# Dump actinic or the correct combo is??



## lnb (Nov 20, 2004)

> *Power Compact Bulbs Information*
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With all that said and done. What would the "ideal" combination be from the following??

65 watt 10,000k Daylight 
65 watt 6,700k Daylight 
65 watt Dual Daylight 6,700k/10,000k 
65 watt SmartPaq 10,000k Daylight/460nm Actinic​
This is for a 55g w/48" Orbit 4 x 65 Watt Power fixture, eco-complete, variety of swords, soon to be added downoi and mosses. The fixtures were preinstalled with 2 Dual Daylight Lamp (6700K & 10,000K), 2 Dual Actinic Lamp (420nm/460nm), coming to the end of their life span and will to be replaced soon. Sooooo ...........

Every post that I've read pretty much says dump the actinic, you don't need it. I'm leaning toward 2 Dual Daylight and 2 SmartPaq. This would give me just a touch of the blue actinic. Do I need that bit of the actinic to make it more "pleasing to the eye"?

The ideal lighting (cost effective) in my "indoor gardening" days was a combo of one daylight to one warm white. Does the actinic = the daylight portion of this equation?

And finally, is there a cheaper alternative to the Compaq/Coralife lamps with a square, 4 pin configuration?? Am I stuck in "Current" land??

Phew ........ is that all!

Thanks


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## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

The 6700k/10000k combo gives off a nice color hue. It gives a slight blue tint(from the 10000k) without using a actinic bulb, which is not benificial to plant growth. The only thing I don't like about using a 10000k bulb is in my experience promotes BBA growth.

_Do you plan on using all four bulbs?..._ If so that is really too much light (over 4wpg) for a 55G tank. I would use only 2 or 3 bulbs.


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