Actinic Lighting

[wildernet]

Does anybody know what the difference or if there is a difference between Blue actinic and Actinic .03 bulbs. I need to replace 2 55w bulbs and I am running in to these two different types.

[bamann345]

This is coppied from the hellolights.com page. Hope it helps.

"The original "Actinic 03" bulb was made by Philips. They were not made for aquarium use, but were adopted once news spread about the beneficial aspects of using this bulb over reef tanks. Nowadays, "Actinic 03" has become the marketing term used to identify "blue" looking bulbs. Many bulbs are passed off as "actinic", when they are just a blue bulb.
So, to answer the question, Blue 7,100K bulbs are visually brighter than HelloLights Actinic bulbs. Blue bulbs will NOT fluoresce your animals as well as our Actinic bulbs. Many others sell "actinic", but they are really selling blue bulbs. The phosphors coating the interior of our Actinic bulbs are specially formulated to produce a narrow spike of concentrated violet/blue light. This is why they appear to be more faint than blue bulbs. If you have tons-o-corals, then we suggest going with Actinic 03. Remember, a visual measurement of a lights utility is a poor one."

Doesnt seem like a bad explanination to me.

William

[wildernet]

Ye that is a good one. Thanks.

[Rick O]

Thanks for digging that up William.

[graffyn]

* German style "Straight Pin" socket (2G11).
* 21" overall length, 22 1/2" with moisture resistant endcap.
* Specifically engineered to benefit the growth of marine life.
* Contains real Actinic phosphors similar to proven Super Actinics.
* Emits light that peaks at 420 and 430nm.
* Works in any standard 55W OR 65W fixture of the same pin configuration.

I use these and love the fluorscence given off.

[bamann345]

I also love the way my corals look under the hellolight's actinic bulbs. I have 2x13 watt actinics with a 70 watt 10k MK over my 5.5 and you can tell when the actinics are on!!

[cyberchef]

I'm going to have to give them a try if they come in square pin configuration. I currently use CSL Ultra Actinic and I'm not happy with the "quality" of the bulbs overall.

[Buddha]

The Acintic 03 kinda of looks like a cross between a blacklight and a regular acintic bulb.

I also have a question about the purple color. In an article on Advanced Aquarist Magazine they proved that the red spectrum does nothing but hinder the growth of corals. So my question is that wouldn't the purple looking acintic 03 not really benefit your corals like a regular blue acintic would?