actinics vs t5

[ttboys]

I am in need of refurbishing my 72 in actinic , halide fixture, new bulbs 1ballast led moonlights and fans,, almost a 300 dollar bill, Is there a big difference between actins vs t5,, if so I would rather invest money into t5-halide combo, thank you

[Guygettnby]

T5 is a type of bulb. Example for you would be this. I run 2 250w halides with 4 54w T5 bulbs. 2 of my 4 T5 bulbs are actinic and the other 2 are blue plus. Actinic is simply the spectrum so to speak.

Take a look on www.reefgeek.com under the T5 bulb section. There they will list each bulb and most have a graph showing the spectrum of light each bulb provides.

Hope that helps some. I'm half asleep here :lol:

[ttboys]

not sure this helps,, I guess what I have are 96w dual actinics, power compacks, I guess?
are these the same as t5?

[Guygettnby]

not sure this helps,, I guess what I have are 96w dual actinics, power compacks, I guess?
are these the same as t5?

Ok, an actinic bulb is an actinic bulb, regardless if it is power compact, T5, Led, VHO or other.

Now, that is not to say that all bulbs are made equal so to speak. They are all made different and some like others better. Usually a dual actinic power compact bulb has 1 side that is blue and one side that is more purple. Just a dual spectrum bulb combined into one bulb.

T5 IMHO are a better bulb in general then power compacts for several reasons. It all depends on what kind of tank you have and what kind of live stock you are trying to keep.

Why not give some more info about your tank and what kind of equipment you are running? Maybe that will help me explain a bit better then I have.

[ttboys]

guygettnby I do appreciate your help.My main goal is to upgrade if cost of rebuilding my current lighting becomes to high, what I have is a coralife 72" compact/halide combo 4 34"dual compact 96w one blue other half white.3 150w halides,, four led moonlights ,,now looking at about 300$ to replace bulbs ballast leds and at least one halide bulb,,
My thought is to upgrade to t5/halide ,, if they are at all any better than compacts,,
Which is probably what I am going to do,,,, thanks for your reply again I do appreciate it

[ttboys]

And my 150 gal tank is mosty lps,, and hoping to move into a few sps thanks again

[Geoffwehler]

I have a similar fixture available. Pm'd you details.

[Geoffwehler]

BTW...$300 sounds cheap for (5) ballasts and (7) bulbs and some LEDs.