MH and T5 combination

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relethg Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Guest Joined: November 26 2014 Location: Farmington Status: Offline Points: 505	Post Options Post Reply Quote relethg Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: MH and T5 combination Posted: April 24 2015 at 11:04am
	OK, I have 3 X 250 watt MH with Hamilton 14K bulbs in them. There are 4 X 8 watt T5s right now they have; Chanel 1 (comes on first and goes off last) ATI Actinic and Blue Plus in it, channel 2 has ATI Coral Plus and Hamilton Actinic Blue. I also have these bulbs on hand: ATI Aquablue Purple Plus True Actinic Blue Plus Coral Plus Hamilton Actinic Blue 460/4 off them came with the fixture T5 channel one come on at 0730 and off at 2030 T5 channel two comes on at 0900 and off at 1830 MH start at 1100 and off at 1500 staggered 15 minutes right to left I want channel one to provide nice view light for corals. I want the rest to make my corals healthy and grow. Can I get some recommendations please? I will be adding Three 12" stunners for moon light and/or viewing light. Will see what they do when I get them. Thanks Glenn Edited by relethg - April 24 2015 at 1:41pm
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faviasteve Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Guest Joined: June 30 2004 Location: Seychelles Status: Offline Points: 455	Post Options Post Reply Quote faviasteve Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: April 24 2015 at 1:12pm
	The Hamilton 14K is a "blue" bulb, with most of it's light at about 450 nm. It is very similar in it's spectrum to the phoenix 14K (but a little less efficient), radium 20K and many other 14K and 20K bulbs. In my opinion, it should be complemented with violet (true) actinic at about 420 nm or full spectrum T5s. "Actinic blue" (which I think is a confusing name because actinic is supposed to be violet by definition) T5s should be almost identical in color and spectrum to the Hamilton 14K and are redundant. Here's the hamilton 14K plot http://www.m-fine.com/spect3.bmp
	Steve Burton Logan, Utah

relethg Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Guest Joined: November 26 2014 Location: Farmington Status: Offline Points: 505	Post Options Post Reply Quote relethg Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: April 24 2015 at 1:40pm
	Thanks Steve, ATI shows their True Actinic peaks at 421. You can see their plot here: http://www.atinorthamerica.com/bulbs.php?tabbedtabs=0 Edited by relethg - April 24 2015 at 1:42pm
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relethg Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Guest Joined: November 26 2014 Location: Farmington Status: Offline Points: 505	Post Options Post Reply Quote relethg Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: April 25 2015 at 6:59am
	I can tell you one thing, switching to this new Hamilton fixture is saving me electricity. The old Corallife 150 watt fixture used a third more power than the new 250 watt and the CF used almost double. This is from comparing the amps on the apex. Are the 14K bulbs too blue?
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faviasteve Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Guest Joined: June 30 2004 Location: Seychelles Status: Offline Points: 455	Post Options Post Reply Quote faviasteve Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: April 25 2015 at 10:47am
	Whether the 14K bulbs are too blue is opinion. 15-20 years ago when reefers used 6500K and then 10000K, the light was much whiter. Some reefers loved it and some thought it looked too yellow. Now most metal halide, T5 and LED setups are 450nm blue with or without some actinic and full spectrum supplementation. The violet and the blue light are both used efficiently by chlorophyll. The 420 nm really makes green corals "pop" too. I'm not sure which wavelengths are best to make red, orange, yellow, etc "pop". If the 14K Hamiltons are too blue by themselves for your taste, add more full specturm 10Ks. If they aren't blue enough or you want more "blacklight" effect, add more actinic.
	Steve Burton Logan, Utah

relethg Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Guest Joined: November 26 2014 Location: Farmington Status: Offline Points: 505	Post Options Post Reply Quote relethg Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: April 25 2015 at 11:13am
	Interested in what make the corals grow the most. Then second is what will make viewing good in the evening. I have Radion Gen 3 on my 45 gallon and I would like two of the T5s to provide close to the view light I can get with them.
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