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new bulb q

M

mookie

i am about to change some of my t5 bulbs. i currently have 8x54w with
4 actinic and (4)10k
i am going to replace the actinics with 4blue+ bulbs witch i believe are 20k. will i have to light acclimate the corals to the increased lighting.
am i actually getting any more usable light?
will this bulb combination be good in reference to color/par
 
MikeNapoli

MikeNapoli

I'm sure someone with better knowledge will chime in but in my opinion you won't have to light acclimate with extreme measures.. You can however put 3 layers of screen on your tank. Every 4 days remove one layer of the screen and this will help with your acclimating.

If you choose to just change the bulb and let'er'rip your corals might act funny for a couple of days and then go back to normal.
 
D

DaveK

Other than a slight change of tint to the color of the tank, I don't think you'll see much difference.

If the bulbs have not yet reached their end of usable life, about a year, I'd wait for that before I replaced them.
 
C

concept3

Guest
new bulbs mean higher PAR output VS old ones especially if they are near the end of their life expectancy. It's usually wise to reduce the photoperiod or use the screen method as Mike mentioned.

20K lights however, have lesser PAR than those closer to 5500K, so you should have more room for error.
 
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