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rwgoose 
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Joined: April 16 2012
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 Topic: buying new bulbs
Posted: November 14 2012 at 6:57pm |
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i run mh moguls.. i am looking to buy new bulbs this month.. my question is should i buy the 14k.. or should i buy the 20k... differences? better growth?
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ReefdUp
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Posted: November 14 2012 at 7:30pm |
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The bulbs to buy depend on which ballast you are running. Some ballasts will make some 20,000K bulbs look yellow, and the PAR won't be ideal. What ballasts are you running?
The lower Kelvin rating means a more yellow look with typically better growth (but less coloration due to higher populations of zooxanthallae.) The higher Kelvin rating gives a more blue (white) look with less growth but better color. Your preference here is what matters as long as you are running a compatible bulb/ballast combo.
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Diving since 2009, reefkeeping since 2007, & fishkeeping since 1987
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sabeypets
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Posted: November 14 2012 at 8:46pm |
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I agree with Nikki, over all 10k will give you best growth, 20k corals color up better, 14k is somewhere in between. It's a matter of personal preference. I like the 14k as 20k is to blue for my liking. I also supplement with VHO actinic 454nm and super actinic 420nm bulbs (blue).
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Shaun American Fork  "Would you leave a dead cat in your kitchen till tommorow?" Builderofdreams
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builderofdreams
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Posted: November 14 2012 at 8:53pm |
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Agree with both Shaun and Nikki. Personally i like the Blue look i am running 20k Halides with 2 six foot VHO super Atinics. I prefer the color over the growth.
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wickedsnowman
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Posted: November 14 2012 at 9:00pm |
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It is a hard question to answer. It really comes down to personal preference. The brand of bulb and ballasts used will also make them look different. I personally would rather have my corals look good then get a little better growth so I always go with a more blue look. I prob have around 16k look right now with my leds. When it comes to mh mogul bulbs hands down phoenix 14k is my favorite bulb. However it is super expensive. The last few bulbs I bought when I was using mh were plusrite 20k. They look more like a 14k. They also put out great par and are a fraction of the cost of phoenix. However they only last about half as long so it is kind of a draw...
Best thing to do is go see different bulbs/ colors in person and decide what you like best.
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Akira
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Posted: November 15 2012 at 1:25am |
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Roy how many T-5s did we Put in , was it 2 or 4. If it was 2 definately 20k if it was 4 you might like the 10 to 14k . See if you can find a few similar set ups and view them . Just my o2.
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