Any Benefit to ATI True Actinic bulbs??

[Cabinetman]

I have an 8 bulb ati fixture that I currently have 3 coral plus and 3 blue plus for the 6 bulb cord and 2 blue plus on the 2 bulb cord. I’m thinking of switching one of the blue plus on the 2 bulb cord and one of the coral plus on the 6 plug to true actinic if there’s a benefit to the coral. I’m quite happy with the way my tank looks right now but if I’ll get better growth and colour I’d make the switch. Anyone have any input?

 

[Alex808]

I have a 2 bulb and some LEDs on my 20 gallon. I run Blue and Actinic. It may be me but I find the tank seems happier when blue and actinic are running Compared to other bulbs. They open up more since I added Actinic.

 

[landlubber]

I have an 8 bulb ati fixture that I currently have 3 coral plus and 3 blue plus for the 6 bulb cord and 2 blue plus on the 2 bulb cord. I’m thinking of switching one of the blue plus on the 2 bulb cord and one of the coral plus on the 6 plug to true actinic if there’s a benefit to the coral. I’m quite happy with the way my tank looks right now but if I’ll get better growth and colour I’d make the switch. Anyone have any input?

Despite the dimmer appearance the bulbs still produce strong par. If i remember correctly they are 30 or 40 par less than their full brightness counterparts.
I think it pays to mention, there is a great Reefbuilders episode where they go over to Jason Fox's place to see his set up. Jason uses mostly actinic to grow his corals and sights that most corals in our hobby reside at a level in the ocean where much of the color spectra is filtered out and the actinic appearance is their normal environment. His corals are amazing and grow well so who am i to argue

 

[Steve Erekson]

I don't know if you'll see a benefit, it's just one bulb and they're still very similar. I personally run one true actinic in my 4 bulb fixture, I don't have any definitive reasons why though. I like the way my tank looks and the corals seem healthy. There were times in the past I didn't run any in some fixtures, same deal, I used what I used and the tank looked and grew nicely.

 

[Cabinetman]

Despite the dimmer appearance the bulbs still produce strong par. If i remember correctly they are 30 or 40 par less than their full brightness counterparts.
I think it pays to mention, there is a great Reefbuilders episode where they go over to Jason Fox's place to see his set up. Jason uses mostly actinic to grow his corals and sights that most corals in our hobby reside at a level in the ocean where much of the color spectra is filtered out and the actinic appearance is their normal environment. His corals are amazing and grow well so who am i to argue

I watched the video and when I got home I got the actinic bulbs I bought a while ago and changed 2 out in each of my 8 bulb fixtures. Now I have 5 blue plus, 2 actinic and one coral plus in each. Tank is still pretty white looking too. Thanks!

 

[A. grandis]

I have an 8 bulb ati fixture that I currently have 3 coral plus and 3 blue plus for the 6 bulb cord and 2 blue plus on the 2 bulb cord. I’m thinking of switching one of the blue plus on the 2 bulb cord and one of the coral plus on the 6 plug to true actinic if there’s a benefit to the coral. I’m quite happy with the way my tank looks right now but if I’ll get better growth and colour I’d make the switch. Anyone have any input?

Yes, there are some benefits to some of the pigments IME, but not THAT significant to the point of changing just to try, if you are very happy with what you've got. No one can know for certain what will benefit from it and to what degree. It's a healthy bulb to have in the combo. I would have 1 or 2 max. in a 8 bulb combo. Or 1 max. in a 6 bulb combo. I certainly can live without it too, so...
If you like the way it is right now why change it?

 

[Cabinetman]

I switched 2 coral plus out to 2 actinic and I can see I’m using a fair bit more elements now in the last few days according to my trident ....

 

[landlubber]

I watched the video and when I got home I got the actinic bulbs I bought a while ago and changed 2 out in each of my 8 bulb fixtures. Now I have 5 blue plus, 2 actinic and one coral plus in each. Tank is still pretty white looking too. Thanks!

i currently run 4 actinic, 3 blue+ and a purple+ in my ati 8 bulb and a single reefbrite led strip over a standard 120. you could say i like blues lol

 

[Midrats]

Four Coral Plus two True Actinics is my current combo. It's a nice warm look with nice fluorescent and reflective color rendition without the overpowering greenish blue of the Blue Plus bulb.

 

[OnPointCorals]

That Actinic confusing was cleared up years ago. Jason Fox was just using the "Blue actinic" term loosely. He uses Blue plus bulbs.

 

[Potatohead]

That Actinic confusing was cleared up years ago. Jason Fox was just using the "Blue actinic" term loosely. He uses Blue plus bulbs.

They're actually Giessmann Actinic Blue, which is their version of the Blue Plus. But yes they are not a straight up actinic.