10,000K light over 6700k
- Thread starter sundance
- Start date
wyldgunz
Member
it all depends on what you want your tank to look like and what you are going to keep in it .... every depth in the ocean has a certain light rating that hits it so whatever id living in that area will do the best under those lights.... but no matter that k lighting you get everything will do fine for the most part .. personally i like the looks of the 10k thats all i use.
sundance
Member
Your tank looks GREAT. The reason I'm asking is Home Depot had 500W fluorescent flood lights. I realize that the light output is not going to be as high as a 500w MH But if I can get rid of all that heat and if a 500w is even close to the out put of my 250W MH it might be worth it to give this a try. The lights are rated a 6700K. Also they are only $19.00 plus if your are in N. CA you get a rebate from PG & E of $10.
Will let you know hot they look.
Thanks
Sundance
Will let you know hot they look.
Thanks
Sundance
worldchanger
Member
I'm using 20K MH's and Actenic White VHO's and the colors are perfect IMO.
oregonbud
Member
Wattage is only one very small piece of adequate reef lighting.
500W NO (Normal Output) lights do not emit enough light to be adequate for anything but mushrooms, zoos, and other low light corals.
500W of MH would be more then enough for just about anything you could want (depending on size tank)
The difference is actually pretty simple - NO flo tubes are designed to light a room with light that is pleasant to humans, MH lights emit a different spectrum, and produce a much more intense light, making them suitable for a variety of applications.
When you shine a NO light on water, the water reflects and scatters the light particles, because NO lighting is not "intense" the light does not penetrate deep enough into the water to be of much benefit.
MH is a much more intense light, it doesnt scatter or reflect as much when it hits water, therefore it can penetrate to a deeper depth, and more closely resemble the suns rays hitting the water in nature.
When setting up a reef lighting system you need to take into account, wattage, bulb type, lumens, par rating, and kelvin rating.
My opinion - save your 20 bucks, buy an Icecap or Workhorse ballast, build a canopy, and have a nice 440W VHO setup for under 200 bucks - you will be much happier with it in the long run.
500W NO (Normal Output) lights do not emit enough light to be adequate for anything but mushrooms, zoos, and other low light corals.
500W of MH would be more then enough for just about anything you could want (depending on size tank)
The difference is actually pretty simple - NO flo tubes are designed to light a room with light that is pleasant to humans, MH lights emit a different spectrum, and produce a much more intense light, making them suitable for a variety of applications.
When you shine a NO light on water, the water reflects and scatters the light particles, because NO lighting is not "intense" the light does not penetrate deep enough into the water to be of much benefit.
MH is a much more intense light, it doesnt scatter or reflect as much when it hits water, therefore it can penetrate to a deeper depth, and more closely resemble the suns rays hitting the water in nature.
When setting up a reef lighting system you need to take into account, wattage, bulb type, lumens, par rating, and kelvin rating.
My opinion - save your 20 bucks, buy an Icecap or Workhorse ballast, build a canopy, and have a nice 440W VHO setup for under 200 bucks - you will be much happier with it in the long run.
overanalyzer
Active Member
Originally posted by Barracuda
I'm currently using Iwasaki 6500K bulb. I don't like its yellowish color. 10K gives you more natural color as well as your corals will look more beautiful.
Barracuda - welcome back!! I thought you were using T5's - what happened?
oregonbud
Member
Originally posted by FranknBerry
But to clarify - the light in question is not an NO fixture it is a PC fixture rated at 65W. The 500W figure is used for comparison purposes on the packaging of the unit.
Ah I misunderstood his original post, I thought he was talking about the shoplights with flo tubes, not the little flood lights.
sundance
Member
I have MH and VHO lights now on my 80g, I was just experimenting with the Florescent floods light. With one end of my 80g tank lit with the florescent flood and the other with my MH you can see that the flood is about 2/3 the intensity of the MH, but not bad when you compare HUNDREDS of dollars for MH to the 20 bucks for the florescent. I think for a small tank that isn't very deep it would be great. The main noticeable difference is not intensity but the fact the florescent is much more diffused than the MH. You don't get the sharp crisp shimmering effect you do with the MH.
One other question while on lights. I have a 2nd 25g tank I use for a hospital, quarantine tank. Right now it has a brittle star that lost some legs and anemone that was sucked in to the pump updraft pipe. How should I light this tank?
Thanks,
Sundance
One other question while on lights. I have a 2nd 25g tank I use for a hospital, quarantine tank. Right now it has a brittle star that lost some legs and anemone that was sucked in to the pump updraft pipe. How should I light this tank?
Thanks,
Sundance