Back wit da 20k

[Mr Cob]

So today I threw some 20k's on and my tank quickly captured my heart again :)

10k...14k...... no son para me!

I'm all 20k totalmente!

Especially in a tank that does not have actinic supplemental lighting.

[jrsatx20]

what u gonna do with old bulbs

[txav8r]

Going blue for the new baby boy? LOL

[jrsatx20]

Hows ur growth. Notice a difference between the two

[Mr Cob]

what u gonna do with old bulbs

Keep as backup bulbs. The old ones are technically only a few months old.


Going blue for the new baby boy? LOL

lol, yeah man. I missed the blue. They might be a little too blue....just a hair though. So, I'm going to shop around for some that have a more crisp/white blue if that exists. The 20k bulbs I have on now are Coralvue....just a hair too blue.

[kkiel02]

Im doing the opposite with my new tank. I hope I will like the reeflux 12ks. I will need the growth to get some of these frags into colonies though.

[Mr Cob]

Hows ur growth. Notice a difference between the two

Yes, lots more growth with the 14k's I had on in comparrison to the 20k. But, the trade off isn't worth it for me. The colors really pop with the 20k. I did have some SPS perish under the 14k over time though. My bulbs sit like 4" from the surface and I had a couple of colonies die that were just a few inches below surface. I used a net/screen I made to prevent any shock when going from 20k to 14k.

I'm more into LPS right now anyways, so the less light is no big deal. I won't cry if my SPS slows in growth, I may cry if they die though. I have a few nice colonies that may not appreciate the change, but they sure do look pretty under 20k.

[Mr Cob]

Im doing the opposite with my new tank. I hope I will like the reeflux 12ks. I will need the growth to get some of these frags into colonies though.


That was kind of my thought process. When I was in the process of going 14k...I put a couple of 10k's on temporarily and then the 14k's and I thought it would be good to do for 4 or 6 months just to get some of the frags out of the frag stage quicker, and then go back to 20k. It worked and now I'm happy with the 20k's back on.

I would try 12k or even 10k on a more permanent basis if I could get more actinic light in the half circle...but that's not an easy task. Limited room.

[Big_Pun]

more actinic light= LED's less heat too, i kinda like the led tubes that the icecap fixtures come with, just like a t5 but led's inside

[kkiel02]

I know someone else that has vhos in their half circle.... lol but I think you will really like the 20k I know I do but like I said earlier I need a little spurt of growth.

[Mr Cob]

more actinic light= LED's less heat too, i kinda like the led tubes that the icecap fixtures come with, just like a t5 but led's inside

I have two blue LED modules at the moment in the half circle....mainly used for before and after viewing of the MH....they barely do anything when the 2 x 250w MH's are on


I know someone else that has vhos in their half circle.... lol but I think you will really like the 20k I know I do but like I said earlier I need a little spurt of growth.

Are they using a canopy? That's where the problem is at for me. I have two wood panels that I mounted into the canopy and each has a led strip and 250 w MH retro setup. Perhaps if I had MH pendants hanging above the tank and right over the canopy where I have the wood panels at it could work......but not likely that I'm going to hang anything from this SUPER HIGH ceiling.

I will have an opportunity to explore ideas when I tear the tank down in August for my tank move. I have another tank that the corals will go into for as long as I need. So, I have some maintenance that I would like to do to the tank and perhaps kick some ideas around for lighting.

[Regric25]

This is awesome! Welcome to the 20K club! I dont have a whole lot of experience with MH but I did have 10K to start with then I got the XM 20K bulbs and it was a little too blue for me at first but I love it now! I wouldnt have it any other way. Everything seems so much happier with the 20K vs the 10k bulbs. I am watching the color transforn from a dull color to a vibrant color in my corals. Amazing what good light can do.

[ErikH]

Phoenix 14ks look super righteous.

I have my middle halides at 20k and my outers at 10. It looks funny when all of the lights are on, but in the AM, just the middle lights are on. I get the best of both worlds thadda way I guess.