Actinic Blue Light

by **edathome19824077** » Fri Feb 29, 2008 11:38 pm

just reading through the posts! I went into my local LFS to inquire about blue lights! they told me they were no good for freshwater tanks. They told me to go for tropical bulbs or daylight! as they have the right light spectrum for plants! the only thing is i have a jewel light system and the bulbs for my tank are about £30 GBP each. so on their advise i would steer clear of the blue!

by **spongebob4460** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 5:43 am

Hmm i was going thru posts and found this one... i checked my lights, seems i have 50/50 actinic daylight 20w lights... dont seem to have a problem with algae as long as i leave my lights on for 6 hours.. is this the reason i cant leave them on for longer without getting algae issues? I kinda like the color it gives off though, would it be considerably brighter if i replaced the blue with white?

by **prskiller** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 9:20 am

I have the Current Satellite which comes with 2 SunPaq lamps. Each lamp is 65 watt SmartPaq 10,000k Daylight/460nm Actinic. It makes the aquarium very ocean like but if you want to bring out the colors of your fish or light up the plants then the full spectrum light would be better. I will eventually replace my bulbs to the 65 watt 6,700k Daylight but at $30. per bulb I'll wait until these burn out or I win at PCH, lol.

by **spongebob4460** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 8:48 pm

hey prskiller, i have the current satellite as well, but 40w i think... did your unit come with legs to hold it up? and how high off the aquairum top does it sit? Mine came with such low legs that it sits not even an inch off the aquarium top and since my aquarium is acrylic it bent the top cover from the heat. did u have any issues?

by **Peterkarig3210** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 9:16 pm

I've been doing some reading on lights and these people are saying that chlorophyll is chlorophyll, and that the blue color and or actinic light is actually good for plants as well as coral. I bought lights with both daylight and blue combined and haven't had problems with algae due to these lights. I had a problem I now think was caused by too much gunk in my gravel being put into the water with my UGF and too much phosphate, but now things seem to be better, so I don't think it was the lights. The people who were saying that blue was good were not in the aquarium light business so I kind of trust what they're saying. I know I said that this color isn't good before, but now I don't really know. I'll probably buy only daylight plant bulbs when I replace them because I like the warmer light, but I'd like more discussion on this. I leave my 65 watt VHO's on 10 hours a day.

by **Snowboss4492** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 9:30 pm

Sponge - -I have satilite power compact - lights as well - -do your legs slide in a track from one end? {by taking off the end cap} if so I have a set of 4" legs that I would be more thn happy to send you if they will work better for ya- - I built a custom hood and set my light into it so i don't use them

I have to do some reseach on the lighting question Pete - - but it all comes down to spectrum ....... what plants, fish , algaes or anyother organism grows in which band of the specrtum is what will be prominant acording to what level of light you put in the tank - - - thats why we need to change {at least salt tanks} our bulbs at least by anually {yes at 30-50 bucks a pop} because bulbs are generating an artificial form of natural light and therfore break down over time - -they may look the same after 9 months but they are basically pretty night lights with no benifiet to the system.....Boss

by **spongebob4460** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 9:35 pm

Peter, i read this somewhere...

"However if nitrates are kept low, high phosphate levels will not create algae growth. Without nitrates there will be no algae growth no matter how high the phosphate concentration."

How high were your nitrates during the algae issue?

by **miami754** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 10:08 pm

I am sorry to disagree with an earlier post in this thread, but actinic bulbs are not good at all for plant growth and will encourage algae growth in a FW aquarium. The spectrum of an actinic bulb is very poor at encouraging plant growth. Meanwhile, algae are a whole lot more adept at using "poor" lighting than regualr plants. Therefore, by using an actinic bulb, you are providing very minimal gain to your plants and providing a light source that algae can use. This is why it is bad. I would suggest switching the actinic with a bulb that has the proper spectrum for plant growth, but that is just me.

by **Peterkarig3210** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 10:18 pm

I heard that actinic is 420 nanometers and that plants can use this light. Why do corals like this and not plants? As for the age of the bulbs, I understand that they wear out after 6-10 months. I'll try to find the article that says actinic light is good for coral as well as plants so we can talk specifially about what plants need vs coral..

by **saltwaterpimp** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 10:20 pm

planted tank post http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com ... hting.html

Actinic Blue Light

52 posts • Page 2 of 6

Actinic Blue Light

52 posts • Page 2 of 6