MH Bulb Problem

[Mcain4]

Ok i just bought a finnex lighting setup which came with fixture and bulbs. Two 24watt actinics and One MH-TS 150w/10000k Grandlite Rx7s. Now from my understanding of MH bulbs and lighting and from research i did before i bought this setup was that MH is brighter, WHITER, and just all around better for your tank. But after setting up, i turned my settup on and found that the light itself looks white but my Rocks and fish just look yellow and not very bright in color like they did when i had 40 watts of flourescent running. This yellowness is coming from the MH bulb Alone not from the mixture of mh and actinics. The bulb its self is double ended and i was wondering if there was a certain way to put the bulb in, meaning is there a top or a bottom to the bulb?. I am just confused cuz i spent all this money on this MH setup and it just gave everything a yellowish tint to it. I made sure to get the 10000k bulb because of algae issues and i was told it would be whiter.? did i get screwed with the bulb? Oh and also my clown fish doesnt seem to be swimming in the same places as he used to could the intensity of the MH be bothering him? and my cleaner as well?

[DapperDan]

Grandlite????

I think you need to buy real lamps.

DD

[DapperDan]

What the hell is Finnex???

Who talked you into buying that?

DD

[vtec si]

I have never heard of it either?! I will google it!

[vtec si]

Here ya go!http://www.finnex.net/images/images_home/home_over.gif

[vtec si]

www.finnex.net

Sorry the last link did not work.

[charlie]

What the hell is Finnex???

Who talked you into buying that?

DD

Could we mellow out a bit????? I don't think this is a frying pan.


I have never heard of Finnex either, but I would imagine that the ballast would drive any 150w double ended bulb, maybe you just need to switch bulbs. Contact the company to see if they have any other bulbs available.

[BubbaWPB]

I might have missed something, but what color of fluorescent lights did you have on before? If they were more blue than 10,000°K, despite the wattage, the new bulb would look more yellow (i.e. if your fluorescents were 12,000° or 14,000°K, they produced more blue light even though the wattage was lower).

[Reefland]

Hi Mcain4,

Like the others, I am not familiar with this brand, which simply means it is not one of the popular fixtures that most would recommend. With that said, it's hard to tell what you really have. However, there are some things to consider here.

First, the kelvin rating of bulbs is more of a marketing designation than what the real rating is. An example of this is the Iwasaki 150w double-ended bulb which is listed as 50,000k. Although your bulb, which again is not a familiar brand, might be listed as a 10k, it could realistically be a 6k which is going to look very yellow. On the other hand, it could in fact be a true 10k, which would be a nice white color, and just need some time to burn in. I like to run a bulb the full period (10-12 hours) for a week or 2 before I make any real judgement on the color. MH bulbs do tend to start out a bit yellow and then burn a bit whiter with a little time.

If your bulbs doesn't get you the coloration results you desire, you can just swap out to a new bulb. You can acquire a more common brand 10k for a white look or a common brand 20k if you like the blue look.

[Mcain4]

Whoa nice response rate . Finnex setup from what i have learned through research is a very nice premium quality brand of fixture used mostly OUT of the "US" <----Prob why no one has ever heard of it, but they are starting to expand there dominance over to where the real aquariests live ... Not sure what the kelvin rating was on my florescence before but they were looking a whole lot better then my current MH settup which cost 4 times as much. I really dont know how this Grandlite bulb I have is a 10k because it looks like someone has been urinating in my tank. However I have been burning it for three days now 10-12 hours and still no sign of improvement. The color of the rocks and the fish included are REAL yellow and i cannot use this bulb if i dont see change in the next week. This Grandlite business might be the problem they could have screwed me on the bulb but the fixture and ballast have preceded my expectations and at a great price I might add!...Mr Dan

[Reefland]

Hi Mcain4,

Sounds like these best course of action might be to pick up a new bulb. In this case, I think the Iwasaki 50k would be a good investment.