Need Advice on Replacement Bulbs

sage_commander · 05/15/2008, 12:25 PM

My tank has been running for just over a year now, and I'm looking to replace my lamps. I've been dealing with some red slime for a while now and I'm trying to get to the cause of it. Besides, T5s should be replaced annually, right? It's the Nova Extreme fixture and I don't know if the bulbs that came with it are any good to begin with.

So, I was looking to get the 420 nm bulbs for actinics, but on the white lights should I go with one 10000K and one 12000k? Are there any brands that seem to be better than others? Thanks!

adam1980 · 05/15/2008, 01:26 PM

The red slime is prabally cyno, It normally grows in aquariums that have there light turned on for to long during the day. Try cutting you lights on time down. If you are lighting for nine hours try lighting for 8 hours. I run mh so I dont really know much about the lamps sorry i cant help you there.

sage_commander · 05/15/2008, 01:37 PM

Thanks. Yeah, I've already cut the light period back a couple of hours. The white lights are now on for about 8.5 hours. I don't want to tweak that again until I replace the lamps and see if that helps. Thanks again.

bertoni · 05/15/2008, 03:19 PM

The choice of bulbs is mostly personal taste. I like 10,000 K and actinics, but you might prefer more or less blue. The actinic bulbs are dimmer than the lower-temperature bulbs, which can be an issue for animal growth.

sage_commander · 05/15/2008, 03:28 PM

Right now my fixture has two 10000k bulbs and two 460 nm actinics. On the actinics: I was going to go with 420 nm, which is supposed to be "true" actinic. Will the human eye notice the difference?

On the white lights I thought mixing color temps would bring out more color on the rocks and such.

bertoni · 05/15/2008, 04:02 PM

I don't think the difference between 420 nm and 460 nm will be enough to make an easily obvious difference in practice, although the actual output of the bulbs might differ from their specs.

Having some of the bluer bulbs does change the perceived colors. Lots of people like the blue (actinic) look.

sage_commander · 05/15/2008, 05:04 PM

How about the white lights? Is there a noticable diff between the 10000k and 12000k bulbs?

And I do like the actinic look. The tank looks like it's missing something when they're not on.

bertoni · 05/15/2008, 05:06 PM

I suspect if you did side-by-side comparisons, the 12,000 K would look a little bluer, but not majorly so. It's a very subjective choice.

sage_commander · 05/15/2008, 05:08 PM

Gotcha. I think I'll stick with 10000k for now. Thanks for the help.

bertoni · 05/15/2008, 05:22 PM

You're welcome!

05/15/2008, 12:25 PM	#1
sage_commander Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Poulsbo WA Posts: 646	Need Advice on Replacement Bulbs My tank has been running for just over a year now, and I'm looking to replace my lamps. I've been dealing with some red slime for a while now and I'm trying to get to the cause of it. Besides, T5s should be replaced annually, right? It's the Nova Extreme fixture and I don't know if the bulbs that came with it are any good to begin with. So, I was looking to get the 420 nm bulbs for actinics, but on the white lights should I go with one 10000K and one 12000k? Are there any brands that seem to be better than others? Thanks!

05/15/2008, 03:19 PM	#4
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	The choice of bulbs is mostly personal taste. I like 10,000 K and actinics, but you might prefer more or less blue. The actinic bulbs are dimmer than the lower-temperature bulbs, which can be an issue for animal growth. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

05/15/2008, 04:02 PM	#6
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	I don't think the difference between 420 nm and 460 nm will be enough to make an easily obvious difference in practice, although the actual output of the bulbs might differ from their specs. Having some of the bluer bulbs does change the perceived colors. Lots of people like the blue (actinic) look. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

05/15/2008, 05:06 PM	#8
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	I suspect if you did side-by-side comparisons, the 12,000 K would look a little bluer, but not majorly so. It's a very subjective choice. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

05/15/2008, 05:22 PM	#10
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	You're welcome! __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

05/15/2008, 01:26 PM	#2
adam1980 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Gaylord Michigan Posts: 323	The red slime is prabally cyno, It normally grows in aquariums that have there light turned on for to long during the day. Try cutting you lights on time down. If you are lighting for nine hours try lighting for 8 hours. I run mh so I dont really know much about the lamps sorry i cant help you there.

05/15/2008, 01:37 PM	#3
sage_commander Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Poulsbo WA Posts: 646	Thanks. Yeah, I've already cut the light period back a couple of hours. The white lights are now on for about 8.5 hours. I don't want to tweak that again until I replace the lamps and see if that helps. Thanks again.

05/15/2008, 03:28 PM	#5
sage_commander Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Poulsbo WA Posts: 646	Right now my fixture has two 10000k bulbs and two 460 nm actinics. On the actinics: I was going to go with 420 nm, which is supposed to be "true" actinic. Will the human eye notice the difference? On the white lights I thought mixing color temps would bring out more color on the rocks and such.

05/15/2008, 05:04 PM	#7
sage_commander Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Poulsbo WA Posts: 646	How about the white lights? Is there a noticable diff between the 10000k and 12000k bulbs? And I do like the actinic look. The tank looks like it's missing something when they're not on.

05/15/2008, 05:08 PM	#9
sage_commander Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Poulsbo WA Posts: 646	Gotcha. I think I'll stick with 10000k for now. Thanks for the help.