T5 460's blowout

Well my fixture is 60 days old and the 460nm attinics won't turn on, after calling current and testing the other two bulbs (10000k) in the other sockets they work so the attinics took a crap at the same time. I really don't want to replace them with current bulbs so before ordering them online I decided to call around locally, I found one LFS that has two 420nm attinics so I guess my question is is it better to run 2 460nm or 2 420nm?

also I didn't relize how yellow the 10000k bulbs were until the attinics weren't on with them.

 

after calling current and calling petmountain the bulbs are under warrenty, but they are back ordered until the 17th of this month.

will my corals be ok with just 2 10000k running for a couple of weeks?

 

They should be ok, just keep an eye on them. As for the 460 vs. 420, it really depends on what look you want. I believe the 460s are bluer while the 420 is more violet, although I may have them switched.

 

I read an article (don't remember name of it now) that said all actinics are basically the same when it comes to corals. Not sure if it's true but made me feel better.

 

you have it right. the higher the number the bluer the color

no they dont really matter to corals if it is 460 or 420. they dont use the actinic. however actinic is very important to coralina (sp)

 

well I am totally confused now, I read the sticky on the lighting page about attinics (and other bulbs) and some people say the attinics benifit the zooalgae inside the coral. I'm am trying to get 4 bulbs now and I was thinking 2 14000k and 2 true attinics but I am a little confused mabey I should just go with 3 14000k and one attinic? if corals don't benefit from the attinics whats the point in having them?

 

That will be a very blue look, if that is what you are going for, then great, but if not, then I would consider maybe a 12,000k or 10000k

 

I see what you mean so
I just want to make sure these bulbs would do good for my corals so I figured
2 UVL 460nm actinics with, 1 UVL 12000K daylights ans 1 uvl 10000k
I know the 10000k is more of a yellow the only thing is the 12000k considered a day bulb because it has some attinic in it?

 

i had this combo 150w mh 14k and 2x39w t5 actinic and it looked great. i have two 10k t5 and 2x t5 actinic, and i dont think i like it...

the actinic may help with the zooalgae. that i am not 100% sure about. but the spectrum of the actinic will not affect coral growth like a 10k to a 14k spectrum. for ex. if your white bulbs blow out, you can keep the corals alive for a couple of day on just actinics. not to mention the actinic light is what makes the coral pop;D