Are 6,000 K Iwaski's a good choice?

[thorsen]

I found a couple articles saying that the 6,000 K Iwasaki bulbs had the best spectrum for most corals and that if you mixed them with other lights the spectrum was still pleasing to the eye. So I installed two 400 watt Iwasaki bulbs over my tank (I have yet to balance them with any other lighting). After doing this I found ReefCentral and it didn't seem anyone else was going with this option. Was this a good decision or did I waste a whole lot of money on weird lights. I would be greatly comforted if I knew of some other people who had done the same thing and were happy with the results. My corals are growing like mad compared to the tanks I've seen with the higher K lights, but things are a little yellow.

 

[fat-tony]

i'd just add a couple 110 VHO super actinic and you'll have a setup that grows anything and looks great to boot. An icecap 430 with 2x4' bulbs or even an ARO ballast will help give great supplement and whiten things up considerably.

Many here have opted for a 14k or 20k bulbs because they heavily favor a bluer tint or they can get away without using actinic supplement to help with coloring.

 

[golfish]

Great bulbs for coral growth, they last longer then any bulb out there, they cost less then most bulbs. The only draw back is the butt ugly yellow color. I don't think you can fit enough actinics over a tank to off set the ugly color

I've used em before, some people still use em to grow out frags.

FWIW, the K rating is 6.5.

I just hope your not using an MV ballast.

 

[mwood]

I had those for a couple years. Here's a pic with 2 400w Iwasaki's and 2 4' URI VHO actinics. Looked ok, but you can fit 4 bulbs over a tank if you wish.

Here's a pic with Iwasaki's blended with 20k's. They can be offset to look like 10k. Great bulb for sps if you want growth. If you want you could put a couple 250w 20k bulbs to run 8 hours a day and only run the Iwasaki's 3 hours a day. Color and growth.