Daylight and Actinic Bulbs

[Satsumas]

I've ordered a light fixture for my tank which comes with an actinic bulb.
I understand that i should replace the actinic bulb with a daylight bulb in order to get more beneficial light for the plants.
My question is how will i know what bulb is the actinic bulb? I feel like that is a really stupid question

And also is there any particular daylight bulb i should be looking for?
I've read that plants require lighting that is towards the red end of the spectrum to reach their full potential. What K rating should i be going for?

TIA

 

[Mosaic]

Well, the daylight bulb ought to say Daylight on it, and the actinic will say Actinic or 50/50, Actinics are also bluish. You won't have any trouble.

 

[GlitcH]

Also is there any particular daylight bulb i should be looking for?
I've read that plants require lighting that is towards the red end of the spectrum to reach their full potential. What K rating should i be going for?

TIA

I've never seen a daylight bulb actually say daylight but I have seen Actinics say 50/50.
I use 6700k and 10,000k bulbs.

 

[Satsumas]

Plant growth bulbs go up to 10,000K don't they?
So is it the higher the better or will any bulb be ok within a certain range?

 

[Mosaic]

Also is there any particular daylight bulb i should be looking for?
I've read that plants require lighting that is towards the red end of the spectrum to reach their full potential. What K rating should i be going for?

TIA

I've never seen a daylight bulb actually say daylight but I have seen Actinics say 50/50.
I use 6700k and 10,000k bulbs.

I could have sworn mine did. It said 6800K/Daylight. I'll have to look again when I get the replacement. I just might not be very observant.

 

[Satsumas]

This is probably another noob question but will all standard 36" daylight bulbs be compatable with this luminaire? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....MEWN:IT&viewitem=&item=270011593200&rd=1&rd=1

 

[GlitcH]

I could have sworn mine did. It said 6800K/Daylight. I'll have to look again when I get the replacement. I just might not be very observant.

Mosaic........it may very well be me that is not very observant.
I just don't remember ever seeing that before.
Or it could be that different manufacturers label them differently.

 

[JRagg]

This is probably another noob question but will all standard 36" daylight bulbs be compatable with this luminaire? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....MEWN:IT&viewitem=&item=270011593200&rd=1&rd=1

If that's the fixture you got, you've probably got a 50/50 bulb (that's what the sunpaq bulb is that they advertise).

It really depends on how much ligting you want over your tank. You will have 48 Watts of usable light over your tank with that bulb (multiply that by 1.4 since it is a PC bulb) and that puts you at ~67 W (for the wpg rule) over your tank. I no nothing about your setup, so take that into consideration before swapping out the bulb.

I'm not sure how exchangable the bulb in there is with other 96 W bulbs. I would think that any PC bulb with the same pin setup and same wattage would work. Hopefully someone else will confirm this.

As far as 6700K vs. 10,000K bulbs, it is really up to you. The higher the K rating the more blue the light looks (or more white IMO). My 6700 K bulbs look kind of yellowish, which I'm not a fan of. If I personally had to choose I would go with a 10,000 K bulb just because I like the color a little better.

 

[Purrbox]

There are three main considerations when making sure that the bulb will work with your fixture. Wattage, pin configuration and length. If the wattage matches, it has the same pin configuration (square :: or straight ....), and isn't too long for your fixture then it should work.

 

[Satsumas]

I'm getting a bit confused.

I understand that the actinic bulb is pretty useless as i have a freshwater tank.

(Quote JRagg)
It really depends on how much ligting you want over your tank. You will have 48 Watts of usable light over your tank with that bulb (multiply that by 1.4 since it is a PC bulb) and that puts you at ~67 W (for the wpg rule) over your tank. I no nothing about your setup, so take that into consideration before swapping out the bulb.

Ideally i want the full 96W over my tank as i am open to most, if not all plants that require high lighting having 96W puts me at 4.8wpg

Why will i have only 48 Watts of usable light? Is that what i will have with the actinic bulb?

I'm not too confident that i can replace the actinic bulb. I've looked at the bulb's and they look different to the ones available to me here in the UK.
The best light i could get would be a FloraGlo 30W and i don't think that it will be compatible with this light fixture.

I've been thinking about what i could buy or what i can do so i am fully prepared when the luminaire arrives but it looks like i'll have to wait some more.

 

[JRagg]

I was responding to the fixture you linked. IF that is the fixture you bought, it comes with a 50/50 bulb, which has one actinic tube and one daylight tube (in one bulb). So if that were the case you would only get half of the 96 Watts of light as usable light for you plants.

If the fixture that you're getting comes with a purely actinic bulb then yes you will have to replace the bulb to grow plants.

You will probably have to order any replacement bulbs online. I can rarely find PC bulbs locally, and if I do they are very expensive. Like Purrbox said, look at the bulb length, wattage, and pin configuration when finding replacement bulbs. I can't remember if the Current fixtures have straight pin or square pin arrangements (haven't taken mine apart).

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vs
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[Satsumas]

Oh right, i understand.

I would only be at 2.4 wpg if i didn't replace the 50/50 bulb so i do want to buy a replacement which i will probably have to find online.

Thanks for the help.

 

[teamgs]

Actinics aren't useless, at least to me, as I like the way they bring out the blues on my fish. I have a 90W dual daylight and a 90W 50/50 daylight/actinic. The 45W's of actininc make the color more pleasing to my eyes.

Regards,

Gary

 

[JRagg]

I'm also a really big fan of how the actinics make your plants and fish look. Once I get my algae under control (going pressurized CO2 as soon as my regulator shows up) I'm going to put my Nuclear Reactor Fixture (read Current Orbit) back over my tank.

Are you going pressurized Satsumas? That's a whole lot of light .

 

[Satsumas]

No, i have to go down the DIY route im afraid!
That's why now i'm not as bothered about the actinic staying in!

Although i do ideally want 3wpg of light!
My main aim is to be open to grow a lot of plants healthily and with 3wpg i would be able to do that.