# Actinic bulb in Freshwater?



## joeeey (Jan 22, 2009)

Well a friend of mine gave me a 48" coralife fixture from his 48" Saltwater tank. there are (2) 65 watt 10k bulbs and (2) 65 watt actinic bulbs. 2 of the lights went bad so I was going to replace them with all new 50/50 bulbs. I was advised to get 6700k 65 watt bulbs instead of the 10k and I was also told NOT to use actinic bulbs in freshwater. Is this correct? 
I have a 72 bow that I am setting up and it has nothing inside as of today. I am running a Ehiem 2026 & a Fluval 404, powerhead and air pump. I will be adding plants but I am unsure which will work together(that's for another day) and community fish.


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## COM (Mar 15, 2008)

Actinic bulbs are not the best for live plants. They're not useless as photosynthesis can be stimulated by absolutely any form of light, but most aquarium plants benefit from the specialized bulbs that are sold for them. As for choosing which bulbs to buy, that really depends on what type of plants you intend to keep in the tank, if at all.


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## joeeey (Jan 22, 2009)

Thanks COM,
I would have gone with low light plants, that way it I don't give enough light they will survive. But with a 260 watt fixture I don't thing that will be a issue. I am still researching the plants that I would like to use.

I understand that you need a certain watt per gallon ratio. But where does the kelvin factor fit in? Isn't that basically the color that the light projects?


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