lighting help !!!

crazy cajun

crazy cajun

Reefing newb
ok i finally installed the light on my 90 gal its the Odyssea 48" 2 54w daylights, 2 54w actinic, and 4 moon lights, i like the way it looks with the daylights on but i do not like the way it looks with the actinic and daylights on together it looks kinda to blue fake looking, and the moonlights look awesome at night, i guess my question is are you suppose to use the daylight and actinic at the same time??? or not, or do you only use the actinic early before the day lights come on and late after the daylights go off?? help me out here im new to this saltwater lighting.
 
see the difference with and without the actinic, the actinic is way too blue
 

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do i run the actinic while the daylights are on??? or no ?? what do the corals need i will have in the near future , school me on lighting, the first pic shows only daylight bulbs and second pic shows actinic and daylight together is that wrong to have them on at the same time???
 
this is how i run mine. attinic on at 8am days on at 910am the all on until day go out at 815pm then attinic off at 900pm and moon lights on at 900pm. you want to run them all at the same time.
 
if you change the background it will not look so blue. that may be you biug problem as to why there is so much blue. try a black background
 
most day bulbs are very yellow looking and the blue which is also used by coral make the yellow looking lights look more white. many people that use only mh lights use a bluer looking bulk like a 14k or 20k(very blue) the higher the k of the bulb the bluer it is
 
Can I hijack your thread?

I also have a question about lighting. I have the same configuration as crazy cajun (minus the moonlights) and find that using my lights all day really heats up the tank (goes from 78 to 80-82). To prevent this, I have been using the actinics for most of the day and only using the daylight bulbs for a few hours. Is this okay?
 
it would be very hard to change my background due to the tank is about 1 1/2 in from the wall, is it possible to change one of the actinic to day light so that i have 3 daylight and 1 actinic so it does not cast so much blue?? would that be ok with corals?? i assume the corals have to have the actinic light??
 
chiqui bb said:
Can I hijack your thread?

I also have a question about lighting. I have the same configuration as crazy cajun (minus the moonlights) and find that using my lights all day really heats up the tank (goes from 78 to 80-82). To prevent this, I have been using the actinics for most of the day and only using the daylight bulbs for a few hours. Is this okay?
Click to expand...


your temps are not bad. you really want all your lights running so that the coral gets the light it needs. the other thing you can do is get a clip on fan that will blow across the water and that will cool the tank
 
I've had that same light before and had the same dull color you have...the problem is not your light timing or the background...it's the actual actinic bulbs. Odyssea have their own bulbs, which are generic(like their brand) which is why they're cheap. Switch your bulbs out for some better ones and you'll notice the difference. Also, like mentioned, you wanna have your actinics on for about an hour before your daylights and after your daylights go off...replicating the dawn and dusk cycle.
 
Yes, you run the actinics and daylight bulbs at the same time. If you don't like the colors, do as Smitty said and buy new bulbs.
 
any advice on the brand and color names and ratings??? im sure i have to stay with the 54w bulbs correct? give me some good advice on what to buy
Coralife?? ect 14000k ect thanks guys and ladies !!
 
Smitty, you were correct !!!! i went to my LFS and bought new bulbs 2-Marine Glo and 2 Power glow by Hagen, i installed them last night and WOW what a difference the lighting looks awesome now i think when i get home today i will crush those odyssea bulbs to death. thanks again:bounce:
 

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