Hello guys, I want to run four 54watt t5 tubes.Two of them being rated 6500kelvin.What should the other two be.I was thinking 20 000kelvins.I also don't want the tank to look too blue.That said, I would appreciate your opinions.Thanks.
Which actinic t5 lamp would you use?
- Thread starter aslam
- Start date
yeah, i got two 10000Ks and two 12000Ks, got a hint of blue in it. Maybe go 2X10000K, 1X12000K and 1X20000K? it would then be more blue, check my thread, i think i've got a good mix, try it out, but 6500K isnt the way to go IMO.
Ive got four 54 watt 10000k aqua medics and two 20000k actinics, i am going to replace one 10000k with another actinic
10000Ks are good too, dont get that yellow colour too
Hi Aslam - nothing wrong with your 6500K's. Natural daylight is between 5500K and 6500K. Corals will grow like crazy. BUT - they WILL NOT color up.
Go for the Sylvania CoralStar's. T5 54 watt. What size tank do you have?
How deep is your tank? the 2 x 6500K's will give you the PAR rating that you require, but the tank will look dull and colorless. The 2 CoralStars (BLUE) will ensure that the color of the fish and the corals come out more!
Go for the Sylvania CoralStar's. T5 54 watt. What size tank do you have?
How deep is your tank? the 2 x 6500K's will give you the PAR rating that you require, but the tank will look dull and colorless. The 2 CoralStars (BLUE) will ensure that the color of the fish and the corals come out more!
Hi There Everyone
hey guys i'm new here but I just wanted to clarify one thing with jaquesb,what do you mean they will not color up?
do you mean the actual color of the coral will change as it grows or do you mean that the APPEARANCE only will be affected?
the reason i'm asking this is because after a few months my corals(which were purchased from pink to white to green to blue) all seem to change to a purple color or tend towards that color,now i find this very strange,anybody experience anything like it?
hey guys i'm new here but I just wanted to clarify one thing with jaquesb,what do you mean they will not color up?
do you mean the actual color of the coral will change as it grows or do you mean that the APPEARANCE only will be affected?
the reason i'm asking this is because after a few months my corals(which were purchased from pink to white to green to blue) all seem to change to a purple color or tend towards that color,now i find this very strange,anybody experience anything like it?
Howzit Falcon! A very WARM welcome to MASA! Please start a new thread in our "New Members" forum and tell us more about yourself and your tank/s....
OK - the lower the Kelvin Rating of the white light, the better the corals' growth. BUT, the zooxanthellae within the coral's bodies will grow more, making the coral's coloration seem brown.
With extremely low nutrients in the tank (as close to 0 as possibly), and a LOT of blue/actinic lighting, the coloration of the corals will start showing. Meaning that SPS corals will be far more colorful. Many soft corals only have a huge amount of zooxanthellae, which supply the corals with energy.... Therefore most soft corals are mostly brown'ish..... With SOME coloration......
OK - the lower the Kelvin Rating of the white light, the better the corals' growth. BUT, the zooxanthellae within the coral's bodies will grow more, making the coral's coloration seem brown.
With extremely low nutrients in the tank (as close to 0 as possibly), and a LOT of blue/actinic lighting, the coloration of the corals will start showing. Meaning that SPS corals will be far more colorful. Many soft corals only have a huge amount of zooxanthellae, which supply the corals with energy.... Therefore most soft corals are mostly brown'ish..... With SOME coloration......
The reason corals "colour" up is because of intense radiation. It is the way the coral protects it's symboitic algae.
Quite ironic, the more colourful your coral the more under threat it feels.
Also the bluer lights bring out the colour in coral, and this is for viewing purposes only.
Quite ironic, the more colourful your coral the more under threat it feels.
Also the bluer lights bring out the colour in coral, and this is for viewing purposes only.
T5, 36w - 2 x 10000K and 1 x 20000K
thanks for the welcome jacquesb i'll do that as soon as i have some pics etc uploaded to my pc.
jacques what you saying makes perfect sense and i think i'm going to change my globes a bit,I currently have :
1x zoo med 4ft t8 coral sun actinic 420,
1x zoo med 4ft t8 reef sun,
2 x t5 6500k 54w...
after reading this post i think i can conclude my corals are growing well with this set up but at the expense of colouration....by this weekend i'll add more blue light and remove one of the 6500k t5's
thanks again guys very informative posts here on masa.
one more thing,would it be a good idea to use a pure actinic t5 54w by geissman to replace my 6500k t5?
jacques what you saying makes perfect sense and i think i'm going to change my globes a bit,I currently have :
1x zoo med 4ft t8 coral sun actinic 420,
1x zoo med 4ft t8 reef sun,
2 x t5 6500k 54w...
after reading this post i think i can conclude my corals are growing well with this set up but at the expense of colouration....by this weekend i'll add more blue light and remove one of the 6500k t5's
thanks again guys very informative posts here on masa.
one more thing,would it be a good idea to use a pure actinic t5 54w by geissman to replace my 6500k t5?
Occelaris - I would say, this depends on what you want to keep....
If you want to go corals and later even more demanding corals, then at least 4 x 39watt T5's - 3 x white (10000K or similar) and 1 x blue (actinic).
If only soft-corals, then Warr's suggestion would be 100% spot on.
If fish only, then 2 x T5's (39watt) would be MORE than sufficient..... (one white, one blue)....
Warr - you are actually very correct in your statement about the coloration. I just forgot about the radiation (and UV A/B irradiation).... This is indeed what give SPS corals their intense coloration - that and MANY actinic lighting. I have seen that the coloration actually comes out even more when a reefer has a LOT of actinic lighting when compared to equivalent wattage of white only light.
Falcon - thanks man. Please do so. Those globes that you have is good enough for FISH ONLY. BUT not NEAR enough for keeping corals or anemones.
Please think about upgrading your lighting to at least quite a few T5's if you want to keep corals or anemone's....