Confused with lights

[fishfreak1242]

Ive been a little confused with the types of bulbs out there for a T-5 fixure. There are so many different types like TRUE, 5000K 10000K and Actinics. So far I have no idea what any of these bulbs are except for Actinics. Can someone please explain what all of these different bulbs are?

 

[wangotango]

The type that you want to be using for a reef are high-output (T5ho).
The different Kelvin ratings are basically the color of the light. 3,000K is pretty red and not very nice looking, 10,000K is somewhat yellowish, and the higher you go the bluer the light gets. You want to have a good blend of lower K bulbs like the 10,000K and some other bulbs in the higher range to give you both good growth and color. The actinics are more or less for getting colors to pop.
Hope that helps.
-Justin

 

[fishfreak1242]

Thanks that really helped alot.