[Mikeman]

Could I use NO(normal output) actinic to support 4300k bulbs, the way I figure when I can finally get sps I'll have to change the bulbs anyways so then I can go to a 6700k

but would the kelvin on the bulbs be to low for corals like torches, bubble corals and some toerh lps?


I read it it said no actinic for mh not NO

hehehe

[FishTechie]

Mikeman, i moved your topic to the lighting forum

[golfish]

Mike,
Sure you can but you might need a whole lot of em to make the 4.3K bulbs look good ( to me any way) Are we talking 250's or 400's....why not spring for the 6.5K's

[Ninong]

Mikeman,

You can use NO (normal output) actinic fluorescent lamps as part of the lighting for a reef aquarium, but 4300K metal halide lamps would NOT be a good idea at all, no matter what you put with them. These haven't been used over reef tanks in years, for very good reason.

If you are getting 250 watt lamps, your best bet would be Iwasaki 6500K. If you are getting 175w lamps, your best bet would be German made 10,000K. Some people favor the 175w 5500K lamps but these were tested by Sanjay Joshi and proven to have only 1/3 the PAR of the better 10,000K lamps--the comparison was of a 5500K Venture vs. a 10,000K Ushio/BLV.

Personally, I think the 4300K lamps would be a waste of money. Why would you want something redder than the sun? Sunlight at the surface is approximately 6000K, so any light below the surface would be higher than 6000K, not lower. Obviously, this does not apply to the setting sun which does nothing for your corals, but sunlight over a natural reef about 1/2 hr after sunrise has a Kelvin color temperature of 5500K to 6000K. There are no reefs higher than 31.5 degrees north (Bahamas) or below 30 degrees south; most reefs are within 20 degrees of the equator, so the position of the sun does not vary much with the "seasons." Once the sunlight penetrates the water, its color temperature gets higher so it would seem logical to start out with something higher than the color temperature of sunlight at the surface, especially since your corals are beneath the surface.





Ninong

[Mikeman]

well this is the place I was going to get it


http://www.aquaticlight.com/

Since I'm making my own reflector I thought this rought would be the cheapest.

My question is it possible, am I going to have huge amounts of alge, are the corals going to shrivel up and die, or will the corals just not grow as they would with 6700k or 10000k?

[Mikeman]

if it matters I would also upgrade before getting sps

[chromis]

mikeman, if this is for your 55 sps tank and your gonna use 250s then I would go with iwasakis and advanced ballasts. Look for johnny's website and look at the MH for under a $100 this would be great for sps.

[Mikeman]

I'm using 2 175w mher on each side

[organicreefer]

mikeman,
i have used a 4300k bulb over my tank for a few months time and didnt notice any bad effects.the only corals in the tank at the time were a torch ,a pipe organ and some shrooms.i dont think that the color temp is the end all be all for most corals as long as they get "enough" light they will survive.4300k is not "redder than the sun" the suns color depends on its hieght in the sky ,the season etc.many indoor gardners use hps bulbs in order to simulate a" harvest sun".in the fall the sun appears "redder" in the middle of summer when the sun is high it appears "whiter".that said ,i would still opt for a higher k bulb(my torch got a little darker after i changed to 5500k bulb and now that i have a sunburst hes just enormous and super dark...too bad the sunburst is so damn dimm though) but you could prbably get away with it for a little while jmo

[Mikeman]

thanks guys, I'll think I'll try and see if it will have any ill effects on corals, but I'll upgrade to 6700k when I start getting sps corals