which bulbs for a 55 gallon.... 175w or 250w?????

agoutihead

agoutihead

Member
oh yeah and ive seen online things like this...
250 w 10,000k
175 w 20,000k
175 w 6500k
what do the thousands for and which one do i want and why.
thanks !
 
finfighter

finfighter

Member
the k stands for kelvin which is a measure of the light spectrum (color) 6500 k is yellow in color 10,000 k is white 20,000 k is blue if i were you i wouldnt go with a yellow color for a marine aquarium (it looks bad) go for blue or white which will make it look more like the ocean.
 
vlondi

vlondi

Member
175w on a 55 should be plenty; supplement that with PC or VHO actinics and you will be set for most anything you want. If you get actinic supplements you could try 6500k rating bulbs. If you do 10,000k it might look "too" blue. Look around at other people's tanks and find a look you like and get their setup.
Edit: Yes, you should get 2 175w bulbs. MH bulbs only cover a 24'' area and you want the full tank lighted.
 
agoutihead

agoutihead

Member
some one on another board told me to go with 2 250w bulbs.
i have a 55 gallon that is 5 feet long, 21 inches high and 12 inches wide.
is 250 over kill?
i also plan on using 2 actinic bulbs.... one on each side of the mh bulbs... i havent figured out how many watts i want those to be yet.
the light system i have now is 2 65 watt and it seems pretty good... i dont know if i should do the 110 or if that would be over kill as well.
 
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