Lights MH vs T5's when it comes to actinic.

I have a 10 Gallon tank that I want to light. I don't care about anything else other than actinic lighting. I've used T5's before and I love them and I'm used to their actinic output and I know what that looks like. But I've never seen MH's bluer colors.

If I get a 20K MH bulb how will that look compared to a super blue actinic T5? I want the zoos I put in there to floures and I don't have a budget for both MH's and PC's/T5's. And damn it,,,,,,,,,, it's just a 10Gal tank. Someone please answer I'm anxious..... lol

 

Oh what kind of growth can I expect with just 1 MH running 20K? For Zoo's and Shrooms that is.

 

20,000K is not actinic. Im pretty sure you cant get actinic with MH's.

 

+2
If you want Actinics then try some VHO Super Actinics URI bulbs. They have reflectors built into the lights.

 

What OTTY said,, T-5 can't get close ..to light and color

 

Tang T5's can't get close to what? To MH's?

 

mh question

i just bought a mh 250watts 20k its too much white i need more of blue which one have more blue 10k or 15k bulb. i want my live rocks darker in color see more of the purple algae

 

20000k is going to be the bluest bulb you can get...you cannot get an actinic halide bulb. 15000k bulb will show more blue than a 10000k bulb, though different companies bulbs will be diffeent than the next, from what I have witnessed. I have a Coralife 10000k halide bulbe that is more blue than the Hamilton 14000k bulb.

 

I would like to take this opportunity to point out that there is no such thing as 20000k light in nature.20,000k light is purely for the edification of the aquarist and does absolutly nothing for the tank.Study after study has shown that the best coral growth occurs at 6500k,why then would anyone want to put 20000k bulbs over there tank?By the way sun is 5745k at high noon on a cloudless day on the equator.
Using URI bulbs for t5 vho creates sufficient par for coral growth down to 29 inch's.And they are both measurably and visably brighter than a 250 watt mh when placed the same distance above the measuring point compared to 240 watts of t5 vho.

Sadly there are no 12 or 18 inch t5 bulbs designed for aquarium use known to me.You can get them at lowes but they are under counter lighting or for make up mirrors.

 

Unless you have ran different K values bulbs with different corals for a long term then you won't no what corals do better under one bulb does not suit all corals thats why corals are found at different depth and take one SPS from say natural sunlight and compare it to a coral from the very same parent colony the one that was under the VHO actanics and the 14 or 20 K bulbs will have far different colorations and just look much nicer . So I'll stick whith the 14 K of the brand I use with VHO actaincs .. I do not pay much attention to studies show me one saying one thing I'll show you two saying the opposite. But if these light experts had ever dove on a reef then they would see what water does to the 55 to 6 K of the natural sun.. Corals know the difference..