mh bulbs 15k or 20k

[joshl]

right now i am running 14k bulbs but will have to get new bulbs in a few weeks which bulbs do you guys and gals have the best growth out of
15k or 20k as i am not running any other lighting but the main mh and i want it to be a little blue just not overboard with it but i want my corals to be happy


let me know what you think

 

[smoothie]

I have seen and read no wrong about xm 20's with a good reflector

 

[jaustin]

what wattage and SE or DE?

 

[joshl]

2x250 se with a white elcheapo reflector kinda a diy

 

[jaustin]

what ballast?

 

[dakota9]

From everything I've researched, you get better growth from the lower end of the spectrum. Unless it's a quality bulb, chances are the 20K will be very blue. Personally, I'd go with the 15K.

 

[drnecropolis]

For single end (if your ballast can support them) I would go with Radium 20K's..

 

[stacy22]

DrNecropolis;431018 wrote: For single end (if your ballast can support them) I would go with Radium 20K's..

Absolutely +1

 

[grouper therapy]

It depends on your ballast. some 20 ks produce more par than some 14 ks.

 

[drnecropolis]

A guy on SWF.com is using the Twin Arc bulbs after I made a thread about them.. He seems to love them.. His screenname is King Neptune if you want to dig up his build to check it out..

 

[joshl]

they are m58 ballist

 

[jaustin]

Radiums are not designed to run on M58. Any XM bulb is going to work but the 10K XM is not the color you want, the 15K XM is garbage for par, but the 20K 250W XM has some good #'s (better than most other 14K or 20K bulbs). I would look into getting a good reflector as well as a 20K XM bulb. Expect the bulb to last 7-8 months.

HTH
Jason

 

[joshl]

does anyone have a picture of there tank with these bulbs what i read is that they are really blue- xm bulbs

 

[joshl]

is there any other kind of bulb that is recommended with a m58 ballest for a bulb between 14-20k?

 

[reeferj]

I run blueline 250w14k's with the same M58. Gives a nice clear blue, nothing too heavy. I like 'em

 

[joshl]

is the blue lines the only thing your running, no additonal t-5's or anything and how is coral growth?

 

[joshl]

well the reflector i have really doesnt let any light out just a little at the bottoms and sides but i would say 95% of the light is sent into the tank

 

[reeferj]

I do have VHO actinic bulbs going with the bluelines, and some of the old school u-shaped reflectors. but when i cut off the vho's , tanks still have a nice light blue. Coral growth is fair, prob would be better if i setup my two part on a timer/pump instead of manual dosing.

 

[jaustin]

If your reflector isn't a lumenbright or lumenmax you aren't getting your moneys worth out of any halide. Also, growth isn't going to be affected at all if you get a good 20K bulb. In most cases it will improve because the quality 20K bulb out performs the junk 10K bulb. Remember corals can photosynthesize blue light too. Just because a bulb is 20K and blue does not mean it can't grow corals as well as a 10K bulb.

That is why it is important to get a known good bulb. Some times price does not determine the output of a bulb. I can go into depth about lighting but it's getting late and i don't want to fill your thread up with all of that madness.

Bottom of the line is, things will start to grow if you have proper lighting (known high performance bulb, quality reflector, and a ballast that drives the bulb to spec). Of course provided your chemistry is good to go and stable. Don't skimp on lighting though, it will bite you in the butt later on.