Would you change from VHO Super Actinics to T5 Blue+

[wfgworks]

I have a PFO hood with 3x250 BLV/USHIO 14K DE bulbs and VHO Super actinics.

I was wondering if it would be worth converting over to T5s (Blue Plus)?

Would having more of a Blue spectrum help with corals that need more of a blue bulb?

My only complaint is that my tank has this a little pink/purple cast from the super actinic.

If you guys dont think its worth the upgrade, please tell me so. I was planning of doing the conversion next week.

[aurorafish]

If you do it it will be for you, your corals could care less about actinics.

[swashbuckler]

no dont do it- unless you wanna try URI's new promised actinic t-5, otherwise your just wasting time and money

[wfgworks]

See, I thought I could try the T5 blue plus and if I didnt like it, I could switch to URI new T5 actinic when it came out.

Its just doing the conversion means not going back because it requires an overhaul of the hood.

I thought T5 was the way many people were going these days. Has that changed?

[swashbuckler]

well, i think a smart move would be to wait until the URI t-5 comes out, see what people say about it, including comparisons to the t-12, THEN go for it if you so choose....im in the same boat! :D playing the waiting game.

[Horace]

You dont want to go to T5 because of the actinic. You go to T5 because they put out more PAR and because they are more efficient. VHO is the best actinic out there.

And btw...Corals DO care about actinic. Corals will not color up as well as they would if you had the proper spectrums of light. Most corals are naturally deep enough so they get substantial amounts of blue light. It is a falicy that actinics dont matter at all. Infact I would wager that if you had a tank full of pure blue+ your corals would still grow a decent amount.

[twkenny]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6598093#post6598093 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Horace
You dont want to go to T5 because of the actinic. You go to T5 because they put out more PAR and because they are more efficient. VHO is the best actinic out there.

And btw...Corals DO care about actinic. Corals will not color up as well as they would if you had the proper spectrums of light. Most corals are naturally deep enough so they get substantial amounts of blue light. It is a falicy that actinics dont matter at all. Infact I would wager that if you had a tank full of pure blue+ your corals would still grow a decent amount.

I could not agree with Horace more. T5 actinics that are currently available are pretty poor compared to URI (or whoever they are now) actinics.
The LFS I help out at occasioanlly has a 75 with only actinics over it right now, and it is doing very well. Leathers and shrooms are growing just fine. Looks kinda weird though....like you're waiting for the sun to come up or something!

[Tomzpc]

Stick with the URI. You'll see much less flourescence out of your corals if you make the switch.

[JoshHarpst]

what are these URI T-5 bulbs that everyone is talking about? I just purchased a T-5 fixture and need to purchase the bulbs next, any idea of where i should purchase them from and which bulbs i should get? It's a 6X54 fixture.

THanks

!Josh

[jgoodrich71]

URI is a brand of bulb that has been a staple of reef aquariums for a number of years now. They are working on T5 that I have heard in other threads will be out in a few months, but they are not out yet.

[Ti]

keep your VHO

[raddogz]

I agree with the above posts. I have the Aquablue + and it ain't that blue compared to the URI actinics.

I am contemplating going with the URI vho's on my new setup vs. T-5's

[Entropy]

I would keep your VHO. If you want to play with the T5's, add them to what you already have. :) You might want to think abou switching to 10k halides. That will take away a lot of the blue/purple and make the VHO's much less noticable.

[wfgworks]

Would corals that need more blue benefit more from a Blue+ bulb or is the VHO?

I ran T5s about 2 years ago and I dont remember the Blue+ bulb being as bad as everyone is making it out to be. I understand it doesnt flourescence as well as VHO but is it that big of a difference?

I recently added a round of frags that have lots of blue or green.

The MH bulb I'm running is like a 10K. The new Ushio/BLV is pretty much a pure white bulb. Nothing like Phoenix 14K where it has alot of blue in it.

[Obi-dad]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and don't confuse T5 actinics with blue+ (all agree the T5 actinic is not great color). But I much prefer the color of the T5 Blue+ 'blue' color to the URI VHO 'purple/pink' color. Just personal preference. In my case partly based on snorkeling I have done, where I have seen plenty of real reefs with blue coloration, and zero reefs with pink/purple coloration. I do agree that the URI VHO fluorescence is cool looking, just the look I want.

[swashbuckler]

yes i have to agree with obi-dad, blue+ is definitely far more natural, more suitable for the ideal deep reef look, however, the color of the bulb fell prone to what i call "white syndrome" when i gazed at the tank too long, the blue color vanished, and everything became whiteish, or real light blue.

when i looked at my yellow room light, and back at the tank, it became blue again.. its an eye "white balance" thing

however, the VHO's never become "white", they remaind deep in color..which is a great quality...however, they arent "very" natural.

sorry for all the "qoutes" :D

[twkenny]

My main issue with the URI VHO's is that in an even combination, say 2 super actinic and 2 white, the tank looks very pink to me. The daylight bulb was even worse IMO.

[wfgworks]

^

[David Grigor]

You guys totally loose me with you say the VHO Actinic looks pink.

Nothing but purple to me.

I personally don't like the Blue+ especially when side by side with actinics to compare with. Blue+ to me changes the way the corals look while the actinics just add that little flouresce to them without a major color shift. Also point out I don't like the Phoenix 14ks and many of the MH 20Ks for the same reasons so take it for what it's worth.

[wfgworks]

David Grigor

The VHO super actinic is a Purple bulb (420nm). I think thats why people say purple/pink but more purple to me. JMO

[Fliger]

I personally have kept great color on blue/purple/green SPS and I attribute some of it to T5 Blue Plus. I have a 150G, I run only two 80W T5 B+ for 12H and two 250W DE 14.5K for 4 hours. My SPS look great and grow pretty quickly.

If you can do both, that's what I'd do. Invincible was the first person I saw using both T5B+ and URI-SA, with great results. If I could do the same, I would, but I don't have a canopy for it. I think optimally you'd do both.

I never attributed TRUE coloration to URI, but I definitely do with the B+. URI did fluoresce my LPS a little more, but when I'm in my 2x80W T5 photoperiod, my tank looks pretty darn cool still. ;-)

[wfgworks]

I dont think I can do both. Being its a PFO hood, space is limited.

If I had an open hood using Pendents or something with more space, I would do both.

[phishlet]

Keep your VHO's for sure.

I currently have VHO actinics and ATI Blue Plus lamps over my 125 and the VHO's are more powerful and better looking.

[twkenny]

Your tank must look very blue. The blue plus bulbs are "sort" of an alternative to T5 actinics. Put a daylight or an Aquablue in there and you may have a different opinion.

[dannieboiz]

so what did you decide? I need to make some decissions too.:confused:

[G-money]

I think its the 50/50s that add the pink look. Even one 50/50 with 3 actinics does look too pink to me.

Actinics aren't just for looks. That is an incorrect statement. They put out in the major photosynthetic spectrum (420nm give or take).
Granted they don't have the PAR to maintain most SPS on their own, but they definitely put out light that corals can use.

[wfgworks]

I have another week to decide but right now I think I might make the switch to T5s.

Many people these days with big tanks are doing a combo a 10k and 20k bulbs to get both spectrums. I really dont want to run 6 MH on my 180, so I think having the BLV 14K which is as bright/white as a 10K and adding a Blue Plus to mimic a 20K bulb since it hits the 450nm will be a nice look for my eye and the corals.

[Grandfinale03]

I see on drsfostersmith.com some T-5 Bulbs that are new and are actinic. They are made by Current
T-5 HO Actinic SlimPaq 420nm Fluorescent Tubes is the exact bulb.
Are they any good compared to the VHO actinics?

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

URI daylight bulbs are aweful...replace them with Coralife 10K(srisp white) and use URI Super actinics.......not T5's
-JMO

[Codeman00]

Grandfinale, there isn't a T5 actinic on the market that comes close to comparing with the URI VHO Super Actinic. Yes there are T5 actinics..but that doesn't mean they're worth anything. Do a search here on RC...I have never read anything good about them.

The new URI T5 actinic might be something worth looking into in a couple of months though.