actinics

[QuickSilver525]

hey guys on my 25g nano i only have a 150w mh pendant hanging over the tank. am i going to need actinics? if so where could i get them?

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[Troutmasters02]

Please include more info. Actinic needs depends on the brand and Kelvin of your MH bulb.

[aggman]

i have seen the kind of pendant you are using. and i think your bulb is rather white. you have more than enough light to supply your tank. so any actinics you use will be purely for aesthetics. i too use a mh that covers the light needs of my tank, but my bulb was a 14k phoenix, so i got a nova slim t5 fixture for actinic supplementation. if you replace your bulb with a 20k, you might not need supplementation, of course that all depends on your own preferences.

basically, you don't need actinics. but you might want them to add color to your tank and pop to your corals.

~alex

[QuickSilver525]

hmm sounds good. thats all i really want it for is the color i really dont need it for the tank. but i would like it for my corals so thanks for the advice

[NeptunesGhost]

I thought the 420/460 nM spectrum was necessary for the zooanthalle (SP?) in the corals to sustain photosynthesis. Is that covered by the 10,000K?

[aggman]

actinic bulbs are used for producing a unique 420nm spectrum that encourages both bluing in SPS corals and fluorescence in capable corals. Also helps balance out a washed-out/yellow hued tank.

~alex

[aggman]

i might be wrong...it happens

~alex

[QuickSilver525]

what should i do then? look into a new light setup? i really want to keep sps so what should i do then? i dont wanna overdue it but i dont wanna underdo it either u know?

[gjuarez]

It depends, look into your bulb. Like mentioned before, actinics sometimes are only for aesthetic purposes. There are some 10k bulbs out there that have plenty of 420nm, a 10k XM is a great example. Even though you dont see it, its still there. With that being said, there are plenty of blue bulbs out there (460nm) that offer little to no value to the zooxanthellae because they dont have any 420nm. Alot of t5 actinic bulbs are 460nm, there is only a few out there that peak at 420nm. In my opinion, you still cant beat URI VHO actinic.

A color that a bulb portrays can sometimes be misleading. Look into whatever bulb you are using, do some research on it and how much 420nm it puts out. You might be surprised with what you find, who know you might not even need supplimentation.

Blue light can make the color of some corals "pop" out. Make the greens a little greener or the blues a little bluer. If you dont use the right "blue" spectrum, no matter how blue your light is it wont turn that BROWN coral into anything, it will remain BROWN. However, if you use the right light (420nm) even though the light is whiter, that BROWN coral might turn into a beauty with a ton of color once the zooxanthellae start thriving.

For reference on lighting, google Sanjay

[manhorsedog]

i would try different bulbs, sometimes it takes some trail and error before you find what you are looking for.