Chalice Lighting Question

[Conski]

Yea i wish i could just add some actinic light to my 150watt but i feel like it would just get washed out

 

[Conski]

A 4 bulb T5 with 1 ATI Blue +, 1 Fiji Pink, 1 UVL True Actinic, and 1 10k bulb would probably look the best IMO.

any idea of how to make this set up? which T5 System should i invest in?

 

[Amphiprion]

That won't be very blue, if that's what you're looking for. It will give you possibly the best range of colors, though (I wouldn't call it "pop" in this case). Are you looking for a fixture or retrofit? Retrofits with IceCap or Aquactinics reflectors would work great. No need to overdrive (would overwhelm that tank, IMHO).

 

[Conski]

I just want the colors of the corals to look like theyre basically glowing kind of like neon ya know? im looking for whatever would work best for my set up which you guys know all to well by now! i dk what a retrofit is haha

 

[Amphiprion]

I just want the colors of the corals to look like theyre basically glowing kind of like neon ya know? im looking for whatever would work best for my set up which you guys know all to well by now! i dk what a retrofit is haha

Blue and actinic lamps will make the glow you're talking about. 2 Blue + lamps and 2 actinics will make the light very blue and make a lot of that nuclear glow you're looking for. Retrofits are simply kits that consist of the individual parts--ballast, bulbs, endcaps. You have to make a way to mount them. Tons of options available to do that. Mount them to wood, metal, canopy, suspend them, etc. I think a fixture would be too clumsy on your tank, along with the halide.

Edit: LOL, it makes me ache recommending so much blue. I'd go nuts with that all those blue lamps and that neon glow. Not sure why, but never been a fan of it.

 

[Conski]

I love the neon glow haha! but the work would be obnoxious to make... i dont think itd be worth it haha i will just stick with my 14k bulbs i suppose! but i feel like chalices look way better with that nukey glow

 

[Ace25]

Here is a pic of the T5s I am running on my 29G, to me it is still very white in the tank, too white for my taste.. been working on it all weekend cleaning it up and finally adding my sump back onto it. My candycane which was just about dead has made a strong comeback in the last 24 hours since redoing the tank. Rose BTA I got has had a few run-ins with my old Koralias and got blended pretty good. It is now making a strong recovery though.

And because I don't want to make a different thread just for these..

 

[Conski]

now does that make your colors pop more then you MHS on the big tank? or do you run something besides them on your large one

 

[Ace25]

I am running 4 T5's with my 250w on my big one. Still, out of MH I think the Phoenix makes other colors like reds, oranges, greens really stand out.. different kind of "pop" than actinic. So I do the best of both.. actinic, blue, and Phoenix on my big tank.. just need to get some corals in it again.. lol.

On the 29G, It comes on at 3 different times, but the 3rd one is the 10k bulb and that is when everything colorwise gets washed out in that tank. I need to pull that bulb out.

 

[Conski]

man see thats what i want to do! just add T5s to the thing to make the chalices intense colors come out