What are the advantages/disadvantages of the different temperature bulbs? I currently have one 10K and two 14K bulbs. I haven't added many corals yet as I am still in the set up process and recently added MH lighting. I was originally planning on going with 14K phoenix bulbs but I prefer the more natural look of the 10K. I know different bulbs have different coloration and the 14K bulbs are Hamilton bulbs seem too blue and less natural. So whats the good and the bad?
10K or 14k MH bulbs?
- Thread starter Lilfish
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Michigan Mike
Freedom costs a buckofive
Just go with what looks best to you. All that matters is you like the look of it.
10k bulbs are brighter but not everyone wants a reef tank that looks similar to a freshwater tank.
20k bulbs are more blue so certain corals will look different or fluoresce more.
I like 10k bulbs because they are strong but I like a bluer look so I would need lots of supplement lighting like VHO SUPER ACTINICS /T5/ LEDs to make it look the way I want. So its easier to use a 14k Phoenix or 20k radium. Growth is subjective, some think Radiums give the best growth in some corals while other corals prefer 10k. They all grow in time so I do what looks best.lol. To me...
10k bulbs are brighter but not everyone wants a reef tank that looks similar to a freshwater tank.
20k bulbs are more blue so certain corals will look different or fluoresce more.
I like 10k bulbs because they are strong but I like a bluer look so I would need lots of supplement lighting like VHO SUPER ACTINICS /T5/ LEDs to make it look the way I want. So its easier to use a 14k Phoenix or 20k radium. Growth is subjective, some think Radiums give the best growth in some corals while other corals prefer 10k. They all grow in time so I do what looks best.lol. To me...
Last edited:
Ron Reefman
Active member
I guess I'd rather say that some people like the 10K look because it looks like a real reef and not a fake blue one. LOL! :beer:
I like my 20k's I had 14k's but didn't like the look. So I switched back to my 20's with 2-96w PC atinics. I decide to go with the bluer look since returning from a deployment in Japan when we would snorkel.
It's interesting that you find the Hamilton 14K's too blue. I think there was a recent thread where someone was complaining about the Hamilton 14's being too white/yellow (SE version if I remember correctly). Do you have DE or SE? What ballast?
I have the Hamilton 14K DE on a Lumatek ballast. At standard 250 watts, I think it's a nice white, hint of blue appearance but still natural looking for me. Using the 250 HQI setting, it loses some of the blue. I've also tried the Ushio 14K, it's much brighter and lots less blue, with hints of green. It's a very nice daylight look but I found that I prefer more hints of blue and just don't have enough blue supplement lighting for it to suite my tastes.
I have the Hamilton 14K DE on a Lumatek ballast. At standard 250 watts, I think it's a nice white, hint of blue appearance but still natural looking for me. Using the 250 HQI setting, it loses some of the blue. I've also tried the Ushio 14K, it's much brighter and lots less blue, with hints of green. It's a very nice daylight look but I found that I prefer more hints of blue and just don't have enough blue supplement lighting for it to suite my tastes.
I am running DE bulbs with 2 coralvue and one Hamilton ballast. My too blue for me comparison comes from running a 10K Hamilton between the two 14K's. I am only recently getting back into reefing after a 15 year break when I was using T-12's. I know the bluer light is more of an industry norm now but I still haven't gotten used to it. I do like how the softies I currently have flouresce under the blue light though. I will lose some of that going with 10K lighting right?
I love the 10K and actintic supplementation look, always have and have never liked the Tidy Bowl Blue look. It is a preference thing, so go with what you like. If you have room for VHO Superactintics there is nothing else that gives that same look. After almost a year of led supplementation, I am about to go back to VHO for actintic supplements.
Not unhappy with them, but they don't have the same color and fluorescence as the VHO does, and the VHO is very heavy to the 420nm, which didn't matter when I was using the Ushio 10k's because that is their strongest peak but with the Radiums it is extremely low.
Michigan Mike
Freedom costs a buckofive
:dance: <> that's what happens after :beer:
Michigan Mike
Freedom costs a buckofive
Yup, 10k bulbs have a lot of 420nm while Radiums are mostly just a large peak around 450-460 I forget, somewhere in that range, but there's quite a difference between.
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