Originally Posted by agoutihead
i think im going to do MH 20k for the daytime and then for night time i want actinics.
are all t5's actinics? or are VHO'S actinic? and is the t5 for the day time lighting?
im confused in this aspect of reef lighting.
ill try to take a stab at this. flourescent lighting (power compacts, VHO, and T5) are available as actinics, or in other daylight spectrums like 10k 12k etc. metal halides just come in a variety of colors (6500k-20k). now a 20k halide will be pretty much all blue, so there really isnt any point inadding any kinda of actinics. now if you wanted halides you could go with say 10 or 12k bulbs with some sort of an actinics supplement (pc, vho, t5) and it will give you a nice crisp white look and you will be able to shut the halides off at night and leave the actinics on. T5 are just as good as halides in most cases if you get the right setup. the run cooler, and are more energy efficent. good brands of T5 fixtures are aquactinics and tek. hope that helps.
-Justin