Do actinics count towards watts per gallon?

itom37

itom37

Member
I have a nova extreme hood that is 2x54 watt 10,000K and 2x54 watt actinic. Do both count towards my "watts per gallon" as it applies to keeping corals? or do the actinics contribute less in terms of coral health?
Thanks
 
dogstar

dogstar

Active Member
Originally Posted by itom37
I have a nova extreme hood that is 2x54 watt 10,000K and 2x54 watt actinic. Do both count towards my "watts per gallon" as it applies to keeping corals? or do the actinics contribute less in terms of coral health?
Thanks
Actinics contribute very little to the photosynthetic algae that most corals depend on for health and growth...they do great for the reactive/actinic colored chemicals that are in some corals though...
 
jerthunter

jerthunter

Active Member
It has been my experience that they have a significant impact on the growth of corals. Maybe not as much as a 10,000K bulb but they definately help. If you search back in the history you can find people who have done tests growing corals with only actinics.
On a side note, most watts per gallon rules are extremely over generalized.
 
zeroc

zeroc

Member
yeah, pretty much the best way is to just post your tank stats and lighting and then people on here can tell you what you'll be able to keep in general terms. Assuming you have a 55 gallon or smaller you can keep mushrooms, zoos and some LPS.
 
itom37

itom37

Member
Thanks everyone. It is a 55 gallon, and all i've got thus far is zoos, shrooms, a kenya tree, and one lps, green lobo. All are doing well. The green lobo had a problem at first. I had it near the top of my tank because I thought it needed the most light. It was slightly tilted, and after a few weeks the part nearest the light was turning white. I did a bit of reading and guessed that it was getting burned by being too near the light, so I have since moved it down probably 8-10 inches. It's doing much better, and since I started feeding it the color is returning to the bleached parts. The flesh is also regaining its green color (this, too, was lost at its previous position). Can i assume that the lighting it is receiving is adequate since its condition is improving?
 
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