Which VHO Bulbs?

[tigershark]

I would like to have all types of corals in my tank but am not sure which bulb combination I should use. I can hold 4 VHO bulbs in my fixture. I remember reading somewhere that 2 of the following work great but cant remember which ones... Can anyone help me? Actinic White, Super Actinic or AquaSun. These are all URI Fluorescent Light Bulbs (VHO)

 

[saltyrich]

I'd do 2 super actinic blues for sure. I have 2 blues, 1 aquasun and a 50/50 white actinic. I really like it. Bang Guy swears by 2 blues and 2 aquasuns. I think I'll try that when I switch. If you've been around the board, you've really got to respect his reasoning about salt tanks. He always pumps out excellent info. Just my thoughts. Definately stick with URI bulbs though. The internal reflectors are superior.

 

[slick]

2 super actinics and 1 10,000k and last 50/50

 

[mlm]

I also use URI bulbs and have 2 110 watt aquasuns and 1 110 watt actinic and 2 55watt actinic PCs

 

[tigershark]

Well if Bang Guy is around, does that sound like the best combo to use 2 blues and 2 aquasuns? I am guessing that the Super Actinic are the blues?

 

[bang guy]

To tell you the truth, it's mostly for the appearance and that's just your personal preference.
Actinic can better penetrate water so it's slightly better at geting to the bottom of the tank. It's also "photosynthetically yummy", to use a phrase from Eric Borneman, but most research has proven that coral can modify their pigmentation to take best advantage of any available visible light.
There are small differences in the amount of useable light (PAR) from the different bulbs, but I do not believe them to be significant differences. The best for the corals would probably be all AquaSuns but it would not be that aesthetically pleasing, at least not to me.
Me? I use half SuperActinic and half AquaSun. I like the SuperActinics a lot and the AquaSun bulbs have superior output for about two years so I save money using them.

 

[tigershark]

Thanks for the input! I ordered 2 aquasun and 2 super actinic bulbs. I think I would like the blue look. By 2 years, do you mean that the bulbs have lasted that long or you have had that look for 2 years?

 

[starfishjackedme]

On my 55 and 200 i run half Super Actinics and the other half are the Actinic White (50/50) bulbs. The look is perfect IMO, not too much daylight, not too much blue. I haven't tried the Aquasun bulbs though.

 

[bang guy]

Originally posted by TigerShark
Thanks for the input! I ordered 2 aquasun and 2 super actinic bulbs. I think I would like the blue look. By 2 years, do you mean that the bulbs have lasted that long or you have had that look for 2 years?
I replace my SuperActinic every year and the AquaSun every 2 years on a rotating basis. When I used ActinicWhite I replaced them after 1 year. By rotating basis I mean I replace one AquaSun every 8 months and one Actinic every 4 months. I have 3 of each bulb and NEVER change more than one bulb in the same month.
Before I found IceCap ballasts I was replacing every bulb after about 6 months. Heat kills the Phosphors in flourescent bulbs! Keep them as cool as possible using an electronic ballast and they will last much longer.

 

[richard rendos]

I like the look of 2 actinics and 2 aquasuns myself.