Hi folks -

Firstly, what a pleasure it is to have such a resource as this ng. Many
thanks to all the folks who post here (and with such civility). I just
ordered some stuff to make my own pmdd based on info from this ng and
websites referenced here. What a great community.

I have a Q about color temps WRT lighting. I have a Coralife Actinic
bulb that came with the (used) hood I bought a couple years ago. It's
labeled as 7100K (FR40-T12-360-BP), and it is *BLUE* when it is on. I
still have this bulb, but I don't use it any more because it was almost
like having a blacklite in the tank - very intense blue cast. Is a
10000K bulb going to be even 'bluer' than the actinic, or is the actinic
a special kind of bulb that is just super blue in color?

The 6500K bulb (nice and white)I have now is nowhere even a tiny bit
close to the color of the 7100K actinic (BLUE), which is why I wonder if
the 'actinic' is a special kind of bulb whose to-the-human-eye color
doesn't match to the kelvin temp scale the way one would expect...

I did some searches for info about what 'actinic' is, and it almost
seems like it *is* a sort of blacklite or UV bulb meant to enhance the
colors of corals and other critters found in reef tanks. Just wondering
what some of the folks' experiences/knowledge are from this grp.

Much TIA for the help!

--
pete

"It is unwise to insult a doughnut be refusing to eat it."