Best bulb for color

[Stoney Mahony]

Just like it says, what are your opinions on the best bulbs to color up clams to their optimum color. Wattages and kelvin ratings are what I need. I would think that 10k's would be the best but anybody using a more yellow 6500k bulb? Anybody think actinics help? Any and all opinions are welcome!

 

[a4twenty]

i would say that a 5k bulb would be the closest to natural sun light. 6.5k is comparable to an overcast day. i prefer 10k as the other two are a little to yellow for my taste but in reality the 5k or 6.5k would better simulate their natural conditions.

IMO anything above 10k is just to satisfy what we want to see and has no benefit for the clam. if anything i would say that they actually hinder the growth by not providing the full spectrum of light.

as for wattage that's going to depend on your tank. i run 400W 10k's on my 120, it's a bit overkill but i can keep my crocea on the bottom and he doesn't know the difference.

 

[jmaneyapanda]

I agree mostly with a4twenty, but not totally. Bulbs above 10K with definitely have benefit to a clam, but they wont have as much as a 10 or lower. Countless people keep clams under 14 or even 20k, and the clams grow and prosper. Maybe not as much as under a 10, but they are not doomed.

 

[a4twenty]

sorry if i was misunderstood, i did not mean that clams cannot prosper under >10K bulbs, or they are doomed. i meant exactly what jmaneyapanda is saying. they may not reach the same potential as if they were kept under the lower k bulbs.

i also did not mean that the >10k bulbs would have no benefits for the clam, just that the <10k bulbs would provide the full spectrum with a greater relative power. the >10k bulbs may still provide the full spectrum but with an emphasis on the 400 - 480 nm ( blue ) wavelength, at the cost of a reduction in relative power throughout the rest of the spectrum.

 

[Stoney Mahony]

Thanks for the great responses. I wasnt sure if the clams would need more blue to encourage flourescent pigments in the zoozanthella or if they would come out naturally under lower k lamps such as 6500k and 10k. I am starting a large clam tank and want to have the best light possible. Maybe I will do a combo of 6500 and 10k bulbs over top to provide a wider range of spectrum. I know what you mean about 20k's. I have a few clams under a 150w 20k hqi and also some under a 400w 10k iwasaki. Both look great but the clams under the 400 grow alot faster.

 

[reefkoi]

I think your question is about color and not growth as some have gotten sidetracked on. what does growth matter anyway, they will just overcrowd the tank and make less room for future clams anyway. Its not as if corals dont grow at 14K or 20K just slower and I think its a good thing. I hate tanks that have acros growing onto the front glass, it looks "dirty" to me seeing the yellow in the spectrum. If you've ever been in a real reef you'll see how different the colors are from a highly lit T-5 or 400w 10K MH tank.

O.k. back to the subject I think 14K or 20K makes everything look better as far as blues which croceas are predominantly.
Some 14K s have the same amount of blue as some 20K's so its up to you to find the bulb that looks best to your eyes.

 

[a4twenty]

i guess the question is then what are you looking for in color? do you want to see their natural beautiful color or a fake blue imposed over top of their natural color.

you could run black lights and say that is their best color because it's what you like. if you want to see the clam as he was meant to be seen in the wild 5K - 6.5K, if you want them to 'look' more blue then definitely go with the 14k - 20k's

the initial question was "what are your opinions on the best bulbs to color up clams to their optimum color." my answer is 5K - 6.5K. they may be pleasing to 'your' eye under 20k bulbs. but that will not help color up the clam to his ultimate color. i have actually seen loss of color by using the higher k bulbs.

 

[Stoney Mahony]

I agree with a4twenty, and I was asking about their natural color .
Here is a pic of a crocea coloring up a bit:

This is May 06:

This is November:

I have other clams under 400w 10k that seem much more vibrant but this is a different self sustaining clam/softy tank. I have never used 6500k on clams but I am going to set up a holding tank and see how it goes.

 

[gigi4539]

20,000K halides all the way!!!!!!!

 

[Rockhead21564]

Nice clam, but your lighting may not've had much to do with the coloring up. Most clams are stressed and lose some of their color. I've got some that have taken 3 months to " de-stress". I prefer 10k, just for the combo of looks and natural. The clams may get a natural color under 5-6.5k, but you won't see the color as well, IMO.

 

[GSMguy]

i use 20k ushio 250wde on a m80 ballast and they really make colors pop i just got my first clam yesterday and i think the bulbs were a lot for him to handle it immediatly expelled a tiny bit of brown stuff but the gold in him and the blue are amazing im hooked on clams

 

[mistermikev]

I have: 400w mh running 20000k bulb. 200w vho 50/50, 110 pc 70/30, 30w std flour actinic... on a 75gal. Not sure if my vho and pc are helping but I get mad growth out of my hairy acro, mille, cap, etc., and my crocea shows a layer of new growth after 3months in the tank. Don't really want more growth than this... something to be said for slow growth as well. I went with a 20000k bulb in my mh because 14k and 10k are yellow and don't do it for me at all (NO OFFENSE). I did have concerns that my crocea wouldn't do well under 20000k but it opens up nice and like I said I allready see some growth. NOW, as far as nice looking... my setup looks 1000 times better now that I added that 30w standard flour... nothing beats that std flour for actinic color. I know what your thinking... how do you even see it with all the other lights on? You do. Small diff in the mix makes the greens glow. That's all I have to say.

 

[GSMguy]

400w halides are serious buisness i like em just didnt think that i could get two of them over my 50 without a chiller with my 250s i get a steady 79 degrees moving to 80 by the end of the day
i went 20k because i didnt want any yellow and i have no actinic

 

[jmaneyapanda]

The point to be made is that 20K bulbs will work if the are properly intense for the situation. However, BY COMPARISON, 10k or even 14k bulbs would produce better growth, possibly better coloration by the clams. That doesnt mean the 20k's wont, but not as good, comparatively, at the lower k.