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ok i know i just posted about needing to find cheap lights. well my buddy at the petshop near my work told me about the lights that they had. and i decided to give them a try. looks great on the tank. i was wondering several things though. one is the reliabilty. two is that it has a 14watt 10,000k bulb and a 14 actinic bulb. i hear that 6500k-10,000k is what you want for plants. i was wondering about the actinic though, i hear about it allot with marine setups. is the actinic useless or good in the for planted setups.

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My coralife unit has been very reliable. I've had it running for a year and a half now with no signs of quitting. I have another I bought used that I think has been in operation for over two years.

For a planted tank I would recommend not using an actinic bulb. It won't help the plants much, and will not look like a natural freshwater environment. I'd try to see if the lfs will switch it out for you, mine will. I would try to go for two 6,500K or a 6,500K and a 10,000K. The 10,000K is noticeably "whiter" or less yellow than the 6,500K bulb. I currently have that setup with one of each and think it looks pretty crisp.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

thanks matty ill ask tommorow when im at work again. but i doubt they will becuase that means the got to bus open another package.but with my next paycheck ill get another bulb. the actinic wont cuase any damage though will it? and you said 6500k and a 10000k. i have a second fixture(the one that came in the hood) that im gonna change the bulb as well. so what would you recomend with 3 bulbs

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Hi,
The Actinic Blue bulbs are for Saltwater Tanks, especially
Reef tanks with inverterbrates in them.

6700K to 10,000K bulbs are best for planted freshwater
tanks.

I'm running 8800K bulbs in my hood. Some prefer the
10,000K while others the 6700K. Here is a site you
might find interesting:

http://www.1000bulbs.com/page.php?s=KelvinTempExplained

Frank


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