MH Lighting Question------ what K are you using

[Ba19Ma88]

I currently am thinking of switching my bulb K rating currently I have 250 10K XM's(2ea) and 24" VHO (4ea)

I want bulb's that are is going to look good and also help my corals grow and look great. I can use the Vhos for Actinic supplementation

Any help would be great
Thanks Bruce

 

[KAS]

I USE 10K ABs with actinic VHO supplementation and I like the look.

 

[Liam]

It is a trade off for growth when you change to a higher kelvin bulb.I use aquaconnects in 14k 400watt because they have the highest par values out of all the 14k bulbs,you pay for it though.I was using electronic ballasts but was unhappy with the amount of light on my tank which is 31 deep so i recently changed to a sunlight supply dual hqi ballast.I feel it is a better option if you would like could growth with higher kelvin bulbs to use the hqi,again you pay for it though with more electricity used and shorter bulb life.
Another good 14k bulb i am currently trying on my frag tank is the EVCtech 14k.This bulb has the exact same spectrum and output as the 20k radium but is $30 cheaper(also 400 watt) so far i like it
The big question is how deep is your tank??

On a positive note the increased cost is offset by the savings in not running vho's all day and there short bulb life and you also will have less heat issues.
Remarkably my electricity bill for my whole home and tanks is only $150 a month right now.(before hqi ballast change though)

 

[Ba19Ma88]

Sorry it is a standard 75 gal....the set up currently is a MH on the L&R sides of the hood pointing towards the front of the tank and the VHO's are in the middle pointing side to side

 

[this is me]

I like my 10k AB and T-5 actinic.
combined, it's not too blue and not too yellow. But with just the AB10k, it's a bit yellow.
speaking of which I think it's time to change bulbs agian.....sigh....
I'll be going with the same combo.

 

[MikeG]

I am running 14K Hamiltons with VHO supplimentation. I will be gowing with 10K AB for my next bulbs as the 14K are too blue for me.

 

[reefphreak]

I have a CRA 10k right now but I might want to step up a bit because it's a tad too yellow and my corals don't flouresce much at all. I don't use actinic at all but am trying to find a bulb to flouresce a little... Any recomendations?

 

[Triggerfish]

only you can decide what will look "good" to you
i plan to use 10k with VHO actinic supplements

i doubt many folks that have 10k's are running their actinics all day long.
i plan to use the VHO's for:
1. dawn/dusk
2. change the look of the tank slighty at times when viewing

 

[Jim Tansey]

I have XM 10K's and run the Actinics all day (75 w/2 250's & 2 VHO Actinics)

Jim

 

[Triggerfish]

you run those for coral growth?

 

[Jim Tansey]

No, very yellow without them.

Jim

 

[Ba19Ma88]

I to run my VHOs 1 hour before, all day while MH are on, and 1 hour after MH go off.

 

[Triggerfish]

if the tank is not viewed all day, just not sure of the need to power them all day?
are there any known benefits, perhaps some corals may benefit from additional blue spectrum?

 

[Rays]

I have the exact same bulbs as Jim does, on my 55, and I run them all day.
Excellent growth, and very aesthetic. A majority of RC posters also like the look.

 

[Liam]

if the tank is not viewed all day, just not sure of the need to power them all day?
are there any known benefits, perhaps some corals may benefit from additional blue spectrum?

yes some corals do improve with a higher Kelvin bulb

 

[delta]

I think you will find an improvement in growth with a 10k bulb with vho actinic supplimentation. I have had good results with Hamilton, XM and CRA 10k bulbs. I find it is a good balance between color and growth.

 

[Kevin McG]

I also run my actinics all day along with my 2x250 10k & 1x250 14k.Without the actinics running the tank is not to pleasing to the eye.

 

[ReeferMedic]

3x150 hqi 10k(soon to be 3x250 10k), 4x96 actintic pc(soon to be 2x150hqi 20k) for 10 hrs/day......