Best 400W MH Bulb for Coral Color and Growth?

[Anonymous]

Please name the best bulb for for coral color and growth.

I am currently running 15K XM's and understand that while they make a color of light that is pleasing to my eye, they are not the best bulb for growing corals.

I was previously thinking about going with the Reeflux 10K bulb. Is this a better choice?

What would be the best choice?

I may turn this thread into a poll once a few other brands are named.

Thanks!

Louey

 

[Anonymous]

Hands down.


No questions asked.


The tried and true.


Iwasaki BH.

 

[Anonymous]

How does the Iwasaki look? Is it blue, yellow or white?

What does BH stand for?

Louey

 

[Anonymous]

How does the Iwasaki look? Is it blue, yellow or white?

What does BH stand for?

Louey

White.

"BH" = base horizontal.

 

[Anonymous]

I haven't found any Iwasaki bulbs for sell with the BH designation.

The only one's I've found are just noted as 6500.

Premium Aquatics does note that their Iwasaki 6500 is for horizontal mounting. Is that the right one?

Louey

 

[Anonymous]

I haven't found any Iwasaki bulbs for sell with the BH designation.

The only one's I've found are just noted as 6500.

Premium Aquatics does note that their Iwasaki 6500 is for horizontal mounting. Is that the right one?

Louey

Yes, that would be the right one.

 

[Bdubbya]

The coralvue 20k bulbs put off more par than a lot of 400 watt 10k bulbs. That is acording to sanjay's reef lighting research. I use the 20k bulb and really like it. I don't think it looks as blue as some other 20k bulbs, but I like that. I seem to get good growth out of it, but I haven't used a 10k bulb for a couple of years now, so what I consider good growth might be slow in comparison to a lower kelvin.

Bdubbya

 

[Anonymous]

Anyone else here using the Iwasaki's? If so, do you like the color?

Keep in mind that I have no actinics and would rather not have to add them.

Louey

 

[jsteel]

i had 2 250 watt iwasaki's and even though i had four 55 watt pc actinics, the color was still very yellow and unpleasant.

 

[Rick357]

Louey, I don't have any experience yet, but my new bulb shows up on wednesday I also run 2 96 watt PC actinics though too, but I have always liked the growth of my corals and clams under 6500K bulbs, The 10K bulb that I have I don't care for, but it is an off brand, so that might be the problem. I wish you luck, and I will let you know what my first impression of it is (eventhough at 100 hours there will be a slight color shift) ----Rick

 

[Len]

Iwasaki is pretty yellow but it grows corals very well and gives some nice pigmentation to them. Me, I like Aquaconnect. Expensive, but very high PAR and excellent bluish white color (prettiest color IMHO). If you like a whiter look, the XM 10K or Reeflux are my other two picks.

 

[Anonymous]

Iwasaki is pretty yellow but it grows corals very well and gives some nice pigmentation to them. Me, I like Aquaconnect. Expensive, but very high PAR and excellent bluish white color (prettiest color IMHO). If you like a whiter look, the XM 10K or Reeflux are my other two picks.

Iwasakis are not yellow unless you have dissolved crap in your water. IIRC, they have a CRI of ~90, which is nearly perfect. So if your water or tank looks yellow under them, your water is yellow.

These are 400 watt Iwasakis, unsupplemented, that were also 3.5 years old. Not yellow.

[/img]