reefer_for_life
New member
hi. im going to setup a 2x175watt MH with a 14k bulb. do i need actinics with this, or wiill that be too much blue? thanks.
do i need actinics with a 14k bulb?
- Thread starter reefer_for_life
- Start date
Nathan4Wvu
Do you like Phil Collins?
tooooo Much what ???????
I don't use them and i have the same set up 2x175 14k on my 46 bow. Where are u getting the lights from???
I don't use them and i have the same set up 2x175 14k on my 46 bow. Where are u getting the lights from???
Nathan4Wvu
Do you like Phil Collins?
They should provide all the light needed its just a matter of the look of the actinics at night
reefer_for_life
New member
too much what??? i plan on getting the lights from cool touch lighting, unless anyone has a better place. they have the 2x175watt for 165.00 . still need reflecers and bulbs, but thats the cheapest i could find. any help would be appreciated. thanks.
Nathan4Wvu
Do you like Phil Collins?
hey if you want to see one of their products in use you can come look at my reef I have the same set up MAKE SURE YOU GET THE UPGRADE TO THE FAN COOLD BOX!!! other wise it will get hot as He@@
phljess
New member
There seems to be a large variance between the manufactures of bulbs. I have seen many halides that are suppose to be 14K but look closer to 12K and on the flip side some look like 20K depending on who made them. However, that is another topic. If it were me I would not even run 14K bulbs because of the loss of PAR but if I did I would not see any reason to also use actinics with them unless you were wanting to create a dusk/dawn effect to stimulate coral feeding responses. IMO, I would run a much lower Kelvin temp bulb and use actinic sumplementation to get the "look" I want and not lose the PAR you are trying to obtain to get good coral growth.
reefer_for_life
New member
what is the upgrade to the fan cooled box?? im going to get 2 4" icecap fans for my canopy, or is this a fan built into the ballast box? i know some ballasts wont run certain bulbs, what kind of 10k bulbs could i run on the cool touch ballasts? really havent made up my mind on 10k with 4x95VHO actinics or just the 14k by itself. what would you guys suggest? thanks.
Nathan4Wvu
Do you like Phil Collins?
Yea the fan cooled ballast box. I think all of theirs may be fan cooled now. Mine is about 1 year old now
phljess
New member
What kind of ballast is it, a probe start, pulse start or electronic? Probe start ballasts are mainly for American bulbs and pulse starts usually run Japanese bulbs. I believe an electronic ballast will run all types of bulbs and DE's also. I would say the fan cooled box is for the ballast box unless you also ordered a canopy from the store. The fans are suppose to help cool the ballasts and keep them from overheating- thus shortening there life. If you give me the ANSI code for the ballast I should be able to tell you what type of bulb it will burn.
reefer_for_life
New member
here is a link to the ballast and sockets i was thinking about:
http://www.aquariumlight.com/product_info.asp?dbid=372
what brand of bulbs can you run on these ballasts? any opinions on this setup would be great. thanks.
http://www.aquariumlight.com/product_info.asp?dbid=372
what brand of bulbs can you run on these ballasts? any opinions on this setup would be great. thanks.
I do not know if I would call the 14k's blue, definitely not white, seems to be a preference thing. I would also think 14k's with actinics would be too much on the blue side. I would go as phljess suggested, for the same reasons.
There is a definite "brightness" difference between the 10k and 14k. You may not be satisfied with only 14k unless you up the wattage, but as Phillip mentioned, you may be losing out on other benefits of the light as well.
There is a definite "brightness" difference between the 10k and 14k. You may not be satisfied with only 14k unless you up the wattage, but as Phillip mentioned, you may be losing out on other benefits of the light as well.
MattG
Premium Member
Lighting is a tough subject because everybody likes different colors. It is very subjective. The color temperature on a bulb really doesn't mean all that much. It gives you a general idea of the color but nothing set in stone. As Phjless said the 'blueness' varies greatly.
I think the best thing you can do is look at as many lights as you can in person and decide what color you like the best.
I personally like bluer bulbs(12-14k) with actinics. The trend is that the bluer the bulb the less par but this isn't always the case. An off brand 10k bulb might be substantially lower in par then a decent 14k bulb. I think that too often people unnecessarily throw huge amounts of light on their tank but that is a whole other can of worms.
I think the best thing you can do is look at as many lights as you can in person and decide what color you like the best.
I personally like bluer bulbs(12-14k) with actinics. The trend is that the bluer the bulb the less par but this isn't always the case. An off brand 10k bulb might be substantially lower in par then a decent 14k bulb. I think that too often people unnecessarily throw huge amounts of light on their tank but that is a whole other can of worms.
The bulbs that still have life on them were hamilton 14k's. The other bulbs were AB10k's.
Those look like probe start m57 ballasts. Some bulbs that will run on it would be Aqualine Busche (AB), Coralife, XM,... the american bulbs. If you want maximum versatility in the bulbs you can run go with an electronic ballast. It's more expensive but what i would always recommend. I personally do not like to be limited in what bulbs I can run and the electronics will run most any bulb.
annetate
Premium Member
i recently received the same exact setup you want. you will enjoy it very much! the color is great. i did some research before i bought it and found that the 14k aquacool provides the closest resemblence to natural light at a certain depth than other temp bulbs. i tried running actinic lighting with mine but i agree, it is too much blue. you can run the 14k by themselves, where as if you went w/ 10k you would have to run actinics to obtain the correct light spectrum. go with the 14k, no actinics. you can always add them later if you want them.
annetate
Premium Member
I don't know how much you know about what the different temperatures means but read this.
http://www.aquarium-lighting-guide.com/aquarium_lighting_guide
it will help you decide what color temp to have. i couldnt find the site that actually gave a graphical representation of each kelvin temp. good luck with your choice.
