pick my lighting

joedirt54 · 03/03/2006, 01:26 AM

I want the look of 175w 6500k with two VHO 03's in a single 150 w HQI...15k or 20k...I'm lighting a 30gal cube and can DIY and would like to keep it under $250. The reef will be mainly SPS/clams on top with zoos,ric on bottom

Thanks,
Dirt

hahnmeister · 03/03/2006, 03:02 AM

The funny thing about 'supplimental' lighting is that many use halide bulbs that already have huge purple/actinic-420nm outputs, and then add more actinics when the real range to boost would be the 450nm blue. 6500Ks have gobs of actinic...you just dont see it because of all the other warmer light of course...but they do. They actually have more actinic output than any other halide, even 20,000Ks.

What they lack, and what you might consider for a more 'balanced' look would be some blue bulbs...like the awesome T5 blue+ bulbs that peak at 450nm. These bulbs also make a more visible impact, as actinics are rather pale in their output...easily masked by other spectrums. But those blue bulbs really do a great job.

Why would I say this? Well, a 6500K+actinic looking bulb doesnt really exist. If you want a 6500K, but with a strong purple spike, you will also get an even larger blue spike (14,000K or 20,000K).

But a bulb that you are looking for doesnt really exist...you cant get the purple w/o the blue in a halide.

But in T5 you can. you could get a T5 hood, like a tek, and run a mix of nothing but 6500K GE bulbs (cheap, and great growers), and actinics. This would be very close to what you seek and provide gobs of growing potential.

03/03/2006, 01:26 AM	#1
joedirt54 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Western PA Posts: 248	pick my lighting I want the look of 175w 6500k with two VHO 03's in a single 150 w HQI...15k or 20k...I'm lighting a 30gal cube and can DIY and would like to keep it under $250. The reef will be mainly SPS/clams on top with zoos,ric on bottom Thanks, Dirt

03/03/2006, 03:02 AM	#2
hahnmeister Moved On Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Brew City, WI Posts: 10,156	The funny thing about 'supplimental' lighting is that many use halide bulbs that already have huge purple/actinic-420nm outputs, and then add more actinics when the real range to boost would be the 450nm blue. 6500Ks have gobs of actinic...you just dont see it because of all the other warmer light of course...but they do. They actually have more actinic output than any other halide, even 20,000Ks. What they lack, and what you might consider for a more 'balanced' look would be some blue bulbs...like the awesome T5 blue+ bulbs that peak at 450nm. These bulbs also make a more visible impact, as actinics are rather pale in their output...easily masked by other spectrums. But those blue bulbs really do a great job. Why would I say this? Well, a 6500K+actinic looking bulb doesnt really exist. If you want a 6500K, but with a strong purple spike, you will also get an even larger blue spike (14,000K or 20,000K). But a bulb that you are looking for doesnt really exist...you cant get the purple w/o the blue in a halide. But in T5 you can. you could get a T5 hood, like a tek, and run a mix of nothing but 6500K GE bulbs (cheap, and great growers), and actinics. This would be very close to what you seek and provide gobs of growing potential.