Atinics!?!?!?

[fishdoc11]

Hey Guys/ Gals,
I bought new bulbs this week and put the atinics in first to let the tank adjust. Suprise! suprise! suprise! I have never had true 03 atinics and had no idea. I guess I had been given/bought "blue" bulbs and did'nt realize these were not atinics. I notice the corals are flourescing much more and am hoping this will improve my overall coloration. What do yall think the effects will be(this on my 75) on my tank, not my pride.
thanks, Chris

[Sir Knight]

Chris,
I think over time you will see color improvement., but not as great as you would see using 20000K MH. You may want to keep an eye on these bulbs to see how long they stay in that color range before they start to shift. I think it's 1 year BUT.

I agree there is a big difference between blue PC bulbs and Actinic PC bulbs. I think the blue PC bulbs do nothing for for corals. In my opinion it's like putting a piece of blue transparent paper over a white bulb.

Glad to here you found a color combo that you like.

[aquaman67]

It's my understanding that zooxanthellae best uses light in the 420nm range, so I'd assume you will get better growth in your photosynthetic corals.

[kevlouie]

I just ordered 2 55watt 03 Actinics and 2 50/50s from www.hellolights.com

I got 1 blue and 1 actinic (and 2 white) when I ordered my 48" 220 watt PC from www.petsupplyliquidator.com The blue appears much more bright to the eye but it does not flouresce corals as well. I had them side by side and the corals on the side with the actinics didn't appear as bright with the PC only on, but when the metal halides fire up they had better color

[reewik]

Actinics really made a difference for me IMO. Things have colored nicely and are still changing. I have a cats paw that when placed in the tank was tan. It is now turning a bright pink/purple. Really nice. My greens glow and the orange also. Looks good to me at least.

[Mdwannabe]

Ran 2 VHO actinics, and 2 50/50 VHO in my 75 for 6 years and loved the color, and the corals loved the light. Just my opnion, but keep in mind I am color blind to blue/green. This is making bulb decisions really interesting for the new tank.