T5 actinic 460nm or 420nm?

[Cannoy]

is one of these bulbs better than the other?
should i have one of each?

 

[Octoman]

420 will be more blue, it's lower on the spectrum. 420 will probably give you the best fluorescing colors, while 460 may give a little better PAR but not as much of the actinic blue.

What other bulbs do you have?

 

[Triggerjay]

Is the 460nm purple instead of blue? I was wondering the same thing..

Jason

 

[Cannoy]

i only have a 10,000k and a 460 actinic.
im getting another 10,000k and actinic but dont know which actinic to get.

 

[BigAl07]

What are your "Desires" with this other bulb? what are you trying to achieve?

 

[BigAl07]

Here's a "quick & dirty" run down.

For slightly better coral growth many people use the 10k bulb but it tends to be too "yellow" for some tastes. For that reason we add actinics. If you want really blue/purple get the 420. Less blue go with 460's. Some people mix both (I'm one of those).

I have 10K MH bulbs (2x) with 2x 420's and 2x 460's.

Hope that doesn't cause more confusion.

 

[Cannoy]

im not confused but is one better than the other or is it just for color?

 

[BigAl07]

They are "Fairly" close but there will be a difference.

The 460 (if all other things are the same) should give slightly better coral growth but will be less blue. The 420 gives more blue to the tank. Honestly there isn't a LOT of different between the two and they are cheap enough to where you can afford to mix & match to see what combination works best for you. Honestly the 10k will produce good growth so the rest is more about the "Look" you're after.

 

[Cannoy]

if one isnt better than the other ill probably get the 460 because i like the blue

 

[BigAl07]

460 = Less blue
420 = More blue

 

[Cannoy]

i guess ill just mix and see what happens