Actinic bulbs?

Hey there I think I may be upgrading to actinic lighting. I dont have any coral yet, but I do want to get some in the future. At the moment I'm using a fluorescent bulb, can I use only the actinic bulb or do I need to have something else in conjunction with it? Is their any particular model I should look for, what are the prices I should expect? Wattage matter? I also want that blue tint that these lights are known for as they extenuate the entire tank's look.

 

Do you just have a 1 bulb fixture? If so you'll want to get at least a 2 bulb fixture, antics are a supplemental type bulb you'll still need a daylight bulb too.

 

yes it's just a 1 bulb setup here is a picture of it:

 

If you only have 1 bulb, an actinic won't be a "hint" of blue. It'll be a solid blue tank.

 

thats what im afraid of...

what should i do?

 

Look on craigslist or go to your LFS or look on one of our sponsors here on 3reef...i would recommend atleast a 2 buld if not a 4 bulb system if you want any kind of reef...

 

Single bulbs are good enough for freshwater tanks because they dont need the different wavelengths of lights...reefs are a WHOLE different story...stay tuned im writing up an article on lighting and morphs that you should be interested in...should have it up tomorrow

 

I think you should do some research into the type of coral that you want to keep, that way you only buy the lighting once, I have already had to upgrade my lights once, and Im thinking of upgrading again to metal halides.

You can probably get a nice T5 lighting fixture for a good price at one of you LFS

 

If you stay fish only it will be fine, but if you plan on having corals anytime you'll want to upgrade to at least a good t5 fixture.