coralreefaquarist Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 ok so i recently picked up a 8x39 watt 36" teklight. the bulbs have about a year on them and im trying to figure out which bulbs and what k and such when i replace them.ive been looking everywhere online and frankly the information is way to overwhelming.my biggest thing is coral growth i want the most growth possible. color is nice to, but growth is important to me. im guessing guismen is gonna be the way to go as far as a brand, but ive heard such things as not running actinics and stuff. what are opinions. i want to try to nail a good growth and color combo on the dot so i dont have to buy more bulbs till i get it right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyles Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 I have ran the guesmens with and without actinic's (year each) and really could see no difference in color, what I noticed was the first 6 months of actinic I "seemed" to get better growth, that being said I had some nitrate issues and other things going on, so very hard to say. My next setup will not have actinic lights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 There is a thread over at RC in the lighting forum just for your question. The guy is really knowledgable. I've been really pleased with the color and growth i'm getting from UVL bulbs. Previously had ATI and I definately prefer the UVL over them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coralreefaquarist Posted June 6, 2008 Author Share Posted June 6, 2008 not sure which post i found a 8 bulb t5 post but im still a bit lost.heres a question im striving to find the answer for at what range of kelvin is coral growth best? i realize coral growth depends on much more than light,like food water quality and so on. but ive noticed theres now even a 22k bulb.wouldnt a 22k bulb be like just color. whats the best like 10k? what are the yelow bulbs by guiesmann. it seems at one of the lfs there running 8 t5s and there just actinics and a day bulb. should i do that like actinc then day then actinic then day........ or do i need that many actinics should i do like an actinic a 6k a 10k a 15k. i know everyones opinion wil vary just looking for a litlle help in the right direction.impur what bulbs are you running in what order? u actually have a shimmer like 6 inches down which is awsome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef-fisher Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 Im no scientist, but from personal experience, the 10k to 12k range seems to grow best. I have 2 11k geisman(sp?) bulbs on my 72 that do awesome. I do, however have actinics as well. On my last frag tank, I ran all 11k's and they did great, as long as the nutrient levels were low. My 2cents Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 Shawn i'm running from front to back UVL super actinic UVL aquasun 10k UVL aquablue 14k GE daylight 6500k UVL aquablue 14k UVL super actinic I've considered adding a couple arrays of LEDs to get that shimmer down at the bottom. But i have so many projects i want to do and i don't organize them well. (laugh) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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