Help with bulbs

The 420/460 bulb is good for the blue. 420 is actinic, 460 is blue. The LED has very little PAR and I think it would be overpowered by the T5HO anyway so don't bother with it.

 

Getting ready to order the fixture which will come with a 10k bulb, 2 420/460 bulbs, and 1 460/620bulb.

I am still a little confused because you mentioned a blue and a purple will do good for color but the 10k for growth. If I did a blue and a purple and left out the 10k would it make my tank really dark and blue and only provide good fluorescence from the corals but do very little for their growth??

If needed I would gladly purchase another bulb separately to provide the best color and growth with a dual bulb fixture. Marineandreef also sells a Giesemann PowerChrome 15K AquaBlue or a WavePoint T5 HO Sun Wave 12000K Super Daylight.

I know you are limited with a dual bulb fixture, I want the look of a nice light blue tank but also provide the best growth and colors for the corals. I am 99% decided on a Aquaticlife linkable T5HO dual fixture for a softies/lps tank but if you think I should go with something else or another manufacturer I am open to suggestions.

 

Most blue and purple bulbs will not limit growth. Actinic will though. The other bulbs you mentioned would be good replacement bulbs.

 

So would a blue and a purple bulb make the tank really dark deepsea blue?

 

There would be a very good chance.

 

so what kind of combo should I go with to provide good growth and coral colors while having the tank appear as a light blue color? maybe the blue actinic and the 15k??