What kind of growth?

[lougotzz]

What kind of growth would I get with 10k MH bulbs next to 14k's? I currently have 14k's and am kind of curious if it would be worth it to get 10k bulbs for better growth. Acros and montis is what I am trying to grow out.

What do you think?

 

[Znut Reefer]

I use a mix of 20K and 10K growth is pretty good.

 

[lougotzz]

So do yout think I should make the switch or not?

 

[woody283]

What type of bulbs do you have now? Some 14ks have enough par for great growth without the yellow color from a 10k bulb.

 

[lougotzz]

It's the stock 14ks that come on a current USA sunpod fixture.

 

[jakester]

I Personally like 20k Radiums with 10k reeflux. Great growth and color. If your using a sunpod fixture the bulb colors might not blend that good together if they are in small spaced out reflectors. hope that helps you somewhat.

 

[lougotzz]

So should I switch to 10k bulbs? Is there a better 14k bulb I should use, or are my current bulbs alright?

 

[woody283]

The ushio 14k is a great bulb for par and has a crisp, bright white/blue color. And looks great with actinic supplements. I would switch from the stock bulbs for sure. What kind of color are you looking for?

 

[lougotzz]

Well, this is a temporary solution because I eventually want to buy a fixture like the geismann infiniti so I can create a dawn to dusk effect, and get that deep blue in the water when the halides are off so I can get the acros to pop in color. As of now, I am looking to get a white, with no yellow in it. I've seen 10k bulbs with actinic supplements that look really nice, perfect white, than I also would have the ability to have a blue in the water for dusk and dawn.

For now, how are pheonix 14k bulbs?

 

[jakester]

10k and 14k ushio seem to yellow compared to other bulbs. Buts that is running them on a icecap and PFO hqi ballast. Maybe they look better on another ballast. I can tell you that the 10k reeflux seems to be a nice bulb for that spectrum with excellent growth and color results. When I had a 14k ushio next to a 10k reeflux it made the ushio look ugly and yellow running the ushio on a PFO hqi ballast. That is just from my personal experience.

Maybe someone could chime in about using the 10k XM. I have heard they are not yellow and throw out a great PAR reading but personally have never tried them.

 

[Btortorelli]

Re: What kind of growth?

I run xm 10k 250's on my system and get pretty good growth with them but I also have t5's for actinics so I'm happy with color

 

[BradR]

I'm running 400W 14K Ushios after running 10K XM's and from what I remember the color looks very similar.