No one using Pure Actinic?

[Toolmandan]

So i just got a 8bulb ati fixture and im trying to figure out what bulb combo to run. in all that i have read it seems that no one is using pure actinic....... if it just not worth the bulb or what are the pros and cons of the actinic?

thanks for the help

Dan

 

[ronnie]

I run four blue plus, two AB specials, and two actinics.

 

[The Kahnasaur]

The pure actinic will show of the fluorescence a lot but offer significantly less par(if any). I only have a 4 bulb fixture so I don't want to sacrifice the par levels for one. I use to have one and I loved the colors it brought out but I'm getting better growth with an extra blue+ in its spot. If I had 8 bulbs I'd bring one back. If you use it and run a white bulb with it (AB special) you might not even notice it.

 

[Ligershark]

my 8 bulb sunpower has 5 blue plus, 1 purple plus, 1 coral plus, 1 actinic

 

[jeremy]

I run 3 blue plus 3 true actinic and a blue reef Brite on a 40 breeder LPS tank. Good color and growth. If I remember correctly Jason fox runs all true actinic with blue reef Brite on some of his frag tanks.

 

[Waters]

I think it is all about preference more than anything else....I have seen very successful reef tanks running nothing but blues. IMO, I don't like the look of strictly blues and need the other colors to bring out the colors of the fish.

 

[CoralClark]

ATI 6 bulb, 4 blue+, 1 actinic, 1 purple+, love it!

 

[FoD]

The ATI Actinic lamp provides very good PAR numbers. Less than a daylight lamp, but not "next to none". Just cause it doesn't look bright doesn't mean it provides less usable light.

 

[CoralClark]

The ATI Actinic lamp provides very good PAR numbers. Less than a daylight lamp, but not "next to none". Just cause it doesn't look bright doesn't mean it provides less usable light.

Well put!

 

[Aqua fire/medic]

6 bulb here. 3 blue + 2 coral + 1 actinic

 

[-Logzor]

The pure actinic will show of the fluorescence a lot but offer significantly less par(if any). I only have a 4 bulb fixture so I don't want to sacrifice the par levels for one. I use to have one and I loved the colors it brought out but I'm getting better growth with an extra blue+ in its spot. If I had 8 bulbs I'd bring one back. If you use it and run a white bulb with it (AB special) you might not even notice it.

While this has been the school of thought for many years, I am beginning to disagree that the PAR loss is a problem. Over the past year I've been running half pure actinics in my T5 fixture with great color and good growth.

 

[ronnie]

I agree with logzor. Another point to make is that a lot of times we overdo it with PAR anyways (or certain spectra - like all blues or too many whites), so the actinics give a good balance of a different spectrum and provide needed PAR in certain wavelengths that aren't present in blue or white bulbs.

 

[-Logzor]

What I ended up doing is running 4 Pure Actinic, 2 blue+, and 1 White Bulb. Everything balanced out really well! Keep in mind I also run two Reefbrite XHO Blue strips.

What I really like most about this combo is that it pops the colors without overdoing the blue. I previously ran almost all blue bulbs, while this looks neat, some corals were so washed out in blue you couldn't really tell what color they were.

 

[ronnie]

How deep is your tank? I'm curious what kind of punch you get with that combo.

 

[-Logzor]

My tank is 24" deep. I used to keep the fixture about 8" above the tank but a ballast blew out so I lost 2 of my actinic bulbs! Now I have it practically on top of the aquarium until I get that fixed...

Most SPS grow fine on the bottom unless they are being directly shaded.