10,000k or 20,000k DE MH bulb

[dfstan]

hi all, going to replace my bulb soon. Any comments on whether to get 10K or 20K bulb(which is slightly blue tint) in terms of coral growth? Appreciate any comments...

[bwilly]

supppose 10KK stimulate the daylight, 20KK, more pleasing on the eyes.

if u know, at different level of the sea, water get bluer (yummy.. hint VCD/DVD) as some specturm of the lights are filter off. Corals are found at different depths.

It all depends, but after all, u prefer to see blue or yellow white..? on your preference.

[[d]3v|L]

IMO 10KK is more for growth and 20KK more for colour.. any experts can verify this?

[bwilly]

like I said, 10KK stimulate real "nature" daylight.

20KK is more pleasing on the eyes. but as long

u see your corals doing good, then 20kk it is.

so u may see some ppl using combination of 10KK

plus blue actinic to lessen the 'yellowish' effect.

[dfstan]

[bwilly]

both by right should not promote algae growth.

its poor water condition, plus some of the lousy daylight that penetrate into your house.

[pospeh]

If you are into DE bulbs, the choices are really limited if you want 20Ks.

The 150W versions doesn't put out enough light if you want to keep sps. The two main choices are the Radium and the Ushio blues.

For 250W, the only realistic choice is the AB, but that is a very expensive bulb. I think around $300.

If you want 10Ks, the AB and the Ushio are very good bulbs and are reasonably priced.

[[d]3v|L]

The shift towards the red end of the spectrum will retain a comparatively acceptable temperature if the bulb is of higher temperature, but may have less effect on stimulating problem algae.

[dfstan]

now, what is this term Radium and the Ushio blues? i thought 10K or 20K bulb is all about the color tint and intensity. kindly elaborate, pls..

[pospeh]

Radium is a brand of bulb that is typically described as a 20K blue because of its blue output.

Ushio is another brand name. The "blue" designation is used by the manufacturer to distinguish it from its 10K cousin. The Ushio blues are also rated 20K.

[bawater]

moved

[SunRay]

Have any heard about MH Bulb Brand "Coral Light" ??

[AlfaRomeo]

Anyone ever considered the 14KK blubs? it sound like a good compromise between the 10kk and 20kk...maybe can promote growth for the SPS etc etc and also help to color it up nicely?

[CalciumReef]

I'm running 14k on my tank...eliminates the use of actinic totally

[AlfaRomeo]

Calciumreef, which brand of bulb u r using? SE or DE? wattage?

notice any improvement in the colouration and growth of your corals?

[nicky30092002]

I'm running 14k on my tank...eliminates the use of actinic totally

yeah, like to know too ..

[CalciumReef]

I am unable to comment on that as yet....cos it will take me a few months to conclude...its a aqualine 150w Mh bulb

[AlfaRomeo]

Calcium reef, got a comparison photo of the 14kk and the older bulbs u r using? that will be most beneficial... like they say.. a picture is worth a thousand words.. yada yada yada

[CalciumReef]

No i do not have any for comparison...you can see them in operation at PR.The RIga on the 6ft display tank.There are 3 bulbs...the right one is the 14k,the middle one is 10k...confirm with them the K of the bulb better.Thet will switch it on if you make a request for comparison.

[pospeh]

In my opinion, the Ab14K or the BLV 10K both needs actinic supplementation to bring out the best fluroscence in corals.

Switching to a so-called blue bulb do bring out the nice fluroscence, but the tank may be too blue for some people. Maybe the best combination is a 10-14K bulb + actinic supplementation.

Supposedly the Giesemann 13K bulbs are supposed to provide exactly that, so I am waiting to try it out.

Here is a pic of my tank under 250W DE AB14Ks. What you see is basically how the tank looks in terms of color.

[pospeh]

The tank running under 250W DE Arcadia 20k. The pic turned out to be bluer than it actually is, but you can see how the green monti in the center and the tongue coral turned much greener under 20K lights.

[Maxima]

No i do not have any for comparison...you can see them in operation at PR.The RIga on the 6ft display tank.There are 3 bulbs...the right one is the 14k,the middle one is 10k...confirm with them the K of the bulb better.Thet will switch it on if you make a request for comparison.

CalciumReef, your 14K is not Aqualine, it's a Aquaconnect Performance 14K. Maybe you can conclude if this bulb is durable interms of spectrum shift? Most bluer bulbd has spectrum shift problems, except for Iwasaki brands, which seems much more reliable than the rest of the field. - I'm a sucker for blue bulbs......so spending all my allowances $$$$ $$$$$$

BTW AB Aqualine is marketed as 10K, but actually 13K. As for Giesemann Megachrome, it's marketed as 10K, but it's being listed as 12.5K, 13K or even 14K across US & Europe. In anycase, AB bulbs are best run with AB HQI magnetic Ballast, it will appear white in most cases for several months. As fro the rest of other ballast, I can bet you that it will be a 50/50 that it will not appear as white.

Anyway, the best method to look for a good bulb is,

1. Lux(intensity) vs Amount of Blue Spectrum. How I whish a blue bulb with intensity of 6.5K Iwasaki! Do you know that the Iwasaki 6.5K 150W DE producce more Lux than your 400W Radium!

2. Durable spectrum with less shift over it's life span

3. All the above over price.

Max

[Maxima]

Hi Poshpeh, is that a AquaTechnic tank? The tank looks good....a 3x3x2 ft?

Max

[pospeh]

Yeah, its from aquatechnic.

BTW, i just found out the AB 20K bulb is finally being sold in the US. It can be purchased at US$89 from oceanencounter.com. I am thinking of getting it. Hopefully it is gonna be better in terms of PAR than the Arcadia I am now using, and will not appear so blue. Wanna tag along on an order?

Coming from AB, it should be a good bulb since it is especially made for aquarium use.

[Maxima]

Yeah, its from aquatechnic.

BTW, i just found out the AB 20K bulb is finally being sold in the US. It can be purchased at US$89 from oceanencounter.com. I am thinking of getting it. Hopefully it is gonna be better in terms of PAR than the Arcadia I am now using, and will not appear so blue. Wanna tag along on an order?

Coming from AB, it should be a good bulb since it is especially made for aquarium use.

Hi Pospeh,

you will be disappointed. The new AB 20K is the same thing as BLV Blue, it is make to the same specifc with BLV Blue.

Max