To actinic or not????(on my 3 400w)

[reefann]

I am currently having a hood for my 210 gallon tank fabricated. It will house 3 400 watt metal halides. The current bulbs I have is a Philips brand, that came with the ballasts. At That Fish Place they were called 5500k. This I think will be far to yellow. I also have 4 55 watt PC's. If I went with 10,000k MH's and actinic pc's would that give me a good balance. Also I have seen some people have a 10k and 20k mix with only 3 bulbs would'nt that look very uneven. Or would the 20k bulbs only be best. What are everyones thoughts?
Thanks
JJ
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[Len]

I've tried many of the combinations you listed. I once had 3 400W (2 10K and 1 20K) over my 4' 120 gallon and it looked nice, but was simply too hot. The colors were fine with a touch more blue in the middle where the 20K was. However, on a 6' tank, you might see more prominent differences. I eventually had to remove the 3rd halide because my room was unbearably muggy and hot

For the longest time, I used 2 VHO actinics with my two 400W 10KKs. I liked it quite a bit. Nowadays, I use 4 actinics because I'm a sucker for the bluer look. It's really up to your personal tastes. I think 4 x 55W actinics will do just fine for you.

I'm not a fan of 20KK lights as the primary lights. I tried this once and the growth rates decreased.

 

[reefann]

That was my main issue with going 20k I have heard that corals do not grow nearly as well. I think I will have the 4 55w PC's with the 3 10k. Do you think the 5500k MH's will look way to yellow, if I were to use them?
Thanks again
JJ
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[mountainbiker619]

The 5500k MH's may look ok if 2 of the 4 pc's where acentics and the other 2 where 10k. But your eyes are the ones making the final judgement. I am happy with running 2 1200K Sunburst MH's only in my tank.