Do actinics have anything to do with coral growth?

Palting · 02/10/2011, 11:32 AM

As the title states. Are actinics mostly for our viewing pleasure to get a good color, or do they actually contribute to coral growth and photosynthetic feeding?

Thanks!

psteeleb · 02/10/2011, 11:42 AM

a couple of years ago I would have said no, but I'm now convinced otherwise

and when you think of it only the blues penetrate the deeper water and a lot of corals do grow in deeper water

Palting · 02/10/2011, 01:17 PM

Thanks for the reply. I was considering just having the actinics go on together with the MH, to save on usage and maybe prolong bulb life. But, I kinda am leaning the same way as you are. I see my zoas and shrooms stay open after the MH lights go off with only the actinics on. So, they must benefit from it somehow.

jdyer88 · 02/10/2011, 02:52 PM

any photosynthectic organism uses light from most of the spectrum, except the color that it shows...so say a coral is orange, it is using all the light it gets except orange, which it reflects. They do however use more light from different parts of the spectrum...some plants for instance use mostly red spectrum light but still use a little white, blue, ect.,

llewoh05 · 02/10/2011, 03:15 PM

here is another question to stem from the OP. how often should you change your atinic bulbs?

chimmike · 02/10/2011, 03:18 PM

well, i guess the thing is, what wavelength of light are they producing? is it something your MH's aren't? I'm sure actinics help in some way, but more or less are for visuals.

jdyer88 · 02/10/2011, 03:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chimmike

well, i guess the thing is, what wavelength of light are they producing? is it something your MH's aren't? I'm sure actinics help in some way, but more or less are for visuals.

yea exactly...I'm willing to bet they help too, plus they look cool so why not run them

Palting · 02/10/2011, 06:35 PM

They DO look cool. I'm coming up to the 8th month of these lights, and MH replacement time is coming up according to recommendations. 3 of them. They are NOT cheap!

AFAIK, Mh needs replacing at 8-12 months, T5's at 12-18 months.

There will come a time when all my bulbs will need replacing at the same time. That's 3 MH bulbs at @ $70 per, 8 T5 HO's at @ $25 per (better brands). We are talking @ $410 !!! I am just trying to save money without compromising the tank by seeing if I can use them less.

But, I guess we didn't get into this hobby because it was cheap. Oh, well.

edsreef · 02/10/2011, 07:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Palting

They DO look cool. I'm coming up to the 8th month of these lights, and MH replacement time is coming up according to recommendations. 3 of them. They are NOT cheap!

AFAIK, Mh needs replacing at 8-12 months, T5's at 12-18 months.

There will come a time when all my bulbs will need replacing at the same time. That's 3 MH bulbs at @ $70 per, 8 T5 HO's at @ $25 per (better brands). We are talking @ $410 !!! I am just trying to save money without compromising the tank by seeing if I can use them less.

But, I guess we didn't get into this hobby because it was cheap. Oh, well.

It's all adding up to LED time, aint it?

Mike Ordner · 02/10/2011, 08:13 PM

I am no expert on this, but it is my understanding that coral growth has to do with PAR, and true actinics are a lower PAR bulb. So, it will help some but is more for looking at corals.

pimp4cheddar · 02/10/2011, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Ordner

I am no expert on this, but it is my understanding that coral growth has to do with PAR, and true actinics are a lower PAR bulb. So, it will help some but is more for looking at corals.

PAR is a measure of how much is in the water at a certain dept...

Actinics do grow coral. Many people only have actinic bulbs in their lighting unit (I for example).

I have a combo of ATI Blue Plus (460nm Actinics), UV Lighting Super Actinic (420nm) and ATI Purple Plus (like the KZ Fiji Purple).

There's no issue in using on actinic's...but it's a well known fact a bulb like the GE 6500k will help help coral grow a lot more (because of the amount of par it puts out and also the color spectrum)...but your tank will look like **** yellow rather than aqua blue - thus the reason people may only put one of those yellow/white bulbs in their T5 unit with 2-3 actinic bulbs... The yellow/white bulb helps with the coral growth and also helps add a nice white balance.

Hope this helps...

Palting · 02/10/2011, 10:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by edsreef

It's all adding up to LED time, aint it?

LOL!!! Yes, though these lights did cost me a pretty penny, an all LED fixture probably would have cost me much more initially, but maintenance would be almost zero

Mike Ordner · 02/10/2011, 10:44 PM

Hey Pimp4cheddar, I hear what you are saying. I was thinking of true actinic (420) when I made my reply. Your setup is similar to mine. The blue + is actually pretty high PAR with blue (460) and actinic (420) combined, and the purple + is a full specrum bulb with strong components of red and blue. I have on order a 5 bulb combo with three blue +, one aquablue special and one purple +.

pimp4cheddar · 02/10/2011, 11:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Ordner

Hey Pimp4cheddar, I hear what you are saying. I was thinking of true actinic (420) when I made my reply. Your setup is similar to mine. The blue + is actually pretty high PAR with blue (460) and actinic (420) combined, and the purple + is a full specrum bulb with strong components of red and blue. I have on order a 5 bulb combo with three blue +, one aquablue special and one purple +.

I'm with you bro!

I noticed the UVL Super Actinic is actually a very dull bulb (not bright at all...more of a blacklight bulb).

Now the Purple Plus is extremely bright full spectrum bulb (thus the reason I didn't opt for an ATI Aquablue...would have been "too" bright/white).

Any pics of your tank?

Mike Ordner · 02/11/2011, 08:03 AM

Due to the bad weather, the shipment has been delayed until Monday. I will post of pic when I get the new bulbs in. Fixture is an Aquactinics TX5 with 54 watt bulbs over a standard 75 gallon tank. Light is setting right on top of aquarium.

chris88 · 02/11/2011, 08:41 AM

Ofcourse actinics help with coral photosynthesis. Corals use 400nm to about 720nm. which is violet-red. Actinics are 420 which is where coral photosythensis spikes and results in a very high rate of photosynthesis. They do have less overal par but they have a very high pur. I would never run all actinic but they do serve a purpose other then visual asthetics.

Mike Ordner · 02/11/2011, 04:52 PM

I found this previous post

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=17772546

jc-reef goes into a lot of detail about PAR and PUR and what light corals utilize.

Palting · 02/11/2011, 05:06 PM

Thanks, guys. Learned a lot. And thanks for the link.

02/10/2011, 11:32 AM	#1
Palting Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Ohio Posts: 6,912	Do actinics have anything to do with coral growth? As the title states. Are actinics mostly for our viewing pleasure to get a good color, or do they actually contribute to coral growth and photosynthetic feeding? Thanks! __________________ Anything I post is just an opinion. One of many in this hobby. Believe and follow at your own risk of rapid and complete annihilation of all life in your tank :) Current Tank Info: Incept 3/2010, 150 RR, 50g sump, 20g fuge, 150w 15K MH x3, T5 actinics x8, moonlight LED x6, 1400gph return, Koralia 1400 x4, 300 g skimmer, 4 tangs, 2 mandarins, 2 perc, 6 line, 3 cardinals, 2 firefish, SPS, LPS, zoas, palys, shrooms, clam

02/10/2011, 11:42 AM	#2
psteeleb Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: DFW Texas Posts: 5,249	a couple of years ago I would have said no, but I'm now convinced otherwise and when you think of it only the blues penetrate the deeper water and a lot of corals do grow in deeper water __________________ A smooth sea never made a skillful mariner Current Tank Info: 110g Mixed Reef, LED's & T5's

02/10/2011, 01:17 PM	#3
Palting Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Ohio Posts: 6,912	Thanks for the reply. I was considering just having the actinics go on together with the MH, to save on usage and maybe prolong bulb life. But, I kinda am leaning the same way as you are. I see my zoas and shrooms stay open after the MH lights go off with only the actinics on. So, they must benefit from it somehow. __________________ Anything I post is just an opinion. One of many in this hobby. Believe and follow at your own risk of rapid and complete annihilation of all life in your tank :) Current Tank Info: Incept 3/2010, 150 RR, 50g sump, 20g fuge, 150w 15K MH x3, T5 actinics x8, moonlight LED x6, 1400gph return, Koralia 1400 x4, 300 g skimmer, 4 tangs, 2 mandarins, 2 perc, 6 line, 3 cardinals, 2 firefish, SPS, LPS, zoas, palys, shrooms, clam

02/10/2011, 03:15 PM	#5
llewoh05 Daddy Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Fisher Posts: 744	here is another question to stem from the OP. how often should you change your atinic bulbs? __________________ need something new. got any ideas? Current Tank Info: 1x40br w/ 20gal sump & 10gal refug and 1x incomplete custom 65

02/10/2011, 03:18 PM	#6
chimmike oxygen abuser Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Parrish, FL Posts: 5,089 Blog Entries: 2	well, i guess the thing is, what wavelength of light are they producing? is it something your MH's aren't? I'm sure actinics help in some way, but more or less are for visuals. __________________ -Mike Tankless wonder Geaux Noles!

02/10/2011, 02:52 PM	#4
jdyer88 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Riverside, California Posts: 434	any photosynthectic organism uses light from most of the spectrum, except the color that it shows...so say a coral is orange, it is using all the light it gets except orange, which it reflects. They do however use more light from different parts of the spectrum...some plants for instance use mostly red spectrum light but still use a little white, blue, ect.,

02/10/2011, 06:35 PM	#8
Palting Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Ohio Posts: 6,912	They DO look cool. I'm coming up to the 8th month of these lights, and MH replacement time is coming up according to recommendations. 3 of them. They are NOT cheap! AFAIK, Mh needs replacing at 8-12 months, T5's at 12-18 months. There will come a time when all my bulbs will need replacing at the same time. That's 3 MH bulbs at @ $70 per, 8 T5 HO's at @ $25 per (better brands). We are talking @ $410 !!! I am just trying to save money without compromising the tank by seeing if I can use them less. But, I guess we didn't get into this hobby because it was cheap. Oh, well. __________________ Anything I post is just an opinion. One of many in this hobby. Believe and follow at your own risk of rapid and complete annihilation of all life in your tank :) Current Tank Info: Incept 3/2010, 150 RR, 50g sump, 20g fuge, 150w 15K MH x3, T5 actinics x8, moonlight LED x6, 1400gph return, Koralia 1400 x4, 300 g skimmer, 4 tangs, 2 mandarins, 2 perc, 6 line, 3 cardinals, 2 firefish, SPS, LPS, zoas, palys, shrooms, clam

02/10/2011, 08:13 PM	#10
Mike Ordner Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Corpus Christi, Texas Posts: 415	I am no expert on this, but it is my understanding that coral growth has to do with PAR, and true actinics are a lower PAR bulb. So, it will help some but is more for looking at corals.

02/10/2011, 10:44 PM	#13
Mike Ordner Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Corpus Christi, Texas Posts: 415	Hey Pimp4cheddar, I hear what you are saying. I was thinking of true actinic (420) when I made my reply. Your setup is similar to mine. The blue + is actually pretty high PAR with blue (460) and actinic (420) combined, and the purple + is a full specrum bulb with strong components of red and blue. I have on order a 5 bulb combo with three blue +, one aquablue special and one purple +.

02/11/2011, 08:03 AM	#15
Mike Ordner Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Corpus Christi, Texas Posts: 415	Due to the bad weather, the shipment has been delayed until Monday. I will post of pic when I get the new bulbs in. Fixture is an Aquactinics TX5 with 54 watt bulbs over a standard 75 gallon tank. Light is setting right on top of aquarium.

02/11/2011, 08:41 AM	#16
chris88 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Alberta (canada) Posts: 657	Ofcourse actinics help with coral photosynthesis. Corals use 400nm to about 720nm. which is violet-red. Actinics are 420 which is where coral photosythensis spikes and results in a very high rate of photosynthesis. They do have less overal par but they have a very high pur. I would never run all actinic but they do serve a purpose other then visual asthetics.

02/11/2011, 04:52 PM	#17
Mike Ordner Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Corpus Christi, Texas Posts: 415	I found this previous post http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=17772546 jc-reef goes into a lot of detail about PAR and PUR and what light corals utilize.

02/11/2011, 05:06 PM	#18
Palting Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Ohio Posts: 6,912	Thanks, guys. Learned a lot. And thanks for the link. __________________ Anything I post is just an opinion. One of many in this hobby. Believe and follow at your own risk of rapid and complete annihilation of all life in your tank :) Current Tank Info: Incept 3/2010, 150 RR, 50g sump, 20g fuge, 150w 15K MH x3, T5 actinics x8, moonlight LED x6, 1400gph return, Koralia 1400 x4, 300 g skimmer, 4 tangs, 2 mandarins, 2 perc, 6 line, 3 cardinals, 2 firefish, SPS, LPS, zoas, palys, shrooms, clam

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