T5 Powerchrome actinic lights

[SirCharles77]

Does anyone know about these T5 actinic powerchrome lights? I am thinking about setting up some lighting using these lights but I am not sure which actinics to get.


Here is the link to the description of these bulbs but I am not sure which actinic to get.
http://www.emeraldelectronic.com/sto.../1856/file.htm
Aquablue, Midday, Pure Actinic, or Actinic.

I am going to buy 6 of these fixtures, and then replace the bulbs in a few of them with some actinics so I have a mixture of them but I just dont know enought about them to make a really educated decision on which ones to get. I also dont know how many whites to actinics I should have.

Any recommendations?

Here is the fixtures I am getting.
http://www.emeraldelectronic.com/sto.../1856/file.htm

[SirCharles77]

Has anyone used these or know anything about them?

[The Grim Reefer]

Those are the giesemann lamps that reefgeek sells for 21.95 Find some decent fixtures to. If you have a canopy you can get good retrofit kits from them that are way better than those stip fixtures.

[SirCharles77]

What makes them better?

And I really just wanna know what configuration of lamps I should get if I have 6 T5 lamps on my setup. What would you do?

[The Grim Reefer]

Reflectors and ballasts make a huge difference. If thats a standard 55 which if 4 feet long you only need 4 lamps over it to have enough light to grow anything. Reefgeek sells retrofit kits with Ice Cap reflectors, they are the best and you can fit 4 over your tank. There are 2 versions of the Ice Cap retro, HO and VHO. Stick with the HO.

With this configuration of lamps you will have a nice look and enough light to grow anything

ATI Blue Plus
UVL Super Actinic
UVL Aquasun
ATI Blue Plus

It wont be quit as blue as you would think going by the names, it will be about like 14K halides with actinic lamps running.

[SirCharles77]

First off this isnt for a 55g. It is for my 105g that I am setting up right now. I transfered the 55g into this new 105g tank and am working on lighting now.

So with that what would you add to that configuration? And does that include any white lights? You have 4 actinics listed there right? Dont you need a few whites as well?

[tigerarmy40]

hey grim why would you suggest sticking with ho over the vho?

[siwelk]

the UVL super actinic is the only actinic bulb listed. the aquasun is a daylight bulb and the blue +'s are blu-ish but not a true actinic

[SirCharles77]

Oh really? Se this is why I need help. Trying to gather information about what these lamps actually do and what you should use from the sites that are selling them is pretty much useless.

[SirCharles77]

And Grim, is there any reason why you chose those brands? Are they better than the Gieseman ones? Or is that just your preference?

[tigerarmy40]

read back in this thread on t5's, there is alot of good info in it but you have to go through a ton of pages

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...readid=1256520

[The Grim Reefer]

Originally posted by SirCharles77
First off this isnt for a 55g. It is for my 105g that I am setting up right now. I transfered the 55g into this new 105g tank and am working on lighting now.

So with that what would you add to that configuration? And does that include any white lights? You have 4 actinics listed there right? Dont you need a few whites as well?

If its for a 105 (is that the 5 foot long version?) you will want 6 lamps

In that case do

Front
Blue Plus
Super Actinic
Aquasun
Blue Plus
Aquasun
Blue Plus

Unless its a full blown SPS tank you still wouldn't need the VHO version.

[SirCharles77]

it is the 5ft version. So tell me, why do u suggest using the blue + instead of just more super actinics? Can you explain why you suggest this config? Just so I can understand what your reasons are.

[The Grim Reefer]

Originally posted by SirCharles77
it is the 5ft version. So tell me, why do u suggest using the blue + instead of just more super actinics? Can you explain why you suggest this config? Just so I can understand what your reasons are.

I have the same size tank.

There is a big difference between Blue and Actinic lamps. The Violet light the actinics produce isn't highly visible and fluoresces corals with green really good but other colors not as well. The blues have a nice blue light that pops other colors better than the actinic AND have a lot of PAR.

[SirCharles77]

Hey what is the typical bulb life expectancy of these T5 bulbs?

I have heard alot of different opinions and am not sure which one is correct.

[The Grim Reefer]

By a year it's time for new lamps if you are raising SPS. If you have LPS softies and maybe like monti caps you could probably push it to 18 months.