250 bulbs

[carlinsa]

i dont know if this is where this belongs but i am going to ask anyway. what is the best bulbs to buy. i am going to be running 3 250 on my 125 with 4 140watt vho actinics. so i know i want to go 10k since anything else may make it to BLUE.

thanks for any help


carl

[JimD]

With VHO actinic suppliments, I highly recommend checking out the XM 10K's, I use them and love them!

[carlinsa]

that is what i was looking at. what do you think about going even to like a 6.5k with 4 vho actinics or still make it to yellow. would love to see alot of growth.

[pickle311]

6.5K will be way to yellow IMO. From what I've been reading, the Ushio 10Ks have a really nice color to them. They are supposedly a true 10K and are a really crisp white.

[JimD]

Believe me, youll see plenty of growth with the XM's, these things are extremely bright. Iwasakis are bright also, but like you say, theyre more yellow and tend to need a little more actinic to balance it out.

[carlinsa]

most folks i know use the xm bulbs and have great growth. i was thinking the 6.5k would be very yellow. just trying to get this tank up and running but iam dumb when it comes to lighting

[JimD]

We're here for ya man!
The Iwasaki 6.5k is really a terrific bulb if you're willing to add the actinic needed for a good balance. They're cheap and last forever almost. I dont think four vho's will be enough to offset three 250's.

[carlinsa]

10ks it is now just to figure out which one.............

[LoneStar]

I love my XM 10k 250w bulb :) It made a big difference from a rather cr@ppy Plus brand 10k I originally had....

[bigdscobra]

Go with the XMs

[TroyPham]

:D

[Crab Rangoon]

On a very similar note (not to threadjack), I'm going to be running 2 250w XM 10K's on my tank really soon, and am using 4 98w Coralife actinic PC's to offset them. Does this sound enough, or too little to balance out the MHs?

[LoneStar]

Sounds like plenty to me. I have just one 250w 10k and 2 55w Actinic T-5's and I think that combo looks great. ;)

[GaryP]

If you are using PC or T5 actinics, make sure they are true actinics and not the blue bulbs. The difference is the spectrum. The blue bulbs are 460 nm, true actinic 03 is 420 nm. 420 nm is what gives you good color development in SPS. The XM 10K also has a large 420 nm peak. That's why I like it. Even though it is a white bulb, it still puts out a lot of blue and purple color.

Carl, the 6 ft. VHO bulbs are 160 watts, not 140. Are you going to use 5 ft. bulbs instead?

[carlinsa]

yes 5 ftrs 4 of them