drock59 Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 I used T5's a while back and didnt really enjoy them. Mainly due to the poor actinic bulbs that were on the market compared to the standard VHO ATI Actinic '03's. Whats the word nowadays? Is there a T5 actinic that is comparable? I would rather use T5's as they tend to last longer and put out more light but it needs to be pretty close in looks to a VHO actinic. Any help appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyles Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 Its well know that you can get more light (PAR) from a t-5 than a VHO, now I'm sure that different bulbs produce different par, and add to the confusion the ballast your using will also reflect on the results you get (overdriven or not). I will say that I don't use any actinic light (pure actinic) at all on my system, but a actinic plus 50/50 light (Gueisman) that put out almost as much par as a 11k bulb but holds the frequency of light an actinic does. But on the flip side I like the VHO actinic better visually, its seems to color up the corals better than tank I see with actinic t-5. I personally am thinking about removing 6 of my 8 t-5's and buy 2 actinic 80 watters as supp light and go with xm10k's as my bright light. My T-5's are great but I miss the shimmer and I don't get the color pop out of my bulbs that I get with the MH. I am borrowing a friends xm15k right now and the difference is staggering. OK sorry, back to the actinic supp subject. I plan personally to use URI or gueisman double actinic's, you will find in a lot of the LFS this is what they are doing as well unless they are running 20k lights, but to get the par a 10k with actinic t-5 will do the job, if you have the VHO already I would use it, I don't think its worth upgrading, but I think there is a difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drock59 Posted March 22, 2007 Author Share Posted March 22, 2007 Forgive me for not mentioning it, but I already have two VHO 110w actinics and dual 250w 14k phoenix bulbs. I love the color but the VHO's take up a lot of space in my tiny hood and the bulbs dont last as long as t5. Im looking to keep somewhere near the same color, 14k ish. Also, whats the latest on some of the newer DE 14 k bulbs. Ive heard that reeflux is really good and I was considering the XM 10k just for growth but it is pretty yellow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyles Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 Im sure others will chime in, if it was me from what I have seen I like the look of the 14k, they are running right behind me, I still want to see a setup with 10k and actinic that I really like, I have seen a few but I didn't ask what bulbs they ran (Waves has actinic t-5 sup) on the show, Im sure he will chime in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drock59 Posted March 22, 2007 Author Share Posted March 22, 2007 I still want to see a setup with 10k and actinic that I really like Agreed. Im waiting for some folks who are running T5 supplements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyles Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 I know Joel is running them in the show tank in the entry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefgeek84 Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 URI UV just came out with a good actinic, it is very purple in color, not as blue as most actinics are... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyles Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 but they don't come in a 80 watter for me :(... :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.