175W MH light choice/help

[JJohn]

Hi,

I need advice, again. I replaced one of my old 175W 10,000 MH bulbs with a Hamilton Tech True 10k. And...I hate it! It puts out a light green color light that looks awful. My other bulb, and the old one I replaced, are very white. They look like noon-time sun.

Did I get a bad sample? Is there some incompatability with my BlueLine E-Ballast? Is there a recommendation for a bulb that looks white and is still great for my soft corals, anemone, and a few SPS's? Long life is also important to me as I am sensitive to costs. Oh, I don't like reef tanks to look too blue either.

Any advice is appreciated,
Thanks,
John

 

[tomu]

Do you have any actinic supplement? I would go with a 10K XM. Good Par rating and I think that the color is nice. it's a crisp white.

 

[JJohn]

Thanks for the advice. I will look into the XM. I have very little actinic. Just one 40W 48" flourescent. With two 175W MH, do you think more actinic is needed. I thought that the peak near 430 nm was enough blue to keep everything healthy. Sorry if these are basic questions as before I found this forum I did everything by trial and error.

John

 

[vishboy]

Actinics would be for your eyes, the MH has enough blue for the corals.

 

[Serioussnaps]

Look into the 14K Hamilton bulbs, less yellowish/greenish. I hate that yellowish color too, but love the blue, i would go 20 K but you wont like that if you dont like bluish so try the 14 K's. Never used em but its a thought.