timi hendrix
New member
ive never had a 15k bulb and i was wondering if it would be a good choice for me.i have 10k right now.also i have a couple of large monti caps and some lps.what do u all think i should do.
debate.10k or 15k 175 mh
- Thread starter timi hendrix
- Start date
Faye
New member
Depends. Do you have actinic lighting? Most folks only go down the 10K route if they have some T-5's/VHO/LED to entice a stronger blue hint to the water. I myself am in the unique field of liking a straight 12K look, and even in some cases a straight 10K look like the XM bulbs. It's more natural. Not many SPS reefs with a deep blue color in the wild, they're to close to the surface. It comes down to personal preference really. If you want a good color bulb that is a white with a slight hint of blue, and send out good par, try a 14K pheonix. I am not sure if they come in 175 watts though. I have seen the 15k xm and they look pretty nice.
HTH
HTH
125G Reefer
New member
Depends. Do you have actinic lighting? Most folks only go down the 10K route if they have some T-5's/VHO/LED to entice a stronger blue hint to the water. I myself am in the unique field of liking a straight 12K look, and even in some cases a straight 10K look like the XM bulbs. It's more natural. Not many SPS reefs with a deep blue color in the wild, they're to close to the surface. It comes down to personal preference really. If you want a good color bulb that is a white with a slight hint of blue, and send out good par, try a 14K pheonix. I am not sure if they come in 175 watts though. I have seen the 15k xm and they look pretty nice.
HTH
There ya have it. Couldn't have said it any better. 15k is a very nice blueish tint.
timi hendrix
New member
i was asking because i already have 3 actinics 110 vho and wanted some input on how a 15k would look with that compo.thanks.would that be too much blue,and would my monti caps growth be stund by that.
gweston
New member
I like my 14k 175 halide over my 29 gallon. Looks nice. BUT I don't have any actinic supplements or anything. Just the halide pendant by itself. 14k gives a nice bluish ocean-like tint without being too deep. I used a 10k bulb before that. I like it too.. a very clean white crisp light. But I think the 14k makes it feel more 'ocean' like. Intrestingly my RBTA and GBTA's seemed to like the 14k better. They started regaining some bubble tips that flattened out with the 10k.
If you expect to supplement with actinics.. then maybe go 10k and supplement the blues. That way you get the higher PAR of the 10k, and the actinic spectrum of the supplements. 14k's tend to have a bit less par than an equivalent 10k. Not that it is a bad thing. It is a matter of what sort of light you want over your tank.
If you expect to supplement with actinics.. then maybe go 10k and supplement the blues. That way you get the higher PAR of the 10k, and the actinic spectrum of the supplements. 14k's tend to have a bit less par than an equivalent 10k. Not that it is a bad thing. It is a matter of what sort of light you want over your tank.
RVANANO
SWAGON
I had 15k's over my 120 for a short bit and hated them. Looked like windex in the tank. I think a lot depends on what type of bulbs. I have 4 blue T5's so I went with 10k's to get the really white/slightly yellow light. Looks more natural IMO. I also couldn't take a decent photo under the 15k's no matter what I did to my WB on the camera 
10k's will also give faster growth than 15k's from what I have researched.
10k's will also give faster growth than 15k's from what I have researched.
Last edited:
Faye
New member
XM 15k
XM 15k
A lot of guys saying they don't like the XM 15k. I was reading this thread last night right before you asked this question, this guy is running a straight 15k xm bulb on his tank:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1725047&page=3
I thought it looked good. There are pics of his tank so you can get an idea of what a straight 15k xm looks like.
HTH
XM 15k
A lot of guys saying they don't like the XM 15k. I was reading this thread last night right before you asked this question, this guy is running a straight 15k xm bulb on his tank:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1725047&page=3
I thought it looked good. There are pics of his tank so you can get an idea of what a straight 15k xm looks like.
HTH
Similar threads
