best lighting options...

Lateralus · 01/23/2010, 09:21 PM

Im looking for suggestions on bulb selection for my 30 inch t-5 fixture. Right now it has 2-10ks and 2-460nm actinics. Are there any benefits in spreading the types of lighting out a little. Example: 1-6500k, 1-10k, then for actinics 1-460nm and 1-420nm?
Right now the tank has a couple LPS(plan on adding more) and some softies.

Octoshark · 01/23/2010, 09:48 PM

Softies will be fine under basic lighting conditions. I'm not sure about the spectrum for LPS though

Lateralus · 01/23/2010, 10:17 PM

Well I was also curious if I had more variety if it would bring out more color in the corals at the same time be more beneficial.

jflick345 · 01/23/2010, 10:28 PM

All of those corals are probably lower light requirements so the bulb choice ultimately comes down to the depth of your tank (deeper might mean higher PAR bulbs needed) and the type of color you desire from the bulbs. Heavy on ATI Blue Plus or UVL 454 will pop the blues, green and oranges and maybe some pinks and the Fiji Purple will pop more of the pinks, purples and reds. You might have to find a balance if you're looking for max. growth and appearance. A good combo for balance of both is 2 Blue Plus, 1 Aquablue Special, and a UVL 75/25. I use this combo and it gives a bright whiter daylight type appearance with some good color pop. In the future I'll probably shift more towards the blue but my tank is 24" so I have to stick with the higher PAR bulbs for now since I'm only running 4

Lateralus · 01/24/2010, 01:07 AM

@ jflick: Thnx for the suggestions. I went ahead and looked them all up and they look very promising.

01/23/2010, 09:21 PM	#1
Lateralus Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: St. Charles mo. Posts: 756	best lighting options... Im looking for suggestions on bulb selection for my 30 inch t-5 fixture. Right now it has 2-10ks and 2-460nm actinics. Are there any benefits in spreading the types of lighting out a little. Example: 1-6500k, 1-10k, then for actinics 1-460nm and 1-420nm? Right now the tank has a couple LPS(plan on adding more) and some softies. __________________ Mike Current Tank Info: 120 gallon reef/ 40 gal sump. Born on 5/30/13.

01/23/2010, 09:48 PM	#2
Octoshark Marine Biology Student Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: California Posts: 1,366	Softies will be fine under basic lighting conditions. I'm not sure about the spectrum for LPS though __________________ "Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal."

01/23/2010, 10:17 PM	#3
Lateralus Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: St. Charles mo. Posts: 756	Well I was also curious if I had more variety if it would bring out more color in the corals at the same time be more beneficial. __________________ Mike Current Tank Info: 120 gallon reef/ 40 gal sump. Born on 5/30/13.

01/24/2010, 01:07 AM	#5
Lateralus Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: St. Charles mo. Posts: 756	@ jflick: Thnx for the suggestions. I went ahead and looked them all up and they look very promising. __________________ Mike Current Tank Info: 120 gallon reef/ 40 gal sump. Born on 5/30/13.

01/23/2010, 10:28 PM	#4
jflick345 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 884	All of those corals are probably lower light requirements so the bulb choice ultimately comes down to the depth of your tank (deeper might mean higher PAR bulbs needed) and the type of color you desire from the bulbs. Heavy on ATI Blue Plus or UVL 454 will pop the blues, green and oranges and maybe some pinks and the Fiji Purple will pop more of the pinks, purples and reds. You might have to find a balance if you're looking for max. growth and appearance. A good combo for balance of both is 2 Blue Plus, 1 Aquablue Special, and a UVL 75/25. I use this combo and it gives a bright whiter daylight type appearance with some good color pop. In the future I'll probably shift more towards the blue but my tank is 24" so I have to stick with the higher PAR bulbs for now since I'm only running 4