96 W Actinic PC

R1Bill · 10-04-2002, 02:35 PM

I have 96 Watt Hamilton PC bulbs labeled Actinic 03, 7100K, blue.

Somewhere I read that many 96W PCs are not "true" Actinic. Does anybody know who sells "true" Actinic 96 W PCs and if the Hamiltons are? What is the difference?

In my tank the 2 x 400W 6500K iwasakis completely wash out the 2 x 96W PC and I was thinking of getting two more and replacing the ones I have.

Thanks,

Bill

balakoth · 10-04-2002, 02:42 PM

R1BIll,

Check out Hellolights.com. They have 96 Watt True Actinic 03 PC Bulbs. MUCH Dimmer than the CSL/Hamilton setups. But you can see their comparision to URI bulbs instantly.

Corallife also sells Actinic 03s of the same chemical Sulfure I believe, but are in a straight pin configuration. I believe Hellolights only sells the 4 pin Trues. Dont quote me on that though.

Joe

balakoth · 10-04-2002, 02:43 PM

Another comment. I think no matter what you do the 2 400s are going to wash out 200 watts of True Actinic no matter what you do. Possibly add some more bulbs if you have a spare ballast?

R1Bill · 10-04-2002, 06:50 PM

Thanks Joe,

That's why I wanted to add 2 more for a total of 400W of antinic. Just want to figure out what the most effective lights would be.

Bill

Doug1 · 10-05-2002, 12:46 PM

Bill, Its my understanding that the K value assigned to most actinics is mainly a marketing reference, the main thing is to find a bulb thats weighted towards the 420 nm range. Then again someone mentioned that Dana Riddle think actinic are more for our appeasement than the corals, it would stand to reason that any blue light source would help balance the way our eyes see the color of the light
Just as an aside, actinics are commonly rated at around 7100K , We all know Iwasakis are a yellow/white, and that 10,000 k are a crisper white with blue tinge and the higher you go ,etc. So how do we go from yellow white at 6500 to blacklight blue at 7100 ?

R1Bill · 10-05-2002, 02:54 PM

"So how do we go from yellow white at 6500 to blacklight blue at 7100 ?"

That is a great question, Doug1. I know that 200 watts of 7100K (maybe actinic 03) and 200 W 10K Hamiltons are completely washed out by the 2 x 400 6500K Iwasakis and the greens are mostly brown. With the 200 W 7100K alone, the green corals flouresce like crazy. I guess my real question is, before I go out and buy 4 new 96 W Actinic 03 PC tubes @ $40 each, Will 400W of Actinic 03 with the 2 x 400W Iwasakis bring my green back

Thanks,

Bill

Doug1 · 10-05-2002, 03:31 PM

Bill, adding more actinic should bring out the flourescence, tho it usually more noticable under the actinic alone. You might have to go with all actinic on your PC, but as to which bulbs I am not sure, I use VHO cause the bulbs are cheaper and last longer IME, too bad the initial cost on the IceCap ballast is so high. I must be a glutton for pumishment i have 2 430 ballast

Doug1 · 10-05-2002, 03:36 PM

"So how do we go from yellow white at 6500 to blacklight blue at 7100 ?"
BTW that was to illustrate the point that the Kelvin rating on actinics is just a marketing convenience, as reference as it were. Since the actinic are in a spectrum that we dont see well, they appear dimmer than a daylight bulb, and are harder to measure with a typical light meter.
Normally using an equal or similar amount of actinic vs 6500K light tends to balance it out visually, at least for us. All in all the Iwasaki and act combo tends to grow coral well, whether we like the "color" is a matter of preference