Bulb question

[mr_X]

hello peeps.
as most of you know, i've been using ebay, chinese bulbs (aquarmckzo) on my tank and they seem to be ok.
i recently purchased a 15k XM bulb for my girlfriends tank, and i've noticed some pretty fast growth on her birdsnest coral since the switch.

now, i always thought my bulbs were powerful due to the fact that i have bleached to death some pretty light hungry corals by putting them too high up on the rockwork.

my question is- can a bulb be bright enough to bleach a coral, but not send out enough PAR to feed it?

 

[ufotofu]

It would seem to me that you could bleach a coral very easily by simply using a high power bulb that does not contain enough PAR but contains everything else...i.e. just because a bulb is bright doesn't mean it will sustain photosynthetic organisms. Or maybe it has plenty of PAR, but it also has dangerous levels of non-PAR as well? I've never had any problems with bleaching so I can't speak from experience. Can bleaching be a response from something other than light? Maybe other contributing factors as well as light? Not sure on this...

 

[fungia]

it could be a spectrum problem. sometimes bulbs can bleach stuff because it gives off the wrong light for a coral.

 

[Anonymous]

Hey X what ever happened with the bulb testing you had posted about several months ago? (Something about you sending another member some of these inexpensive bulbs for some diagnostic tests)

 

[mr_X]

i sent the bulbs. i haven't heard anything since. i sent an inquiring email, but got no response. :?