Cali Kid Corals

Lighting Question

70Cuda

70Cuda

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All the bulbs on my system are about a year and a half old now and been reading alot about changing the bulbs every 6 to 12 months so starting to think tank is due. Can someone guide me through a few things.

For reference the tank has three mhs right now, two 250s and one 400.The bulb on the 400 is xm 400/B The fixture is PFO lighting system. Supplemental lighting is 4 96 watt pc square pin 420 current bulbs.

These are my questions.

Do I have to change both the mhs and the pc or just the pcs.

Is the 460 the bulb that is needed or 420 is the way to go again and should I stick to the current brand.

Is xm the bulb to buy again for the mhs or is there a better brand to consider.

My thoughts are to go 10k or even 14k for 250mhs for growth and leave the 400 20k. Thinking that might be reverse of what is needed and maybe 20k for 250s and 10k for 400.

Your input is greatly appreciated.
 
Well ideally you should change everything, however I would focus on your metal halides first. My advice go with a bluer bulb then you supplemental lighting can be more suited to being a stand-alone lighting source that doesn't necessarily have to "blue up" an overly yellow bulb.

As for PC bulbs, if your using them as actinic lighting for night or to blue up the bulb, I wouldn't worry THAT much about replacing them immediately. However from a personal standpoint I'd go with 460nm bulbs as they tend to put more useful energy that corals can use into a tank, again so you don't need your halides on so long, and can get useful energy (just not as intense) at other times. Both will make fluorescing pigments pop out, the 420nm tends to look a little better at it but a great deal of that is because your tank is overall darker to your eyes (and 420 does trigger a bit different too).
 
the rating on the bulb, while yeah there can be a tremendous amount of "blueness" in different brands of the same temperature rating, I'm specifically talking about getting away from "yellow" bulbs.
 
I saw the combo bulbs, thanks jeff ill probably go with those.

Now as for the mh bulbs what do you think.

bluer is higher rating right?
 
[quote author=70Cuda link=topic=6580.msg84785#msg84785 date=1235674230]
I saw the combo bulbs, thanks jeff ill probably go with those.

Now as for the mh bulbs what do you think.
[/quote]

Not exactly what I was talking about but you could go that route. I actually run a 460nm Bulb AND a 420nm bulb. I've seen the combo bulbs out there but have never used one... they could be great... but I have no experience with them.

As for the MH bulbs I'm back in forth between a good 14K bulb and the 20k radiums. I like them both and can't commit to one or the other. :-
 
Taking info off the cover of one of my Blue Life SPS MH bulbs the ratings are approximately this.

Crisp Blue - 10,000k representing 10-30 Ocean Depth Feet
Mid Sea Blue - 14,000k representing 30-60 Ocean Depth Feet
Deep Sea Blue - 20,000k representing 60-90 Ocean Depth Feet

But yes... the higher the k the more blue it is.
 
Of course the level of blue and K rating varies from brand to brand, so that further complicates things :D

Like Jeff I use both 460 and 420 supps.

AFA the PCs go, I'm not a huge fan of the combo bulbs, I didn't like what I saw versus using individual bulbs of different spectrum. Don't ask me why, but when I had them side by side the combo bulb seemed real dim.

Now with the MH you have soooo many choices, I like Radiums the best, but run a 20k XM on my own tank and like it. I'll be switching to a 20k Reeflux as soon as I get my hands on one (very soon). Other than the 20k I'm not a huge fan of XMs the 10k is so friggin bright it bleaches everything out, unless you have a very deep tank, even then I like the Ushio because they seem to last forever before shifting and have a nice natural color (yes I know it's a little yellow). There are just too many options :D
 
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