best actinic bulb? 420 or 460nm

[nitrofish]

im trying to decide on my replacement bulbs. anyone got any feedback on the different colors?

 

[Troubleman]

I've been experimenting with both lately and found the "03" (420nm I believe) flouresce the sps 10 fold over the "blue" actinics....like having a blacklite bulb over the tank when the mh's aren't on.......I also have a set of the "blue" on a switch in case I want a 20k look.

bob

 

[nitrofish]

other than aesthetics, is there any benefit to actinic's?

 

[smcnally]

I like the Actinic03's too. Jeff, from what I've read, it is just for aesthetics.

 

[Troubleman]

I run 10k mh's........for the corals(faster growth).....I run the 03's for me(pleasing color to the eye).

bob

 

[this is me]

I agree for the most part that it's for looks, but if you have it on say an hour or two before and after your main light, it simulates the dawn and dust effect in the wild.

 

[nitrofish]

I think ill go with the 03's then. thanks

 

[jebar777]

i love my 420's. great color in the morning

 

[jacqur]

Jeff,

03 VHOs at my place. Really amplifies the greens and blues. Makes some guys phosphoresce.

 

[pavster]

I've experimented with both, and I found that they both fluoresce certain corals; just a different set for each. The 420 seems to really bring out the greens and the blues, while the 460 brings out the reds.

Also I found that the choice will depend on the color of your main lighting. I tried running 420s with 10k MH (probably lower in reality), and I didn't like the look -- it was not balanced -- just a bunch of yellow and a bunch of purple. The 460s looked good in that case though -- whitenened things up nicely.

With 14k MH (Phoenix, actually higher), the 460s do nothing. The 420s really bring out the colors without creating a disbalanced look.

Bulbs are cheap; I say experiment yourself!

-pavel.