Alternating differnet metal halide bulbs

[bureau13]

I've seen several posts recently where people mentioned that they alternated different metal halide bulbs in their tank (e.g. two 14K and two 10K, alternating). This intrigues me, since my AB10K tend to wash out my colors, but I'm concerned that the Phoenix 14K won't have enough PAR for my tank, which is 36" deep. My fixture is a 6' Aqua Medic with 4x250W HQI, so I could conceivably alternate Phoenix with the ABs, but...is there any visible "banding" effect from the mix of color temperatures? Do you have to place high-light corals so that they fall in the direct path of the 10Ks? Or is it a pretty uniform look?

TIA,

jds

 

[gasman059]

If u do decide to alternate u may find that shade effect and certainly there's the possibility of blue/white/blue/white noticeable in your setup. The exact words are escaping me right now. Maybe someone may chime inn!