of different actinic lamps to get the best of both worlds. As far as TRU brand lamps from Hellolights are concerned, I would advise against purchasing them. They are only about $10 ea on hellolights for a reason... They are not the same as the respected brands available. Giesemann, UVL, ATI, KZ, are where you should be looking. Hope to help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pledosophy Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 Actinic light does help with coral growth. It penetrates deeper then the white light and is used by corals for photosynthesis. There is really no best color spectrum out there for most of our tanks. Some of the corals will do better under 6500K, some will do better under 20K. The higher in the water column they are found the more likely they are to like the whiter light, while corals from a bit deeper will favor the blue light. I use the spectrum that is kind of in the middle because I like how it looks, and the corals are doing well. Many coral farmers use a 6500K spectrum with no actinic lighting at all so it is possible, I just think it looks really yellow to my eye. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 Are 24" T-5 bulbs 24" long (no, it's NOT a dumb question ) or are they shorter (like the 46.5" VHO bulbs...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanz Posted June 12, 2008 Author Share Posted June 12, 2008 I was wondering' date=' are the actinics purely for looks or does it actually do something? If it's just for looks, why is it recommended that it to be replaced every 18 months? Even with the shift in the spectrum...the light will still emit a blue light to counter the yellow from the white bulbs, correct?[/quote'] Actinic light does much more than that. They promote coloring and flourescing. The lamps closer to 420NM, like Pure Actinic and Super Actinic provide the best flourescence in LPS corals, simply creates the POP. Lamps closer to 450NM do wonders for bringing out blues in SPS. The combination of blue spectrums will bring out maximum color and pop.... I usually recommend a 50/50 ratio of different actinic lamps to get the best of both worlds. As far as TRU brand lamps from Hellolights are concerned, I would advise against purchasing them. They are only about $10 ea on hellolights for a reason... They are not the same as the respected brands available. Giesemann, UVL, ATI, KZ, are where you should be looking. Hope to help! That helps a lot! I'm more of a lps guy so I might get one of those 420NM bulbs. Okay, I'll look into just the 4 main bulb manufacturers then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanz Posted June 12, 2008 Author Share Posted June 12, 2008 Actinic light does help with coral growth. It penetrates deeper then the white light and is used by corals for photosynthesis. There is really no best color spectrum out there for most of our tanks. Some of the corals will do better under 6500K, some will do better under 20K. The higher in the water column they are found the more likely they are to like the whiter light, while corals from a bit deeper will favor the blue light. I use the spectrum that is kind of in the middle because I like how it looks, and the corals are doing well. Many coral farmers use a 6500K spectrum with no actinic lighting at all so it is possible, I just think it looks really yellow to my eye. Okay, I guess actinic lighting isn't just for looks(laugh) I've made my decision: 1. 420nm (front) 2. 10k 3. 10k 4. 22k (back) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamatSLS Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 Are 24" T-5 bulbs 24" long (no' date=' it's NOT a dumb question ) or are they shorter (like the 46.5" VHO bulbs...)[/quote'] I know that pin-pin on a 4' T5 lamp is 46, so I'd assume the 2' is actually 2" shorter as well, so 22". Hope to help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamatSLS Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 Just confirmed that, yes it's 22" Andy. -Sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 Thanks Sam. I think I shall experiment with T5 lighting on the Nano. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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