Help With Pc Actinics!!

MikePowell · 01/25/2009, 10:08 PM

I got a new light MH PC combo. It is a 150w phoenix 14k and came with two PC actinics. my question is What PC actinics will give me more "POP" with the 14k? they are 32w PC

redfishsc · 01/25/2009, 10:31 PM

I am not familiar with name brands on the PC bulbs, but if you are looking for a great color combo, it is very, very hard to beat the look you get from using one 420 nanometer Actinic and one 460nm blue.

Be sure to look at a spectral graph of the bulb you are ordering.... or ask your supplier... what spectrum the bulb peaks at for output.

If it peaks at 420nm, then it's an "actinic" (simplified version of the story).

If it peaks at 460nm, it's blue.

I highly recommend one of each. The 420 actinic will give incredible POP and flourescence of your corals, and the 460 will (usually) give great PAR and really make the greens and blues in your tank come alive.

01/25/2009, 10:08 PM	#1
MikePowell Moved On Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Miami,FL Posts: 1,141	Help With Pc Actinics!! I got a new light MH PC combo. It is a 150w phoenix 14k and came with two PC actinics. my question is What PC actinics will give me more "POP" with the 14k? they are 32w PC

01/25/2009, 10:31 PM	#2
redfishsc Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Wake Forest, NC Posts: 3,696	I am not familiar with name brands on the PC bulbs, but if you are looking for a great color combo, it is very, very hard to beat the look you get from using one 420 nanometer Actinic and one 460nm blue. Be sure to look at a spectral graph of the bulb you are ordering.... or ask your supplier... what spectrum the bulb peaks at for output. If it peaks at 420nm, then it's an "actinic" (simplified version of the story). If it peaks at 460nm, it's blue. I highly recommend one of each. The 420 actinic will give incredible POP and flourescence of your corals, and the 460 will (usually) give great PAR and really make the greens and blues in your tank come alive. __________________ "The measure of a life is not its duration but its donation." Corrie Ten Boom “The tyrant dies and his rule is over, the martyr dies and his rule begins” -- Søren Kierkegaard Current Tank Info: ghetto grad school reef.....11g rimless tank, 36X9X9, lit by Cree and Rebels scobbled together. Stocked mostly with free stuff I got from panhandling my fellow reefers.