metal halides

stangbabe1993

stangbabe1993

Member
i'm ready to get new mh bulbs you guys said to get xm. right now i have ushio 250 w 10 k's would the xm 15 k be ok .i can get them for 56.00 is that good or should i stick with 10 k's
 
fishieness

fishieness

Active Member
it depends what coloration you want. the 15Ks will be more blue and the colors will be much better, but the 10Ks have a wider and larger spectrum, able to give more of the spectrum of light necessary for the zoo inside the corals and inverts.
 
buzzword

buzzword

Member
Depends on the depth of your tank. They are not reccomended for tanks deeper than 18 inches because they have a very low PAR. I thought about them as well until I found that out. I am swithcing also and have had to settle for Blueline 10K+ (14000K) is what they actually PAR out to and have a blue tint to them. I had to get either get these or upgrade my ballast and don't have the money for that just yet.
If your ballast is Pulse start or HQI I would get Radium bulbs. If it is Double ended Thomas speaks highly of Phoenix 14K bulbs. HTH
 
stangbabe1993

stangbabe1993

Member
its a 90 gal tank and theres 22 inche from sandbed to top the mh bulbs i have now i think are about 2 years old so i know i need to get new ones. but i want to get for growth and nice coloring
 
buzzword

buzzword

Member
That is why I am going with 14K to get the blue tint for coloration and a lower K for growth. I also have actinic PC's with the MH.
 
fishieness

fishieness

Active Member
you can compromise and get something like a 14K. although i must say, i have a 10K and the coloring is realy realy nice. as long as you have nice corals. Plus the actinics will add a lot of nice color. You can either compromise or jsut go with the actinics. I would personaly say the actinics but that is jsut my personal opinion. It depends on what you are looking to keep.
 
buzzword

buzzword

Member
I have 10K's right now and even with the actinics I want a little more blue that is why I am going with the 14K. I have had great growth under my 10K's but have seen tanks with good growth under 14K and 20K. I have predominantly SPS.
 
stangbabe1993

stangbabe1993

Member
it says pulse on the sockets and i got everything for the mh at the same time i can't find the paper work on them and i have 2 vho actinic's also
 
buzzword

buzzword

Member
I would figure out what brand and what type i.e. Pulse start, HQI, magnetic, or coil. And then findout what bulbs your ballast will fire correctly. I had to call the maker of mine and e-mailed bulb makers to findout if my ballast could fire their bulbs. HTH
 
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