# Can I use/keep an actinic bulb for my planted tank?



## Aquarium-Addict

Hi,

I originally bought this lighting fixture ( http://premiumaquatics.com/aquatic-supplies/DB-ADB42336.html?fe_feedid=126 ) for a FO marine tank, my question is *can I use it for my planted aquarium? *Comes with:
(1) 10,000K Daylight bulb
(1) Actinic-03 bulb

I believe the 10K is good for plant growth, but not sure of the actinic. Will it harm my plants or will it not help at all, but not be harmful?

I know actinic is for corals but can plants use the same wavelength. I believe the answer is no since I seen some pink bulbs for plants but not sure.

I have an extra 10K, should I run my fixture with the 2 10K´s intead of the actinic?

Thanks.


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## spypet

none of the lights you have will harm plants,
it's just a matter of getting bulbs that give
you the best plant yield per watt spent,
and enhance the color display of your fish.

I would use a pair of 10k's for now,
then read the Sticky's on this lighting forum
before investing in your next bulb.

personally I prefer bulbs in the 6-7k range,
and add a pink bulb as a color enhancement.


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## Newt

Some actinic bulbs like the ones that emit light at a specific wavelength - 460nm will actually shutdown photosynthesis as plants are not sensitive to this wavelength. I say use actinic bulbs for YOUR SW TANKS.


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## daverock1337

i use 2 65watt cf bulbs on my 29 gallon aquarium. 4.48 watts per gallon. one bulb is a dual daylight 10,000k/6700k and the other is a 10,000k/actinic 03 (50/50) bulb. my plants love it and have had no problem with growth, and the blue gives a more pleasing color to the aquarium imo. without the actinic everything looks too yellow and harsh.

from what i have read the bulb ranges from 380nm to 480nm with a peak range around 420nm.


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## Aquarium-Addict

Thanks for your answers. Since the actinic bulb doesn´t harm the plants, I will use it for a week and measure my plants growth and evaluate coloration. 

Than I will change the actinic for the other 10K bulb and leave it for a week also. I´ll measure again and see coloration to decide which one does best for my plants and secondly to my sight.

Thanks a lot


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## flashbang009

Sounds like a good plan except that 1 week may not be enough time to truly evaluate growth. The plants might not adjust to the second bulb switch until the end of 2 weeks.


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## Aquarium-Addict

flashbang009 said:


> Sounds like a good plan except that 1 week may not be enough time to truly evaluate growth. The plants might not adjust to the second bulb switch until the end of 2 weeks.


Thanks for the tip . I´m new in planted aquariums and don´t know much about plants. Than I will let 2 weeks pass by as you suggest to evaluate wich bulb is doing better for my plants.

I will have to stop seeing and start observing lol!


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## flashbang009

Haha sounds good. If you have some time, search the web for someone who's done similar tests.


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## popomon

i;ve run into the same problem with my coralife hot5 a while ago too and they don't really mind the actinic bulb. i ran it for like, 3 months and nothing bad happened. now with the nicer geissman bulb they grow a little better but the actinic wont hurt


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## oahc

The actinic is for saltwater reefs, corals need them. For a planted tank, the color spectrum is around 6000 Kelvin and up. But I had mines on for a couple months and had algae problems, changed to a pink plant bulb and problem solved.


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## Aquarium-Addict

popomon said:


> i;ve run into the same problem with my coralife hot5 a while ago too and they don't really mind the actinic bulb. i ran it for like, 3 months and nothing bad happened. now with the nicer geissman bulb they grow a little better but the actinic wont hurt


Thanks for sharing. I have this actinic bulb for little more than 2 weeks now and plants have been doing good. Some plants have grown quite fast and others more slowly, but all are growing so I guess it is not bad at least for the plants. But anyway I will try to get the plant bulb soon.

George


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## Aquarium-Addict

oahc said:


> The actinic is for saltwater reefs, corals need them. For a planted tank, the color spectrum is around 6000 Kelvin and up. But I had mines on for a couple months and had algae problems, changed to a pink plant bulb and problem solved.


Yes that was exactly one of my concerns "algae". But until now I haven´t had any algae problems. I suppose this is because plants are growing, thus extracting nutrients and leaving nothing for algae.

*One question*: since you have seen your tank with both type of bulbs ( actinic and pink plant bulb), which one do you like more aesthetically? Which one enhances more the ccolor of fish and aquarium in general?

Thanks,
George


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## daverock1337

my cabomba carolinia has been growing out of control. also, instead of lush and bushy, it is tall and stringy. i've been told the actinic bulb could be causing this with the blue light sending the plants the wrong message, causing them to grow quickly to reach the top first and compete for the usable spectrums. just thought i'd let ya know. im going to be changing bulbs soon, and will not be keeping an actinic on my tank.


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## popomon

to answer your question, i personally liked the look of actinic lighting more when i got used to it, because the geissman bulb made it look so yellow, but now that im used to the geissman bulb, it seems so much better. its just that you need to get used to the color. I personally think though that the more yellow look was better because it made the green plants have more contrast.


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## flashbang009

Have you looked at a tank with a 6500-6700K (daylight) bulb on it? I think it's a perfect combination of the two, and the "closest" to natural light.


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## Aquarium-Addict

daverock1337 said:


> my cabomba carolinia has been growing out of control. also, instead of lush and bushy, it is tall and stringy. i've been told the actinic bulb could be causing this with the blue light sending the plants the wrong message, causing them to grow quickly to reach the top first and compete for the usable spectrums. just thought i'd let ya know. im going to be changing bulbs soon, and will not be keeping an actinic on my tank.


Wow thanks for sharing, and you know what you may be right becuase the only plant that is growing fast is not lush and bushy anymore, just tall and very close to the surface. I think I have been wrong thinking that because it is growing means is healthy, but what you say makes sense. Maybe it´s just trying to survive growing taller for better light.

*I have turn off my actinic!* I will be running my fixture with one 10K bulb for now. In 2 weeks or so I´ll get the correct bulbs  . Thanks for clearing this up for me.


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## ROYWS3

I to have the same fixture, but no plants in my tank yet. How did you "turn of the Actinic"?

ROY


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## davemonkey

ROYWS3 said:


> I to have the same fixture, but no plants in my tank yet. How did you "turn of the Actinic"?
> 
> ROY


Just pull out the bulb. Then, if you feel like you want more light, buy a different bulb to put in its place.


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## ROYWS3

correct me if I'm wrong but isn't it blue light that makes plants bushy and red light that makes them leggy?

ROY


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## Newt

Many years ago there was an article in the Journal of Plant Physiology from a university study (I cant remember which one but can look it up if anyone wants to know) done on photosynthesis. The red and blue light in the visible spectrum are most easily converted but they found that blue made plants more bushy and compact and red made them long stemmed and leggy. One possible reason is that blue penetrates water much deeper than red.

There are some actinic bulbs that emit with only a spike at 460nm which is just beyond the action spectrum and could shutdown photosynthesis much like infrared light does. The long leggy plants from the actinics could be a result of the plant not properly photosynthesising and growing to reach whatever source of light there was available.

At any rate having the proper balance between the two is most beneficial to proper photosynthesis and plant health and growth.
:blah:


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## bosmahe1

You could try adding one Geismann Mid-Day (6000 K) and run it with one of your 10000 K bulbs. This might give you the color you prefer.


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## Aquarium-Addict

ROYWS3 said:


> I to have the same fixture, but no plants in my tank yet. How did you "turn of the Actinic"?
> 
> ROY


Hi are you sure we have the same fixture? Mine has 2 switches one for 10k and the actinic, so it´s very easy. I suppose you might have a different fixture.


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## ROYWS3

I just checked the link in your original post - no we do not have the same fixture - mine only has one switch. Hence the reason for my apparently obvious question (to you) about shutting of the actinic bulb. I do however have the same combination of bulbs

Sorry for the confusion.
ROY


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## Newt

ROYWS3 said:


> I just checked the link in your original post - no we do not have the same fixture - mine only has one switch. Hence the reason for my apparently obvious question (to you) about shutting of the actinic bulb. I do however have the same combination of bulbs
> 
> Sorry for the confusion.
> ROY


Easy fix to add a switch.


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## ROYWS3

That's a good idea. I will have to look into doing that.


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## Newt

Sears Hardware stores have several types of switches like the ones used on lighting fixtures. I'm sure other places do as well.
If you have questions post a picture of the ballast and wiring and I'd be happy to help you out.


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## klink67

I am running 72watts of t-5 lighting over my 12 gallon and my plants love it. I run half actinic and half 10k. However one thing that helps get the color in the tank just right is backwater extract. Also even coral doesn't need blue light it is mostly for aesthetics.


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## popomon

corals do need blue lights, its a scientifically proven fact that they need light in the 420nm area. I don't wanna start a fight, but please do not advertise false information. Plants use it too, but in levels where we cannot really see it. They use more red, but they still require some blue, its just that only minimal amounts are needed, wheras red spectrum bulbs over coral are completely useless, since they only need a tiny bit compared to the lower nm spectrum.


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## Newt

+1 on Popomon.

I dont do SW but I know a few things. Red light doesnt penetrate very deep in water but blue light does. So it makes sense that corals would need little red, as there just isnt much reaching them whereas blue is the predominant light. I thought it was 460nm???


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## popomon

its all of the blue and purple spectrum for corals newt, and yeah, it is in the 420-460nm range, as long as it's actinic. a little bit of the rest aint so bad either A variety of actinic is good too, just like plants like different spectrums of red from the dark reds to the pinks (nm, not kelvin). kelvin is applied a little differently, kinda an indicator of what nm the light it produces is, but its generally rated for the aesthetic purposes and isn't a very accurate representation of the exact spectrum qualities of a bulb


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## S4UCE

Interesting topic. I'm running 60w of 6700k T12 and 96w 50/50 (10,000k and 03 actinic) compact fluorescent over my 40 breeder. It hasn't been running long so I can't make any judgements on how things are going yet, but I'm hopeful the mixture of light will be good for growth and appearance!


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## sketch804

well I'll tell you guys; my friend and I pretty much have the same tank and water. One thing that differs is that he uses one actinic bulb in his setup. So we both use T-5 HO's 2x6700K, 1x10000K and one Colormax bulb from corallife. For some reason his plants grow a lot faster than mine and he has some of the same plants! its insane! i dose my tank with CO2 and ferts and i cannot match his growth! Well don't get me wrong *i don't* think that's the only reason his plants grow faster and bushier but its just kinda odd...


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