# Actinic Bulbs



## MinionZer0 (Sep 26, 2003)

I posted a pic in my gallery of my tank lit with 100% actinic bulbs. Unlike other lighting my fish remain very active. Tell me what you think..

www.piranha-fury.com/photopost/showgallery.php?ppuser=2057


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## accr (Nov 27, 2002)

I have a blue house with a blue window.......De da dee da du da da da dee da du daaa........


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## Raptor (Jan 3, 2003)

I use them too. My p's seem to like it. Thats the best way of getting a lot of watts and have it not blind your p's


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## MarcusK408 (May 18, 2003)

Are Actinic bulbs safe for use with freshwater tanks? I heard it's for saltwater mainly. What's special about these bulbs?


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## tecknik (Jul 18, 2003)

Looks cool, how would these lights do with plants?


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## Raptor (Jan 3, 2003)

I use one blue, and one grow bulb in each of my double ballast fixtures. I have 3 blue bulbs and 3 grow bulbs tottal, and my brazilian sords and others are doing great. One plant looks like it's gonna pop because it's groing so fast







They do use them for marine aquariums, But you can use them for freshwater, Wet drys were designed for marine aquariums, but you see how a good thing will catch on.
My p's love that it isn't as bright, and i like to see them.


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## MinionZer0 (Sep 26, 2003)

I guess they are designed for marine aquariams for coral growth but it says it's fine for freshwater on the package









If you have live plants(all mine are plastic) I would go with Raptors setup... although if ur tank gets alot of natural sunlight during the day u might be able to pull off strictly 100 actinic.


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## Time4Chillie (May 18, 2003)

So you could run actinic bulbs all day and it would have no impact on the fish? could you use the actinic bulb for a number of hours at night? say you turn your lights onin the morning at like 9am and then at about 7pm use the actinic till you hit the sack?


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## KingJeff (Jul 22, 2003)

it looks bad ass. Is there such thing as red bulbs? I think that would look evil


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## khuzhong (Apr 11, 2003)

i use a black light.. lols.. turns the glitter on my p's white.. and plus remain active as well..


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## pantast1c (Sep 7, 2003)

geez... how much do those bulbs cost... lighting for fishes aren't cheap... especially the compact floresnet bulbs!


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## Raptor (Jan 3, 2003)

They cost the same as the regular aquarium bulbs, I payed 12.99 each for them. They arent compact, they are regular sized bulbs.


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## mr_rob_boto (Aug 31, 2003)

I thought black lights are bad for a fish's eyes


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## Death in #'s (Apr 29, 2003)

the blue looks pretty badass


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## Raptor (Jan 3, 2003)

I dunno about black lights. These are different, My piranhas are very happy with them.


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## soulfly (Aug 7, 2003)

blacklights are bad for fish.


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

MarcusK408 said:


> Are Actinic bulbs safe for use with freshwater tanks? I heard it's for saltwater mainly. What's special about these bulbs?


As far as I know, they are mainly used in SW tanks and African cichlid set-ups (Tanganyika, Malawi, etc...), because they simulate the light that found in those habitats (deep water, rocky environment). I think they are used in SW tanks, because corals need such light to thrive (correct me if I'm wrong, though...)

I don't think they are harmful for other types of set-ups, but not sure if a planted tank would look very nice with such lights...


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## nightmarenyc (Aug 7, 2003)

I was curious on these too so I decided to try one on my new 55 gallon. I drove over to Shark Aquarium and picked one up there and wound up picking a 6-7" caibe too! Looks pretty cool and my p's seem to like it. Tried to get the P's in the pic, but ever since I added that damn boat wreck to the tank all they like to do is hide now!


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## traumatic (Jan 29, 2003)

squidward


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## nightmarenyc (Aug 7, 2003)

traumatic said:


> squidward :laugh:


Yeah! He's the real boss of the tank!


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## o snap its eric (Feb 19, 2003)

reason for your fish to be more active and im guessing you have piranhas because atanic light is to mimic the moonlight. Hence piranhas are usually night hunters or perfer dark place your tank has now become "night time" anyhow i perfer using 50/50 because its the best of both worlds.


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## JReezelle (May 18, 2003)

I just upgraded from a 60 gallon to a 100 gallon and i'm using actinic lights on it. My p's have been very active since the upgrade and don't hide anymore.


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## wrathofgeo (Aug 23, 2003)

how long do you keep it on? 12 hours?


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## Raptor (Jan 3, 2003)

I keep mine on from 6 am to 10 pm.


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## MinionZer0 (Sep 26, 2003)

I only keep mine on during the evening when the room gets dark.. probably about 6pm - 11pm. My P's are in my living room which gets plenty of natural light during the day.


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