20k?
- Thread starter iku
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zombiereef
New member
i have to question that statment made by expedition.
i have a crocea and a hob 150w coralife fixture. my crocea did absolutely no growing under that bulb. i used the 20k bulb since i set the tank up in april. i got the clam in may. the clam was doing poor the whole time. about a month ago i purchased a 10k 150w hamilton bulb and the clam is doing great. i have bright white shell growth now and his mantle is displayed better and bigger than before. my tank is only 12" deep and the light was only 8" from the water. i personally think the coralife 20k bulbs are absolute junk. and according to expedition's signature, he is using a 15k bulb which coralife doesnt even make. you will find that the par value for the 20k 150w mh bulb is too low. it is great for an actinic-like look and would be great to suppliment a tank with, but not as a main light for a clam tank. again, this is from my experiences. if you want the best growth from the light, put a 6500k mh bulb and suppliment with a couple actinic flourescent bulbs. honestly, the mh alone is not really great. mh and actinic flourescents will make a world of difference. i recently added a actinic bulb to my mh setup on my little tank and it made a huge difference in the look and health of my inverts. i have a gbta that looked good with just the mh, but once i added the actinic, wow! his bulbs reappeared on his tentacles and looks awesome.
i have a crocea and a hob 150w coralife fixture. my crocea did absolutely no growing under that bulb. i used the 20k bulb since i set the tank up in april. i got the clam in may. the clam was doing poor the whole time. about a month ago i purchased a 10k 150w hamilton bulb and the clam is doing great. i have bright white shell growth now and his mantle is displayed better and bigger than before. my tank is only 12" deep and the light was only 8" from the water. i personally think the coralife 20k bulbs are absolute junk. and according to expedition's signature, he is using a 15k bulb which coralife doesnt even make. you will find that the par value for the 20k 150w mh bulb is too low. it is great for an actinic-like look and would be great to suppliment a tank with, but not as a main light for a clam tank. again, this is from my experiences. if you want the best growth from the light, put a 6500k mh bulb and suppliment with a couple actinic flourescent bulbs. honestly, the mh alone is not really great. mh and actinic flourescents will make a world of difference. i recently added a actinic bulb to my mh setup on my little tank and it made a huge difference in the look and health of my inverts. i have a gbta that looked good with just the mh, but once i added the actinic, wow! his bulbs reappeared on his tentacles and looks awesome.
go to this link and type in the bulb you have then type in a 10K and you can see how weak 20k are
http://www.reeflightinginfo.arvixe.com/select2lamp.php
http://www.reeflightinginfo.arvixe.com/select2lamp.php
zombiereef
New member
you didnt mention that it was an xde 20k. and i still stick to my original statement that 20k 150w mh are too weak for invert growth. IMPO 20k's are junk. some are just more junky than others.
in case you didnt plot it yourself, i did it for you. notice the 10k has a rating of 67, which isnt superb, but good. look at the 20k bulb. oh too bad, a 23. that wont grow diddly, except maybe in a 2g pico tank. but then i would just get a small pc light for that. check out other 20k bulbs and you will find similar results.
in case you didnt plot it yourself, i did it for you. notice the 10k has a rating of 67, which isnt superb, but good. look at the 20k bulb. oh too bad, a 23. that wont grow diddly, except maybe in a 2g pico tank. but then i would just get a small pc light for that. check out other 20k bulbs and you will find similar results.
Last edited:
zombiereef
New member
since the tank is only a 12g, you may be able to get away with it. anything larger and it might not work. give it a shot. give it a good 6 months or so, so you can really see what is happening. if nothing seems to be growing, then get another bulb. if you see some good growth, stick to it. my guess is that you are going to not like the blue that this bulb casts.
expedition, you may think your sps and other corals are doing great, but i dare you to try a 10k bulb. you will freak out how much faster everything grows, how much more natural the tank looks and how much more color corals will have.
you are still pretty new at this like me and we both have a lot to learn yet.
expedition, you may think your sps and other corals are doing great, but i dare you to try a 10k bulb. you will freak out how much faster everything grows, how much more natural the tank looks and how much more color corals will have.
you are still pretty new at this like me and we both have a lot to learn yet.
zombiereef
New member
for clams, i would go as low as you are comfortable with. meaning, the lower kelvin temp that your eyes can stand. clams really love 6700k lights. i comprimised with a hamilton 10k and love it. very natural colors, no blue, but no yellow either. i do have a 24" flourescent bulb that i suppliment the light with and i find it makes a small, but noticeable positive difference. my clam never looked better, just wish i could knock this pinched mantle that i have been battling with since i got it 5 months ago.
but the problem is that i dont live in the us. I live in canada, so it'll be alot of work for my sister (she goes to the us occasionally) to just go and pick up the light for me. Therefore, i'll prob just with with my 20k for a while, then upgrade the bulb to a 10k or 14k later. (i dont have any clams or sps coral yet)thorsky said:
zombiereef
New member
good luck and happy reefing!
Herbert T. Kornfeld
In Memoriam
go to www.illuming.com and get a pheonix 14,000K bulb for $55 shipped. It has the same blue spike as a radium in the 450nm range, but not the purple spike in the 410nm range...but it has enough output in the rest of the spectrum so its not deep blue....but blue enough to not need actinics. It looks great, like a crisp day/blue, and has an output that rivals many 10,000K bulbs like the ushio. IMO, one of the best bulbs you can buy...and for $55 its a steal.
zombiereef
New member
a single 150w bulb will PROBABLY not be enough light so support clams and sps in a 36. somebody will chime in here saying they do it, but i seriously doubt it. i just put a sps frag in my 20L and i am going to see how it turns out. i have had some m. digitata in my tanks for a couple months and it has done great with the 10k but not good with the 20k. i am under the assumption that digitata is a very easy to care for sps compared to an acropora. i put a small frag of acro in there this week to get a feel for how much growth my tank can support. if the acro does well, then i can say that my setup has met my expectation, but i am not holding my breath. i am finding out that 150w of mh really isnt that powerfull.....but, alot of it has to do with the bulb. i hear very good things about pheonix, xm, hamilton & ushio bulbs.
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