experiment

[Texreefer]

my sps corals are experiencing moderate growth and and noticable but pale coloration.. calcium and alk a little low at 380-400ppm and 2.98-3 meq/l respectively. i am running 1-110w true actinic,1-110w 50/50 (vho's), and 2 hamilton 400w 10k Halides. i have a brand new never fired hamilton 10k that i would like to trade with someone for a new or barely used 14k to see if the coloration will become a little more noticable.. any thoughts ? oh yeah vhos on for 12 hrs.. and halides on for approx 6 hrs

[sharkboy]

I am currently running 3 - 400w 14k bulbs from hamilton....I have considered getting a 10k bulb for more growth...could I put the 10k bulb in the center while leaving the outer two as 14ks?

[Texreefer]

dont see why not!

[caferacermike]

I am currently running 3 - 400w 14k bulbs from hamilton....I have considered getting a 10k bulb for more growth...could I put the 10k bulb in the center while leaving the outer two as 14ks?

You don't say how large your tank is. My impression of MH is that the light is most intense 9" from center, an 18" circle. If you had a long tank like a 125 I'd think only the corals in the middle would benefit from the 10K growth. Now if all that was packed over a 75g I'd say you'd be supplementing your lighting in many spectrums and your corals would benefit from both types of bulbs.

[sharkboy]

It's a 215 tank about 6ft wide...the center bulb is on a separate ballast with a slightly different photo period then the outer two...the center bulb is also directly over the center brace so I felt that a brighter bulb would get more penetration...