Questions about MH

[drew2005]

Going to be upgrading to MH soon and was curious if 2 150w HQI 14,000k is sufficient for a 46 gallon. Thats about 6.5 watts per gallon. Will 14,000k bulbs have some blue color in them? I cant seem to find a fixture with dual HQI(over 10,000k) and actinics. I like the blue look my pc's give the tank now.

 

[hurt]

Yep, you will be able to keep anything. IMO the WPG rule is BS. It's all about the source of the light, and 2 150w DE MH will allow you to keep anything in a 46g.

 

[drew2005]

Which is better 14k or 20k bulbs?

 

[murph145]

i run 20K DE's with some 10K PC's
i like the 20K's personally but i added the 10K's since i had some laying around and i think it was a good combo choice
i heard 14K's penetrate weaker than 20K's but 20K's are a lil slower on the growth but do provide great coloring

 

[drew2005]

Originally Posted by murph145
i run 20K DE's with some 10K PC's
i like the 20K's personally but i added the 10K's since i had some laying around and i think it was a good combo choice
i heard 14K's penetrate weaker than 20K's but 20K's are a lil slower on the growth but do provide great coloring
Heres my problem. I want a fixture not retrofit kit. I have no hood or canopy. I cant seem to find a fixture with dual lights over 14k. I have that damm brace in the center so i need a dual light fixture. Im pretty much stuck with the 14k DE HQI dual 150w. 14k is better than the 10k tho right?

 

[murph145]

well im not too sure if better is the word ur lookin for
alot of people run 10K's with actinic supplementation to even out the yellowness...
i accidentally put a 10K 250DE in my tank and it was very very yellow
if u do use the 10K's what kinda actinics come with it??
and what about the 14K's??
can u make a canopy??

 

[drew2005]

See thats the reason i dont want the 10k. I heard it has a slight yellow to it. Thats why im looking at 14k and higher. The fixture im lookin at has no actinic to it. Just the 2 150w 14k DE HQI. Its the CurrentUSA Sunpod 36". It would take some work to make a canopy for a 46 bowfront. I have an overflow box hanging on back and my protein skimmer is on back also. Do you think if i go with the 14k ill eliminate that yellow look?

 

[farslayer]

Look up an Aqua Medic light, they offer 2x250W DE canopies with T5 supplements. The MH which come with it are 13K, but you can easily replace them with 14K or 20K.

 

[murph145]

im pretty sure ud be happy with 14k's its probably a nice mix of the 2

 

[drew2005]

Originally Posted by Farslayer
Look up an Aqua Medic light, they offer 2x250W DE canopies with T5 supplements. The MH which come with it are 13K, but you can easily replace them with 14K or 20K.
Nice fixture. Definitely considering that one.

 

[thegriffin]

I am having the same problem with my 46 bf. I am going with the current outer orbit with 1 150mh in the center. I am going to cut out the black centerbrace and replace it with a clear acrilic one. This will prevent the light from being blocked and also not cause a huge shadow. Here is a pic of what I plan on doing. If you have any questions just email me at ggatschet at alaweb dot come

 

[hurt]

As a general rule, the lower the K value, the higher the par rating. PAR=growth. The higher the K value the lower the par. But with the higher K value (i.e. 20k) your corals will color up better. So it's a trade off between color in your corals, and growth in your corals. Generally speaking a 14k bulb will have more par than a 20k, but this does not necessarilly hold true every time. Each, and every MH bulb is different. If you don't wish to run actinic's I'd go with the 14k. I personally run 10k XMs (very high par) with VHO super actinics. But it's all about what you want. Here is a link that should make your decision a little easier.
http://www.cnidarianreef.com/lamps.cfm

 

[ckehl]

does anyone know of an online american aquamedic dealer? i cant seem to find one.. and does anybody know the exact dimensions?

 

[drew2005]

Originally Posted by Hurt
As a general rule, the lower the K value, the higher the par rating. PAR=growth. The higher the K value the lower the par. But with the higher K value (i.e. 20k) your corals will color up better. So it's a trade off between color in your corals, and growth in your corals. Generally speaking a 14k bulb will have more par than a 20k, but this does not necessarilly hold true every time. Each, and every MH bulb is different. If you don't wish to run actinic's I'd go with the 14k. I personally run 10k XMs (very high par) with VHO super actinics. But it's all about what you want. Here is a link that should make your decision a little easier.
http://www.cnidarianreef.com/lamps.cfm
Great info. Thanx for the help! I do like the actinics. It gives it a nice crisp blue color. Dunno what to do. :notsure:

 

[hurt]

Just to give you a little more info. I just got back from a LFS here in Louisville. On their SPS/clam tank he used to run 10K XM's. Then he switched to 20K XM's. But today when I went in he switched back to the 10K XM's. He stated when he had the 20K's he was selling clams like crazy, but the sps were going very slow. He said he had better coloration under the 20K's, especially on the clams-but growth of all corals was much slower. He also said the SPS polyp's just weren't as extendend as they were with the 10K's. This is because the 10K XM's have about twice the PAR a 20K XM does. However I will say his lights are at least 18 to 24 inches above the water. Again, it's a trade-off, color vs. growth(extension).

 

[drew2005]

I think im going to go with the 14k dual 150w DE. I figure ill stay right in the middle. If i dont like it I can always sell it. Ill keep my pc lights though just in case.