T5s Q&A

Yeah it does I was thinking of using 4 10k and 4 Actinic blue.

 

Question about bulb color. I understand that 50/50 is 12000K and 75/25 is 14000K. I understand that 420nm is true actinic. I read in a thread not too long ago that someone considered 460nm a daylight bulb. Is 20000K as blue as the daylight bulbs get? Or is that the maximum blue thus = 420ng = true actinic? This one has confused me for awhile.

TIA.......John.

 

im not sure i understand the question completely, but daylight is just a word we prob use to describe a full spectrum. the diff. in blue vs actinic is the 20k give off mostly blue spectrum and the actinic gives off mostly violet.
and "daylight" would give off a full spectrum, on the uvl actinic white its something like 25%actinic/25% blue / 16%red, something like that.
so were the line is drawn to call something daylight is prob just a personal opinion.

if i was way off on what u wanted sorry.

 

dana riddle has done some nice writing on how corals and there colors react to diff spectrums.

 

John, I also am a little confused at your post.... IME most people call white lamps daylight, whether they are 6,700k or 14,000k. To me I guess I would agree, in all simplicity a WHITE lamp would be a daylight lamp, but if you want to be a purist then a 6700k lamp would be a DAYLIGHT lamp and the others would be a "bluer" version daylight.
What most people consider actinic is NOT actinic. When people say actinic they picture a blue lamp, this is not actinic, this is blue. Actinic is a violet lamp, if you have seen a Giesemann True Actinic you will see what I mean. There are other manufactors that are making actinic lamps as well, not just blue lamps.

I guess your question would be, is 20,000k as blue as it gets before it is an actinic lamp? If so the answer would be no, it can get as blue as an Actinic+ or Blue+, sorry for you UVL guys, I don't know what lamp they have that is actually blue, aside from the new one they making, I wanna say its called 454 or something like that.
420 is not maximum blue, it would be a maximum violet or purple whatever you would like to call it....

Sorry if this isn't really hitting the nail on the head John, but honestly I must be reading this in a different way than you meant it to be.

Happy lighting!

 

Guitarman here is the email from Chris @SLS hope this helps.
Hi Joe,

We only made 100 of these, I don’t have any more in stock. The finish on it is more like an automotive finish with a clear coat over the blue powder coat. It also has a 98% reflective aluminum reflector. They are a very nice looking fixture but if someone is looking for one they should call ahead to anyone that says they have it because I’m not aware of anyone still having them in stock

 

i have a chance to get a sunblaze 4' 8 bulb fixture for really cheap. here's a link to an identical one i found on ebay. will this be ok for lighting my 6' 125? if i wind up getting this it will hang about 5" from the water surface in my canopy, i'm planning to keep the tank a fowlr for the time being but would like the option to upgrade the bulbs later to possibly keep some beginner corals.

thanks for any help

~Will.

 

Has anybody used the 60" 80 watt t5 ho bulbs yet? I'm getting a new tank, thinking bit bigger than a 48 but don't really want the upkeep of a 6 foot tank. I'm looking at oceanic 156 ultra 60x24x27 with starphire glass. If I can get 60" t5 fixtures, I'll probably go for it. I see that Tek has 60" retro kits, but no tek fixtures yet. Lets see.. 8x80 watts would be 640 watts of t5 lighting on 156 gallons. Would be awesome. Won't need halides.

 

hi Burgerchow, Im using 6 x 80 watt 5ft (60 inch) T5s at present
I have aquamedic (availability) but can now get Geiseman so may use them in near future

I really like the light output from 6 x 80 watt tubes

Steve

 

Try Reefgeek.com; I believe they sell 60" ATI T5HO fixtures.