Kogut Posted July 26, 2004 Share Posted July 26, 2004 Okay... I've done all my research and I've seen two different things! Some people say that if I hang a 250w MH 20,000K bulb over my 20 Long that's being built, then I won't have to add anything to it and it will be okay. Then I saw on the hellolights site that they recommend going w/ a 250w or 400w 6,500K bulb... I specifically want a bulb for clams and SPS. It will obviously work for any other softies or zoo's that I put in there, but I need to know which is best for the clams and SPS... Please help me out here guys. I asked the question before and got links to that 20L tank of the month. I don't want examples. I need opinions on why a certain Kelvin rating would be better for SPS and Clams... I can't imagine why a 6,500K would be better for SPS growth than either a 10,000K or 20,000K... I was positive that I wanted a 250w 20,000K XM Pendant setup before now, but I'm not to sure after reading some of this stuff. I will love you forever if you help me! I need to order everything as soon as possible (before I spend the rest of my money!) and I want to get the right thing. Thank you guys so much for your help. Connor (The lighting confused 16 year old nano reefer...) Link to comment
irishbing Posted July 26, 2004 Share Posted July 26, 2004 the light you want will grow sps and clams. Just that the 6500K will grow it faster. Link to comment
Sushi Posted July 26, 2004 Share Posted July 26, 2004 what's the primary differences between the 20K and 10K besides color? the only other reason i hear to get 10K over 20K is difference in growth in that 10K makes things "grow" faster... i'm like kogut and i wana know WHY 20K over 10K or vice versa, is it all a matter of "personal preference" ...? Link to comment
MrKrispy Posted July 26, 2004 Share Posted July 26, 2004 you will get faster growth with the 10k bulb. The 20k spectrum will give you slower growth but also will fluoresce the corals, so you don't need actinic supplementation. In a nano a little slower growth is fine! I run a 250W DE 20k over my 20L, no heat issues. Supposedly the 250W is similar in intensity to the 400W SE bulbs. Link to comment
Samc Posted July 27, 2004 Share Posted July 27, 2004 The reason is that with a 20k bulb, the par level (amount of light) drops of considerably. On RC, their is a sticky with the different bulb par+ color differences. Also, I was going for a 250 se over my tank, but am now considering a 150 watt se, since the amount of light is aprox. the same and the heat is less. Spread shouldn't be much of an issue, if you hang it in a pendant fixture (check out the diy section for a omemade fixture). Sam Link to comment
Carl_in_Florida Posted July 27, 2004 Share Posted July 27, 2004 To me, one of the problems with a nano is that most corals out grow them and all the proportions look funny after a while. Most frags look great in a nano by themselves. After 8 months of great growth, they look to big. So this is also a benefit. Get the light you like (and the fish stores use to make the corals look good for sale) the 20k bulb. The growth will be fine unless you are setting up a prop tank for sale. Then you can sit back and enjoy with only one bulb over your tank. My opinion Carl Link to comment
EtOH_is_good Posted July 27, 2004 Share Posted July 27, 2004 sweet problem. lighting is very personal. i plan on expanding in the future, so i went more flexible. plus, i wanted to have actinics on seperately because i like the glow. if you don't know what the lamps look like or enough about par you should do a lot more research. try looking at the 250W MH comparison (at least look at the colors). the original thread is on rc and very long but helpful. Link to comment
Kogut Posted July 27, 2004 Author Share Posted July 27, 2004 Thanks a lot guys. Those links were quite helpful, special props go to you EtOH... That made me stick w/ my bulb. I like the look of the XM and I definitly don't want a bulb that will make the corals grow like crazy. I know that I'm already going to be pushed for room in the 20L after a while, and making them look better, rather than grow faster is great. My clams will also look great in that light too. I'm really excited because we move in on the 13th of August, then I will have everything ordered and delivered to the apartment! I hate the fact that I will have to wait 1 month to put anything more than cleaners in my tank, but I know it will turn out great (mostly thanks to all of your input). Thanks again for the lighting help and I'm sure you guys helped countless others who didn't want to ask. Connor (Not so confused now!) Link to comment
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