new light

[mookie]

got my aqua medic 250w MH today, 10k. its very bright


this is it 2 months ago under 2x96w PC's

http://s153.photobucket.com/albums/s218/o0jmadr0x0o/?action=view&current=100_1605.jpg


250w 10k
http://s153.photobucket.com/albums/s218/o0jmadr0x0o/?action=view&current=100_1658.jpg

the 10k is to white for me, but i dont rely want to sacrifice growth. would i be ok getting a 14k bulb, or better of getting a double strip t5 with two actinic bulbs.

i dont want to make it look to sloppy and i dont have a canopy so if i would still get enough light with a 14k that would be better . its a 50g BTW

 

[DaveK]

My preference would be to go with the 14K bulb, mostly because it's less investment and less bulbs to replace. A double strip of T5 will obviously give you more total light, at additional cost. Some people also feel the blue from actinic fluorescent bulbs gives bettor coloration to SPS corals.

I think you would have enough light for most corals either way you went. However, with a single bulb, you may find the ends of the tank a bit dim for SPS corals.

 

[mookie]

well actually the the fixture plus an actinic bulb would cost me about the same as a new MH bulb, however i am concerned that the actinics wont spread out properly in the tank......

by having it like so, (ACTINIC)(ACTINIC)(MH)


instead of (ACTINIC)(MH)(ACTINIC)

heres the light
http://www.marineandreef.com/shoppro/power_aqualightT5.htm


and everyone said the ends of my tank would be dim, but the single bulb illuminates the whole tank

 

[Phyl]

I can see how the center of your tank is brighter (by a good margin) than the edges. Ideally you'd want to run secondary bulbs from left to right on your tank, one in front of and the other behind the MH bulb. If I went that way I'd go with actinics.

If you're not going to do that then I'd suggest running a 14k bulb.

 

[DaveK]

... and everyone said the ends of my tank would be dim, but the single bulb illuminates the whole tank

This can be deceptive. It all depends on what you are use to. The only way I know you can tell for sure is to use a light meter to measure the light.