Adding Actinics?

[moovinfast]

So I was thinking about maybe adding actinics to my 240g now that we are going to have a canopy and skin. The thank is 48x48x24". It has a large lip around the top. So the hole in the top is about 36" or so. Ill post a pic so you can see the brace. I currently have 4x250w MH over the tank as my only lighting. I was thinking of finding a used Icecap 660 and running 4x36" t5s or VHOs. Would I be able to notice them while my MHs are on? Or is there a better solution to adding actinics to my tank? I thought about building another LED set up just for actinics, but its out of my price range right now to make it how I would want.

 

[ReefLogic]

wow....4x250's....I have 1x250 over my 3x3 and I couldn't be happier with the light. Yeah you should be able to notice the difference if you put enough that is. If you only put 1 T5 then I would venture to say no.

 

[thatguy559]

i use royal blue leds for my tank and i will never switch back.....i had a single 400w halide over my 3'x3'x3' cube with a ton of light

 

[ReefLogic]

that is exactly what I have been thinking about doing over mine. Nice...thanks for your post Thatguy

 

[moovinfast]

Do you think I would notice 4x36" T5s with my halides? I would love to run royal blue CREEs over my tank, but its not in the budget right now. I built my own LED light for my 25 cube.

 

[ReefLogic]

You might want to look into VHO's or something a bit brighter than T5's. JMO

 

[mfinn]

For pure actinics, it's hard to beat VHO, IMO.
I really like the 454 bulb.
It's a little lighter blue than the super actinic bulb, but the 454 really makes the color in my corals jump out.

 

[moovinfast]

For some reason I thought the T5s were brighter. Guess Ill look into VHOs. Probably going to look for a icecap 660 either way.

 

[moovinfast]

Just paid for a 2x46.5" VHO set up. Now I need to find another 2 bulb set up. Either 2x36 or 2x 46.5" Or do you think just 2 bulbs would be noticeable with 4x250wMH