bulb k??

shaggy5687 · 01/11/2010, 06:13 PM

i have a 4 bulb t5 24watt fixture it has 2 actinics and 2 10kks i see people use 14kks and 20kks can you use something more or is 20kks the highest reccommended??? and do the bulbs have to be some kind of aquarium brand bulb or if they have what you needed at a hardware store like home depot or lowes could you use those?? whats recommended?

redfishsc · 01/11/2010, 07:51 PM

The T5HO format is not easily found at hardware stores, and at best you will find them in the 6500K range--- which is useable, but horridly ugly (my opinion

)

As for bulb color temp, honestly you can use as much or as little blue light as you want. Most corals can adapt to whatever white (10-20K) or blue (420 or 460nm actinic) you throw at them.

There is a common assumption around here that "lower K values mean better growth" but I have NOT found this to be the case. My tank lighting is almost all blue, with one white 12,000K bulb, 2 460nm blues, and one "Fiji Purple" that's red/blue. I also have about 30 watts of high-power Cree XRE LED's over that tank that are totally 455nm blue (ie, extraordinarily blue).

My stuff grows like crazy.

My recommendation:

On a 4X24, for more blue try this bulb combo. You can get ALL of these bulbs from www.reefgeek.com or www.premiumaquatics.com

(Note that ATI, UVL, and KZ are name brands, easy to find on those sites.)

Very blue and very beautiful (what I use)
***back***
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Aquablue Special 12,000K
KZ Fiji Purple
ATI Blue Plus

For more white and balanced, try this (I use this on another tank and it also looks good but not as nice IMO as the above combo).

ATI Blue Plus
ATI Aquablue Special 12,000K
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Aquablue Special 12,000K

Or if you really like white, load the unit with all Aquablue Special 12,000K.

shaggy5687 · 01/12/2010, 05:21 PM

thanks man i forgot about the ho part of it when i was looking at what i saw my fixtures prettynew so ill wait till time to replace the bulbs to try a new combination

01/11/2010, 06:13 PM	#1
shaggy5687 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: orlando Posts: 157	bulb k?? i have a 4 bulb t5 24watt fixture it has 2 actinics and 2 10kks i see people use 14kks and 20kks can you use something more or is 20kks the highest reccommended??? and do the bulbs have to be some kind of aquarium brand bulb or if they have what you needed at a hardware store like home depot or lowes could you use those?? whats recommended? __________________ If you always tell the truth you never have to remember anything--Mark Twain Current Tank Info: 36 gal bwfrnt s.w.

01/11/2010, 07:51 PM	#2
redfishsc Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Wake Forest, NC Posts: 3,696	The T5HO format is not easily found at hardware stores, and at best you will find them in the 6500K range--- which is useable, but horridly ugly (my opinion ) As for bulb color temp, honestly you can use as much or as little blue light as you want. Most corals can adapt to whatever white (10-20K) or blue (420 or 460nm actinic) you throw at them. There is a common assumption around here that "lower K values mean better growth" but I have NOT found this to be the case. My tank lighting is almost all blue, with one white 12,000K bulb, 2 460nm blues, and one "Fiji Purple" that's red/blue. I also have about 30 watts of high-power Cree XRE LED's over that tank that are totally 455nm blue (ie, extraordinarily blue). My stuff grows like crazy. My recommendation: On a 4X24, for more blue try this bulb combo. You can get ALL of these bulbs from www.reefgeek.com or www.premiumaquatics.com (Note that ATI, UVL, and KZ are name brands, easy to find on those sites.) Very blue and very beautiful (what I use) *back* ATI Blue Plus ATI Aquablue Special 12,000K KZ Fiji Purple ATI Blue Plus For more white and balanced, try this (I use this on another tank and it also looks good but not as nice IMO as the above combo). ATI Blue Plus ATI Aquablue Special 12,000K ATI Blue Plus ATI Aquablue Special 12,000K Or if you really like white, load the unit with all Aquablue Special 12,000K. __________________ "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.

01/12/2010, 05:21 PM	#3
shaggy5687 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: orlando Posts: 157	thanks man i forgot about the ho part of it when i was looking at what i saw my fixtures prettynew so ill wait till time to replace the bulbs to try a new combination __________________ If you always tell the truth you never have to remember anything--Mark Twain Current Tank Info: 36 gal bwfrnt s.w.