Actinic lighting

[Veni vidi vici]

Hi all,
Is Actinic lighting by itself enough light for lets say zoanthid,shrooms...?
TIA

[mbbuna]

actinic lighting is more for us then our corals ;)

[Veni vidi vici]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10540488#post10540488 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mbbuna
actinic lighting is more for us then our corals ;)
so you would dissagree with this article .
"To provide zooxanthellae with the proper wavelengths of light for photosynthesis, different bulbs have been developed to mimic sunlight filtered through different depths of water. As light penetrates water, different wavelengths with different "energies" will penetrate to varying depths. Red light (630-780 nm) penetrates to about 15 m, while blue light (420-490 nm) goes as deep as 250 m. So, it is not surprising that most zooxanthellae have evolved to absorb light best at 420 nm in the blue range. This has led to development of fluorescent bulbs that emit light primarily at this peak: Actinic 03-type bulbs. While you could use all actinic lighting on a reef, you may find the result disappointing. (Our eyes do not perceive blue light as very bright, and find yellow light more aesthetically pleasing.) "

[theatrus]

A few actinics would be plenty for mushrooms though. I wouldn't do zoaanthids under them though - they do like bright light.

[mbbuna]

the amount of par that a setup of all actinic bulbs puts out will be very low. actinic fluorescent bulbs are very focused in there spectrum, not all zooxanthellae will react favorably to the same light. they all have there own spectral preferences and there not all at 420nm

this sentence was just a few down from what you linked "Most reefs work best with a 1:1 ratio of actinic to full spectrum bulbs."

from here http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=16&cat=1789&articleid=2388

in a standard 75gal tank (as you have listed in your sig) you would have to keep your corals very close to the top and the lights very close to the water.

[Mavrk]

The tank would look too blue with just actinic anyway. Most of us use a mixture of actinic and whiter light (I use 10kK)

[Veni vidi vici]

so i should definately use the mixture of actinic 04 and at least a 10k daylight for optimal lighting ? i am only asking this because the freebee 29 gal tank i have only has T-8 light fixture with only the actinic 04 in it at the moment and i kinda like the way it looks even though the tank is empty at the moment.
BTW thanx for the information so far

[schoch79]

Yeah I would agree that the best light would be a mixture of both. I too have read something similar to what you read and although it may be true in some cases 10K lights do have more par and heck, have you ever seen a "professional" reef setup? I've only ever seen the best reef tanks with a mix of lights and not just actinics. Why not stick with the tried and true?

[RickySan]

Im still new to this hobby and have only had my 20g tank running for a few months. I have six T-5 bulbs, with four bulbs as a mixture day,act,day,act. In addition I love the actinic as well and have the other two strips with just actinics. I find that this allows plenty of daylights and the actinics are just as sufficient.

[trigger05]

The whole sale place i work at keeps all their zoos under only actinic T-5's, however, there is some outdoor light too

[mbbuna]

wholesale, as in there in one day and out the next.

[Veni vidi vici]

do they make a 18" T8 20k daylight.and if they do is it as blue as the MH bulbs?

[Veni vidi vici]

never mind i just found them,only question are they on the blue tint side?

[rickh]

I use about 80% actinic and 20% daylight, the coral are very happy, so am I. :)