want to know more about lights

[SBS_Transit]

hi, i am getting 1 PL 55w. so i want the tank to look only abit blue , so what type should i get ? 50/50 or the K type ?(if K type how many K to get ?)

[junyong84]

50/50 looks like juz white colour to me..

abit blue shld be K

[blueheaven]

what brand PL got k rating and how much for 55 watt?

[ryz]

I suggest you get a PL light above 10,000Kelvin 15,000 would be nice You should also supplement it with actinic. Adds umph to your tank. besides one 55w isn't good enough. get 2

[FuEl]

The higher the kelvin does not mean it is necessarily better for the coral.

6500K to 10,000K should be the region you should get.

[ryz]

Higher Kelvin Lighting penetrates better into deeper waters as other spectral colors get filtered off by the water. However Lower kelvin lights are more intense and are better for Photosynthethic Zooxanthelle algae. Higher Kelvin Lights also appear bluish thus more pleasing to the eye. lights of 10,000k and below are often slightly pinkish. Trust me. once you see the difference you wouldn't like the 10000k one maybe you should go to some LFS and let them show you the lighting difference (visual) and decide then. I would choose a 15,000Kelvin bulb over a 10,000 in a heartbeat. HTH

[FuEl]

hmm..well said...

ryz..i would choose 10K to compromise between the slight bluish appearance and the benefit for the zooxanthellae.

[ryz]

yea you could get a 10,000 Kelvin lighting and supplement it with actinic lighting(makes zooxanthelle fluorescence) Looks good! up to you actually. I personally prefer higher kelvin bulbs

[RAV-65]

Hi all,

me cureently using a 20,000K Mh light, any problem with it? seems that with the higher the K, the zooXXXXXX stops growing?

Anyone can advise?

Vincent Ho

[ryz]

They don't stop growing. are you refering to zooanthids or the zooxanthelle algae? Anyway 20,000k Sounds great to me. Very blue though haha. I like. Zooxanthelle do not need much light to grow and fluorish. It's just that photosynthethic substances like chlorophyll absorb and utilise light of lower color spectrum better. High Kelvin wouldn't and shouldn't hinder their growth or affect their health. Don't worry about it. They are not very demanding in the light aspect.

[SBS_Transit]

my tank is small so i dont need to get 2 55w, maybe iget 1 55w10k and an an actinic. but i would prefer all in 1,how blue is a 55w 15k look like ?

[lightningstrike]

do a search on this topic. should be able to find out more.

[SBS_Transit]

anyone ?

what K should i get to get only abit blue colour effect?

[Terryz_]

50/50... and another actinic...maybe...

[ryz]

a bit blue u can get a 15,000 Kelvin one. I suggest you ask the LFS to show you the color of the light before u buy it. usually 15,000K gives a slight bluish hue. Otherwise you can get a 20k and a 10k one.

50/50 (usually 50% 10,000 and 50% actinic) won't show as much blue as a 15,000Kelvin bulb but will make zooxanthelle fluorescence more due to the actinic,

[spiderman]

pl55w got 20k??? what brand & where can i get it

[ryz]

PL light should have. GO to the LFS and inquire. when buying bulb, dun buy the FAKE 50/50 these are white and BLUE light combined. Blue light not actinic. If you want to get 50/50 make sure it's actinic and not blue.

[SBS_Transit]

any ones tank is under 1 55w,10K and 1 actinic or 1 55w,15K or 1 55w,50/50 ??

pls show a pic of your tank, i want to see

[mAriNe_enthusiast]

1 36W 10k Pl with 1 actcnic FL will look gd.

Quite blue but not very bright thou.

I believe 1 55W 10k with 1 actcnic FL will be a gd choice.