Looking for suggestions... T5 bulb Combos

[lorenz0]

Originally Posted by chris88

The 454 has very low PAR compared to the ati blue plus and the kz superblue with almost an identical spectrum.

Actinic bulbs are not going to give you enough par and the spectrum is to narrow, the new blue bulbs out there will double the par and still fluoress “pop” the corals very well. 6 bulb t5 on a tank deeper then 18 inches, you need to increase the PAR buy choosing better bulbs.

oh man you sound exactly like me a year ago. I'm sure myka might remember this but I used to yell and curse how they were a waste of a bulb. I also told her to prove it to me that they have any effect on your corals... oh i was wrong

I am actually running one now (Giesemann pure actinic) and I am getting some cool colors in that tank. Growth is great, can't complain.