My Final Lighting question (I promise)

[giantregal]

ok, so i bough 3 250 watt metal halide lights for my 125 gallon tank
it measure s 72" long 18 inches wide and 18 inches deep
i was thinking about just going with 20,000 K bulbs because i hear you do not need actinics if i do, which would mean less heat because i dont have VHO's under the canopy aswell
is this true? about the not needing actinics
if not then i will probably stay with my 14k bulbs that it came with, and run my 60 watt actinic flourescents until i get some better actinics
also: is 750 watts enough light for mushrooms, zoo's, polyps, and clams?

 

[tanksalot]

750 watts is more than enough light for mushrooms, zoo's, polyps, and is good lighting for clams. Depending on what type clam you get you just might have to move the clam up towards the light, but probally not.
Also if you go with a 14K bulb, I dont believe you would need to run any actinic lighting. But I will let one of the experts answer that for you. HTH.

 

[giantregal]

ok cool thanks
so anyone know about the actinics stuff :jumping:

 

[nas19320]

Its all a matter of taste really. The 14K will give you better growth and good color but the 20K will generally give you better color but poorer growth. Actinics are nice for Dawn/Dusk and will make the light appear bluer. 20K will be blue and with actinics it will be really blue much bluer than the 14 K.

 

[giantregal]

ok so would i be cool with a set of 14k;s
and the regular flourescent atinics ?

 

[nas19320]

Sure. 14K with actinics IMO is pretty nice, next time I change my bulbs I'll be looking for something between 10K and 20K.

 

[giantregal]

cool thanks nas, you are really helpful everytime i have a stupid question :happy:

 

[nas19320]

Glad I could help and no question is stupid.