Lighting question

SeanySean · 08/15/2007, 08:29 AM

I was wondering if anybody knows what the best bulbs to put into my units to achieve that brilliant white I see in a lot of pictures. The units that I have over my tank are as follows

a. 1 unit that has 4 tube T5 fixture (48")
b. 1 unit that has 2 x 150W MH and 4 x T5 tubes

What are peoples thoughts on what they would setup?

So far my setup is as follows:-

a. has 2 white and 2 actinic tubes
b. has 1 x 14K 1 x 20K MH and 4 x actinic tubes

Cheers,

Sean

Carlos · 08/15/2007, 08:33 AM

10K MH and actinic blues will give you a nice white color.

14K bulbs have a hint of blue but they are more white.

14K MHs and actinic blues will give you a nice white blue with a blue accent.

Lighting is very subjective. It is mainly what the user likes. You have to play around with lighting combinations until you find one that both you and your corals are happy with.

There are people here that have been in the hobby for many years and are still searching for the perfect combination...

der_wille_zur_macht · 08/15/2007, 08:33 AM

Lighting color is hugely personal preference, and trying to describe it can be tough. Especially over the internet, since the vast majority of photographs aren't really accurate, and/or have been touched up.

Can you show us pictures of tanks that you like the colors in? How would you describe your current coloration? Is it too blue? Too white? Too yellow? Not brilliant enough?

SeanySean · 08/15/2007, 08:52 AM

Thanks for the replies.

I know what you mean when you say hard to describe! I was going to replace both of the MH's with 20K for the glowing effect but having read the lighting article, I am not too keen as it mentioned coral growth vertually stopped! I want a really marine colour like Xenon's and a few other setups that I have seen, normally TOTM setups have very similar colours.

This is what I was thinking of doing

Remove the 2 actinics from the T5 and replace with whites
Change the 14K and 20K MHs and replace with 6500K (I have never used these but have read that they offer best coral growth)
Leave the blue actinics in the MH unit to compensate for the yellow effect....

What do you think...?

If yuo had the same setup what would you guys do?

Thanks again,

08/15/2007, 08:29 AM	#1
SeanySean Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Manchester (UK) Posts: 885	Lighting question I was wondering if anybody knows what the best bulbs to put into my units to achieve that brilliant white I see in a lot of pictures. The units that I have over my tank are as follows a. 1 unit that has 4 tube T5 fixture (48") b. 1 unit that has 2 x 150W MH and 4 x T5 tubes What are peoples thoughts on what they would setup? So far my setup is as follows:- a. has 2 white and 2 actinic tubes b. has 1 x 14K 1 x 20K MH and 4 x actinic tubes Cheers, Sean __________________ _______________ You paid how much for moldy rock!!!! Current Tank Info: 130G http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1042110

08/15/2007, 08:33 AM	#2
Carlos Premium Member Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 7,258	10K MH and actinic blues will give you a nice white color. 14K bulbs have a hint of blue but they are more white. 14K MHs and actinic blues will give you a nice white blue with a blue accent. Lighting is very subjective. It is mainly what the user likes. You have to play around with lighting combinations until you find one that both you and your corals are happy with. There are people here that have been in the hobby for many years and are still searching for the perfect combination... __________________ Carlos "Only a fool wants to hear the echo of his own voice." "What do you want for nothing? rrrrrrubber biscuit?" Current Tank Info: Custom 210 gal Reef Octopus Tank with SlimFlow overflow, IceCap 36XL Sump, Reef Octopus ELITE 200INT Skimmer, 2-Part Dosing, 3 x Giesemann VerVve, KH Guardian Alk Controller, ClariSea Roller Filter

08/15/2007, 08:33 AM	#3
der_wille_zur_macht Team RC Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: NY Posts: 17,749	Lighting color is hugely personal preference, and trying to describe it can be tough. Especially over the internet, since the vast majority of photographs aren't really accurate, and/or have been touched up. Can you show us pictures of tanks that you like the colors in? How would you describe your current coloration? Is it too blue? Too white? Too yellow? Not brilliant enough? __________________ Inconveniencing marine life since 1992 "It is my personal belief that reef aquaria should be thriving communities of biodiversity, representative of their wild counterparts, and not merely collections of pretty specimens growing on tidy clean rock shelves covered in purple coralline algae." (Eric Borneman)

08/15/2007, 08:52 AM	#4
SeanySean Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Manchester (UK) Posts: 885	Thanks for the replies. I know what you mean when you say hard to describe! I was going to replace both of the MH's with 20K for the glowing effect but having read the lighting article, I am not too keen as it mentioned coral growth vertually stopped! I want a really marine colour like Xenon's and a few other setups that I have seen, normally TOTM setups have very similar colours. This is what I was thinking of doing Remove the 2 actinics from the T5 and replace with whites Change the 14K and 20K MHs and replace with 6500K (I have never used these but have read that they offer best coral growth) Leave the blue actinics in the MH unit to compensate for the yellow effect.... What do you think...? If yuo had the same setup what would you guys do? Thanks again, __________________ _______________ You paid how much for moldy rock!!!! Current Tank Info: 130G http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1042110