Nanocustoms 3.24 for 14g Biocube

[onionbagle]

I am looking to get this upgrade but I don't know which light to choose.
10000K Daylight or Nanocustoms 5050- 10K/Actinic Blue?

I would like to hear from people who have done this upgrade and how they like their choice.

[Justinandkrista]

I think it needs more actinic light to color it up a bit. But the corals would like the daylight bulb more.

[onionbagle]

Currently with the stock lighting my pulsing xenia do not pulse much. My main concern is the 50/50 won't have enough power to help with the pulsing. Although I don't like sacrificing the blue either... Decisions Decisions.

Any other feedback is appreciated. Thanks!

[Psychojam]

Do the lights have anything to do with the pulsing of xenia?

[Mark426]

50/50 or Actinic. I would go with Actinic.

My nanocube when i had PC's looked best with 2 50/50 and 1 Actinic.

[NewFish3]

I got the 50/50 from nanoturners. I love it. It looks awesome. Plus the heat isn't so bad..

[HaKs310]

I got this retrofit today but didnt have a chance to install because I had to head to work. Chose the Actnic bulb, I'll post pics when I install it, Before and after.

[onionbagle]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12581719#post12581719 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Psychojam
Do the lights have anything to do with the pulsing of xenia?

From what I have read light intensity can play a part. Currently my water parameters are spot on so I didn't think that was an issue. Also all the fast pulsing xenia I have viewed were under a Metal Halid bulb which is much brighter than stock bio-cube lighting.

Below is what I googled and a link to reference it.
issue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . suggested points to investigate:

never pulses ----------------------->species, light intensity, water clarity, low alkalinity
pulses periodically ---------------->unstable water chemistry. activated carbon. additives.
stopped pulsing-------------------->temperature too high/low. low ORP. aggression.
detached from base--------------->algae overgrowth. physical damage or aggression. infection.
loss of polyps----------------------->parasitic macro-organism. fish population. aggression.
colony loss/melted----------------->coral mix / allelopathy. disease. stress from shipping.

Reference (http://www.reeflounge.com/showthread.php?t=19384)

[onionbagle]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12582539#post12582539 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by HaKs310
I got this retrofit today but didnt have a chance to install because I had to head to work. Chose the Actnic bulb, I'll post pics when I install it, Before and after.
Before and after pictures would be great!

[HaKs310]

Will do. Just printed out the instructions here at work. Hope I dont go and mess something up while installing it.

[Psychojam]

Thanks for the info. Xenia can really tell you a lot about your tank. My Xenia have always pulsed just fine with the stock BC14 lighting.

[onionbagle]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12583090#post12583090 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Psychojam
Thanks for the info. Xenia can really tell you a lot about your tank. My Xenia have always pulsed just fine with the stock BC14 lighting.

Yea after re-reading that link I plan on double checking my parameters. I still plan on getting the 3.24 upgrade just to brighten things up.

[El Camaron]

I just upgraded my lights to 4.36 lights and my corals seem happy. My Xenia pulses more than it did before and the new GBTA still finding his spot but looks happy.

[HaKs310]

Actinic & 10K Before:
http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn136/richaks310/100_3017.jpg


Both Actnics & 10K After:
http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn136/richaks310/100_3021.jpg


I tried getting a shot of just actinics but camera couldn't capture it.

[onionbagle]

HaKs310,

Thanks for the pictures it really helps. I can definitely see more blue in the second one.

Looks like you have a palm tree in the reflection there. Hope the weather is nice!

[HaKs310]

No problem. Both actnics should still blue up a little as they're still breaking in. The picture actually makes it seem a tad bluer than it really is. May I suggest you get the actinic bulb, I'm sure you would also be happy with it.

Weather is beautiful right now. Low 70s with a nice ocean breeze.

[onionbagle]

At first I was leaning towards the 10k bulb simply to make my corals happier.

Happy corals are still a concern for me but I definately like the blue color so I think I will go for the middle ground with the 50/50.

I really appreciate everyones responses. Thanks all.