Switching MH from 6500k to 10000k

[RIVERMARK]

For three years my 55 gal tank has done well under a pair of Iwasaki 250 watt 6500K MH. It's time for new bulbs and I was considering switching to 10,000K bulbs. My corals are growing just fine now, but you always wonder "Could they be doing better?" I realize any changes I make to the system would require the inhabitants to make some adaptions, but is this change in Kelvins extreme? Thanks.

 

[Blown 346]

As long as you keep the same wattage you will be ok. The higher Kelvin will help the growth but wont hurt the corals as if you were changing to a different wattage bulb.

 

[Don Berry]

If you are looking for something a little more white why not go with an XM 10K bulb. It's PAR isn't quite as high as the Iwasaki 6500K, but is up there near the top.

 

[cuong]

Have you been running the Iwasakis for 3years with the same bulbs ? Any actinic supllement ? I like the colour of your pix.

 

[RIVERMARK]

Cuong

I have been using only, these same two, 250w, MH bulbs, since July 2002. I know just about everywhere you read claims that you should change bulbs every 8-12 months, but ââ"šÂ¬Ã…"œIf it ainââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t brokeââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦Ã¢â"šÂ¬Ã‚ Actually these bulbs have been a good deal considering they have worked every single day for almost four years.

I started this aquarium with one inch frags, not huge heads. As you can see from the picture above, things have been growing just fine (they are even growing on the rear glass).

 

[TwistedTiger]

A couple of local reef club members here use the Iwasaki 6500k's with tremendous success in both growth and color so much so that I recently added one to my 14k setup. From what I see of your tank and what I have seen on others I would stay with what's working for you now, I think you already found a really nice bulb. JMHO Take a look at this tank under 65k Iwasaki's.....

http://adriansreeftank.homestead.com/55gallonequip.html

 

[cuong]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6952976#post6952976 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RIVERMARK
Cuong

I have been using only, these same two, 250w, MH bulbs, since July 2002. I know just about everywhere you read claims that you should change bulbs every 8-12 months, but ââ"šÂ¬Ã…"œIf it ainââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t brokeââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦Ã¢â"šÂ¬Ã‚ Actually these bulbs have been a good deal considering they have worked every single day for almost four years.

I started this aquarium with one inch frags, not huge heads. As you can see from the picture above, things have been growing just fine (they are even growing on the rear glass).

Wow, i'm impress. I think i'm going to try these bulbs next time for more growth.