[big 5]

how about a picture of your tank? i also use 250w de 10,000k found growth is great but coral color sucks, i run 2 150w de 20,000k on the side but it is so dim compared to the 250
the 150w de were killing my sps so i upgraded to the 250 - i'm buying another 250 de right now but i'm going to try the 20,000k to see if there is better color
read article some where that 20k is better for blue and purple where 10k is better for pink and red

[Ninong]

There are a few pictures on Page 33 of my Tank in Progress thread: Pictures of Ninong's tank in progress. The tank was set up on July 8, 2003. There are a lot more pictures that are supposed to be in that thread but Scott "lost" them when he upgraded the software and I haven't bothered to reload them from my computer yet.

The tank is approximately 123 gallons (45"L x 23"W x 27.5"H), Starphire glass. The lighting is one Phazer II with two 55w PC actinics mounted 11" above the surface and one Aquastarlight Future with two 250w AB-10000 lamps mounted 11" above the surface.

I am not satisfied with the appearance of the lighting in that I would like more of a bluish appearance. I'm sure it would be much nicer if I were running lots of VHO actinics with my Aquastarlight Future fixture but I'm not. It's tough for me to consider adding any additional lighting right now because I don't have a chiller.

Lets just say that the appearance is a crisp white but I think I would like it better if I had more actinic supplementation. My actinics are so high above the tank that they don't do much good.

[Reefland]

Here is a picture of our tank from last Feb. with just 2 - 250w DE 10k's; no actinic supplmentation.

[big 5]

my tank looks a very crisp white with a slight yellow i,ve read great rewiews from other users of about the 250 xm de 20000 said not to have as good as coral growth but great color
what category do we belong in
1 best coral color
2 best coral growth
3 both 1 and 2

[Ninong]

I'm not sure if I understand your question but my opinion is that both the Iwasaki 6500K lamps and the German (AB & Ushio) 10,000K lamps are excellent for both coral growth and coloration. The only 20,000K lamp that I am familiar with is the Radium 20,000K and it may look nice but it has less PAR than the same size lamp in either the Iwasaki 6500K or one of the German 10,000Ks and besides, it is basically monochromatic, which is why the manufacturer does not even put a Kelvin designation on it, they call it simply "blau" (blue).

I think that Iwasaki 6500K lamps require four URI VHO Super Actinics to really look nice. I don't have space for all that so I chose 250w 10,000K HQI DE lamps because they don't require as much actinic supplementation. If I were setting up a larger tank I would consider a combination of 10,000K and 20,000K with actinic supplementation. I think that would cover all the bases nicely.

I may try one of the newer 250w DE lamps one of these days but I would like to see some data from Sanjay first. Regardless of how "pretty" a 20,000K lamp may look, it can't possibly have as good a spectral distribution as a 10,000K lamp, assuming there is some basis for the 20,000K designation. Another reason for holding off is that there is very little history behind these new lamps. I have seen other new lamps come and go because the quality just wasn't there.

[Poseidon]

Well I have a set of the new Coral Views Ninong, I know Gene had trouble with his, but so far I have not had any issues. Everything I have is open and doing well. Granted I only have a FEW SPS, but the one I have are showing good signs of growth and no bleaching. So far it has been just over 1 month, and all is well.

[miareefer]

Hi big 5
I recently changed all of my lighting to coralvue 20,000 k 250 watt globes .
To be perfectly honest ime not really happy with the look the amount blue light is alarming ive lost that crisp white look that gave a true indication of whats really going on.Taking photos is almost impossible with that amount of blue and to be honest ime more then likely going to change back to my fave iwasaki 10k globes .