View Full Version : Actinic pc lamps?
Skipp
December 16th 04, 03:42 PM
I am now using a 65W 10,000K and a 65W Actinic 03 PC lamps on my 29 gal
reef.I like the Blue coloration from the Actinic.Will It harm my soft corals
if I switch 2 Actinics with no 10,000K?
Thanks Skipp
Marc Levenson
December 17th 04, 03:38 AM
I wouldn't recommend it. Put the 03 bulb in the front of
the tank and the 10k in the back. It'll look great. This
is how my 29g looked with PC lighting.
http://www.melevsreef.com/pics/0504/29g_051804_900.jpg
Marc
Skipp wrote:
> I am now using a 65W 10,000K and a 65W Actinic 03 PC lamps on my 29 gal
> reef.I like the Blue coloration from the Actinic.Will It harm my soft corals
> if I switch 2 Actinics with no 10,000K?
> Thanks Skipp
>
>
--
Personal Page:
http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com
Richard Hoffpauir
December 17th 04, 03:26 PM
Try using 1 actinic PC and 1 50/50 PC. that will give you just a
touch of white light.
but in general, using all actinic shouldn't harm anything, unless you
have a coral that's more adapted to bright near-surface white light.
richard
--
Richard Hoffpauir
Water Resources Consulting
http://www.rjhoffpauir.com
Michael J Conboy
December 17th 04, 10:56 PM
Look into "blue" power compact lamps sold by some manufacturers (I've seen
them through AHsupply and aquariumsurplussupply). The spectrum of the
blue bulbs is slightly different than the actinic: blue has some
blue-green but no violet, while actinic has the violet and a touch of
yellow-orange. Together I believe they will give you the complete blue
experience that you seek. Corals will adapt.
Mike
In article >, Skipp > wrote:
>I am now using a 65W 10,000K and a 65W Actinic 03 PC lamps on my 29 gal
>reef.I like the Blue coloration from the Actinic.Will It harm my soft corals
>if I switch 2 Actinics with no 10,000K?
>Thanks Skipp
>
>
BenGrimm99
December 18th 04, 08:09 AM
"Michael J Conboy" > wrote in message
...
> Look into "blue" power compact lamps sold by some manufacturers (I've seen
> them through AHsupply and aquariumsurplussupply). The spectrum of the
> blue bulbs is slightly different than the actinic: blue has some
> blue-green but no violet, while actinic has the violet and a touch of
> yellow-orange. Together I believe they will give you the complete blue
> experience that you seek. Corals will adapt.
>
> Mike
>
> In article >, Skipp >
> wrote:
>>I am now using a 65W 10,000K and a 65W Actinic 03 PC lamps on my 29 gal
>>reef.I like the Blue coloration from the Actinic.Will It harm my soft
>>corals
>>if I switch 2 Actinics with no 10,000K?
>>Thanks Skipp
>>
I've got a freshwater cichlid tank that i'm thinking about selling and going
with a salty tank. i' ve been looking into what it will take to sell it and
start over with a larger tank. i've got a 55 gal tank that i bought used and
the "junk" the guy sold with it included a bottle of copper. Now obviously
the guy had a problem and the copper will kill any inverts, if I convert
that tank, but I want to get a new one and am trying decide which lighting
to go with in a new tank. The guy at the LFS told me that the bow front
tanks will leak sooner, but that a 5 foot tank is opitimal because of the
fish's territoriality. He also told me that the metal halide lights will be
necessary for Hard Coral, but if I'm OK with softies, that the compact or
VHO lights will be OK.
PROBLEM: He said the MH lights will cost me another $80-$90 a month on my
electric bill. Is this true!!!!!!!???? I like the soft coral, but don't
want to limit myself.
Question #1: Do the MH lights really cost that much more on the average?
Or can I get by with softies under a compact light?
Question #2: Will a bow front, glass or acrylic, leak sooner than a
rectangle tank?
Newbie Paul
John
December 18th 04, 05:11 PM
>Question #1: Do the MH lights really cost that much more on the average?
In short, no. I think the equation goes something like this:
WattsofLight * HoursUsed = TotalWattageUsed
TotalWattageUsed * 30 days * CostperKiloHour(can be found on your electric
bill) = Cost
~John
Michael J Conboy
December 20th 04, 08:36 PM
>PROBLEM: He said the MH lights will cost me another $80-$90 a month on my
>electric bill. Is this true!!!!!!!???? I like the soft coral, but don't
>want to limit myself.
Let's see, a 400W halide is a reasonable maximum for a tank of your size.
Run it for 10 hours a day and it uses 4 KWH (kilo-watt-hours) of
electicity. If your electicity cost 10 cents per KWH, that's 40 cents per
day, which is a reasonable maximum electricity cost. So what's that, $12.
per month? Add a fan for the lights and you're still under $15. If you
ran power-compacts, the most you could squeeze over a 55g would be
4x55watters, costing you roughly $6. per month.
>Question #1: Do the MH lights really cost that much more on the average?
>Or can I get by with softies under a compact light?
Above. But note that some grow stony corals just fine under PC lamps,
albeit they may place some specimens very close to the bulbs. Consider
also the "look" of the tank under the different bulbs, halid gives ripple
effects and shadows, while PC gives a more even lighting (which I find
dull).
>Question #2: Will a bow front, glass or acrylic, leak sooner than a
>rectangle tank?
A quality tank should not leak, period.
Cheers,
Mike
vBulletin® v3.6.4, Copyright ©2000-2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.