How much electricity does MH take?
- Thread starter hermitkrab
- Start date
viper_930
Active Member
Seems like jamiehag says to supplement 10,000k bulbs for aesthetics, and Bang Guy says to supplement higher k bulbs to make up for lost PAR. Two different things.
It is true that corals grow faster with 10kk bulbs than with higer k bulbs. This is because the lower k bulbs have a higher PAR (photosynthetic available radiation) rating. PAR was sacraficed in the higher k bulbs. Faster growth but less color under lower K. Less growth but better color under higher K.
It is true that corals grow faster with 10kk bulbs than with higer k bulbs. This is because the lower k bulbs have a higher PAR (photosynthetic available radiation) rating. PAR was sacraficed in the higher k bulbs. Faster growth but less color under lower K. Less growth but better color under higher K.
bang guy
Moderator
Originally Posted by jamiehag
Bang guy i don't want to get into a big debate here on what to use or do
I don't see any reason not to debate. How else can we reconcile conflicting ideas?
I did find it quite interesting that you posted a quote that agreed with my opinion instead of yours though. From the quote it states quite plainly that "the decision for actinics usually comes down to aesthetics" and I agree. You were stating that 10,000K is the wrong spectrum for corals, I do not agree and I do not believe that 10,000K is a spectrum. Many SPS corals grow faster under the Iwasaki 6500K bulb than any other bulb but it is butt ugly for sure. Supplementing with blue is for asthetics, not coral health in my opinion.
Drs Foster and Smith are using 20,000K for SPS because they color up nice under that lighting but that is a seperate debate because what a retail facility does with lighting has very little bearing on home reef tanks.
Bang guy i don't want to get into a big debate here on what to use or do
I don't see any reason not to debate. How else can we reconcile conflicting ideas?
I did find it quite interesting that you posted a quote that agreed with my opinion instead of yours though. From the quote it states quite plainly that "the decision for actinics usually comes down to aesthetics" and I agree. You were stating that 10,000K is the wrong spectrum for corals, I do not agree and I do not believe that 10,000K is a spectrum. Many SPS corals grow faster under the Iwasaki 6500K bulb than any other bulb but it is butt ugly for sure. Supplementing with blue is for asthetics, not coral health in my opinion.
Drs Foster and Smith are using 20,000K for SPS because they color up nice under that lighting but that is a seperate debate because what a retail facility does with lighting has very little bearing on home reef tanks.
jamiehag
Member
Originally Posted by Bang Guy
I don't see any reason not to debate. How else can we reconcile conflicting ideas?
Because I feel that we are both somewhat right with our vewis on this. Heres what we say
10k bulbs = faster growth but less color
20k bubls = better color but slower growth
can we agree on that??
This why why people use 10k bubls for fast growth and supplemental actinic 03 for color.
Yes the statment also says that it has been proven that blue light is benficail to coral growth. Personally i would rather have a brightly colord coral in my tank than a larger less colorful coral, in this case you would want a 20k bulb or a 10k bulb with Supplemental lighting.
It also says that the decision for actinics USUALLY not always comes down to aesthetics. 10,000k is a temp but the light that it emits is a color of the light spectrum.
bet hermitkrab didin't think he was going to start a big debate here.
I don't see any reason not to debate. How else can we reconcile conflicting ideas?
Because I feel that we are both somewhat right with our vewis on this. Heres what we say
10k bulbs = faster growth but less color
20k bubls = better color but slower growth
can we agree on that??
This why why people use 10k bubls for fast growth and supplemental actinic 03 for color.
Yes the statment also says that it has been proven that blue light is benficail to coral growth. Personally i would rather have a brightly colord coral in my tank than a larger less colorful coral, in this case you would want a 20k bulb or a 10k bulb with Supplemental lighting.
It also says that the decision for actinics USUALLY not always comes down to aesthetics. 10,000k is a temp but the light that it emits is a color of the light spectrum.
bet hermitkrab didin't think he was going to start a big debate here.
bang guy
Moderator
Originally Posted by jamiehag
Because I feel that we are both somewhat right with our vewis on this. Heres what we say
10k bulbs = faster growth but less color
20k bubls = better color but slower growth
can we agree on that??
This why why people use 10k bubls for fast growth and supplemental actinic 03 for color.
We agree 100% on this
bet hermitkrab didin't think he was going to start a big debate here.
LOL As long as he got his info before we started I don't see a problem.
That's not the correct spectrum for coral. Corals need the atinic or blue color that is found in the deeper waters in the ocean
This is the statement I didn't agree with when discussing 10,000K lights. Corals don't need actinic, it is beneficial in that it provides PAR but not anymore than any other light. It's just pretty and makes the corals pretty. If your focus was on the visual beauty of the tank then I'm not really disagreeing with you, I think you could have worded your statement differently though.
If we're just discussing blue spectrum I again point you to the many spectral plots that have been done. A 10,000K aquarium bulb is going to provide light in a very wide variety of spectrums, not a single spectrum. A 10,000K bulb can have a lot of light from the blue spectrum, even more than a 20,000K bulb.
So, that's why I disagree with your statement that a 10,000K bulb is "not the correct spectrum for coral". The sun is a very yellow 5500K color. Shallow water corals appear to do OK without the Actinic supplements.
Because I feel that we are both somewhat right with our vewis on this. Heres what we say
10k bulbs = faster growth but less color
20k bubls = better color but slower growth
can we agree on that??
This why why people use 10k bubls for fast growth and supplemental actinic 03 for color.
We agree 100% on this
bet hermitkrab didin't think he was going to start a big debate here.
LOL As long as he got his info before we started I don't see a problem.
That's not the correct spectrum for coral. Corals need the atinic or blue color that is found in the deeper waters in the ocean
This is the statement I didn't agree with when discussing 10,000K lights. Corals don't need actinic, it is beneficial in that it provides PAR but not anymore than any other light. It's just pretty and makes the corals pretty. If your focus was on the visual beauty of the tank then I'm not really disagreeing with you, I think you could have worded your statement differently though.
If we're just discussing blue spectrum I again point you to the many spectral plots that have been done. A 10,000K aquarium bulb is going to provide light in a very wide variety of spectrums, not a single spectrum. A 10,000K bulb can have a lot of light from the blue spectrum, even more than a 20,000K bulb.
So, that's why I disagree with your statement that a 10,000K bulb is "not the correct spectrum for coral". The sun is a very yellow 5500K color. Shallow water corals appear to do OK without the Actinic supplements.