metal halides 10k, 14k, 20k?

[al0ha]

ah 14k sounds good, y does 20k reduce growth?

 

[fluidimagery]

depending on the corals you keep 10k may be too much. I keep a mixed tank, tried switching my 175w reeflux 14k to the 10k and had some bleaching. The blues looked great with the 10k but overall it was way too bright. 14k is the way to go IMO

 

[jackson6745]

Keep in mind different ballast will fire the same bulbs a different color and intensity, and the same color temp + brand bulbs of different wattages will not have the same color.

As if it wasn't confusing enough.......

 

[tosiek]

And only certain 10k bulbs with a specific frequency or wavelength actually give better growth. And then one or two 20k's ive heard of give same growth as 10k. But too many other factors come into play when dealing with growth. And then you have the people who have the same growth while using both 20k and 10k.

Gotto love the mind :bunnies:....

More importantly because your going to look at the tank, do you like brownish colored coral? or colorful coral? And do you have any type of supplimentation? Stuff will grow eventually but your gonna look at your tank every day. Preference should be on what type color range your looking for from blue to yellow/brown. Then look for the bulbs in that color range that give better growth/color from those choices. I can guarantee you will want to change out a 10k bulb without VHO's supplimenting the colors real quick.

 

[tosiek]

depending on the corals you keep 10k may be too much. I keep a mixed tank, tried switching my 175w reeflux 14k to the 10k and had some bleaching. The blues looked great with the 10k but overall it was way too bright. 14k is the way to go IMO

And be real careful on par ratings =0)