Light bulb replacement

[CristianD]

So my 250w double ended mh bulbs are long overdue to be changed. not sure what the k rating on them is. they're pretty white so i'm assuming 10K. I wanted to go with a more blueish look so i was looking to get 20K, however i was told that 20K bulbs don't really help coral growth (slow down). I was looking at the USHIO 250w 14k. I've seen them at a LFS and i liked the look. Anyone have any suggestions on what bulbs i should look to. I would like a more blueish look but def want to maximize coral growth especially since i'm starting to get more into SPS and picked up a bunch of frags. Thanks!

 

[akma]

Phoenix 14k bulbs are my favorite. Great bulbs.

 

[skene]

def go with 14k.

 

[Tonyscoots84]

I use tO like the hamiltons 14k but the par wasnt great. i think the ushios where the best in my eyes

 

[petraio]

it depends type of ballast is it magnetic or eletronic? ushio 14k not as blue as you'll immage especially on magnetic ballast 20k is dead end for growth for sps unless you flood your tank with more bulbs! not enough partell me type fixute and ballast i'll let u know more or less i have used many bulbs with my aquamedic fixture

 

[CristianD]

2 250w mh with lumatek electronic ballasts and 4 65w actinics in my fixture about 10in above my tank

it depends type of ballast is it magnetic or eletronic? ushio 14k not as blue as you'll immage especially on magnetic ballast 20k is dead end for growth for sps unless you flood your tank with more bulbs! not enough partell me type fixute and ballast i'll let u know more or less i have used many bulbs with my aquamedic fixture

 

[petraio]

Ok 20 k are not bright enough having two bulbs you won't have enough par And lumens phoenix 14k is very nice blue !! And good par on that ballast !! It will burn whiter 6 weeks or but with nice hue!! Good luck I saw marine depot now has them on sale

 

[CristianD]

Thanks for the imput. Yea I ordered them from marine depot last night. Any advice on the acclamation period. How long should I run them for in the beginning?

Ok 20 k are not bright enough having two bulbs you won't have enough par And lumens phoenix 14k is very nice blue !! And good par on that ballast !! It will burn whiter 6 weeks or but with nice hue!! Good luck I saw marine depot now has them on sale

 

[petraio]

give your coral about 7 hour a day for first week add 30 minutes every week until reach 10 hours a day! just check your lps !!! if you see that light is too strong try to raise the light fixture about 2 inches !!by keep adding 30 minutes a week ! good luck post some pictures!!

 

[CristianD]

new bulb pics

so here's a few pics with the new bulbs (phoenix 250W 14K). i just put them on last night and had them running for about an hour so def not broken in or anything. I'm gonna run them today for about 4hrs is that too lil/too much for the corals?? i run my actinics 9am-8pm. (pics were taken with my iPhone def not best quality) From what i saw last night i absolutely love the color. way better than the 10k i was running before. Thankx for the input. really helped out. (posted pics with my old 10K bulbs and new 14k after)