jerejohnson
Aquarium Advice Activist
Where is the best place to get 400 watt metal halide bulbs?
metal halide bulbs
- Thread starter jerejohnson
- Start date
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
jerejohnson
Aquarium Advice Activist
and what is the best kind to get?
reefrunner69
Aquarium Advice Addict
Check our sponsors and what kind...is pretty subjective. I am using a Ushio 175W 10K bulb and have been happy with it, but when I change my bulb out, I am going to try a different brand, probably the Coral Vue 10K or 20K, I will probably buy both bulbs and keep the one I don't use as a spare, incase a bulb disaster happens.
jerejohnson
Aquarium Advice Activist
whats the difference with 10k or 20k does it really matter?
C
cj10488
Guest
10k is supposed to be a perfect white where as the 20k is going to be more in the blue spectrum.. Most people who use 20k bulbs have more of a deepwater selection of corals Ect or just like the Blue look... Bulb Pictures
HTH<
James
loganj
Aquarium Advice Addict
Check this site for some pics and info: www.coralvue.com
Everyone I know who has bought these bulbs has been happy with them and the prices are hard to beat.
Everyone I know who has bought these bulbs has been happy with them and the prices are hard to beat.
TheMadNucleus
Aquarium Advice Freak
Hey JJ,
http://www.coralreefsupply.com/index.php?table=bulbs_mh_cv
These guys always seem to have the biggest bang for the buck on replacement light bulbs - The 400w 10,000k and 20,000k are about 55 bucks there, 90-125 at many other places.
Difference of a 10,000K bulb and a 20,000k bulb basically boils down to the peak wavelength of light that each will produce. K (Kelvin) is related to temperature. Basically as the temp. goes up, the further into the Blue spectrum the peak wavelength/color will fall, go higher and you are into the violet spectrum and then thereafter into the Ultraviolet spectrum.
Generally you can get the peak wavelength of the Bulb by this formula:
PwaveLght=2,900,000/Temp in Kelvins so for a 10,000K bulb the peak will be
2,900,000/ 10,000K or 290 nanometers, for 20,000K bulb the peak is at 145 nanometers (short wavelength, higher frequency peak).
BTW a Kelvin relates to the amount of heat that must be applied to a dark object to generate that particular spectral mix of light. For example, a 2000K Light would be if you heated the dark object so that it was redish, 4500K and it begins to get bluish, etc, etc.
HTH
Important consideration, generally us aquarium folk go way overboard on lighting. The needs of the animals you are keeping likely falls way bellow the 20,000k spectrum and maybe even way below the 10,000k spectrum (see Doc Fenner's info on this at wetwebmedia.com). Also, be careful because as these bulbs go up in K temp they also get dangerously close to the UV spectrum - i.e. MH bulbs do output some UV (not good for you and not good for your Creatures). So High K temp may not be the best thing all around. Recall that natural sunlight is about 5800K.
Tom
http://www.coralreefsupply.com/index.php?table=bulbs_mh_cv
These guys always seem to have the biggest bang for the buck on replacement light bulbs - The 400w 10,000k and 20,000k are about 55 bucks there, 90-125 at many other places.
Difference of a 10,000K bulb and a 20,000k bulb basically boils down to the peak wavelength of light that each will produce. K (Kelvin) is related to temperature. Basically as the temp. goes up, the further into the Blue spectrum the peak wavelength/color will fall, go higher and you are into the violet spectrum and then thereafter into the Ultraviolet spectrum.
Generally you can get the peak wavelength of the Bulb by this formula:
PwaveLght=2,900,000/Temp in Kelvins so for a 10,000K bulb the peak will be
2,900,000/ 10,000K or 290 nanometers, for 20,000K bulb the peak is at 145 nanometers (short wavelength, higher frequency peak).
BTW a Kelvin relates to the amount of heat that must be applied to a dark object to generate that particular spectral mix of light. For example, a 2000K Light would be if you heated the dark object so that it was redish, 4500K and it begins to get bluish, etc, etc.
HTH
Important consideration, generally us aquarium folk go way overboard on lighting. The needs of the animals you are keeping likely falls way bellow the 20,000k spectrum and maybe even way below the 10,000k spectrum (see Doc Fenner's info on this at wetwebmedia.com). Also, be careful because as these bulbs go up in K temp they also get dangerously close to the UV spectrum - i.e. MH bulbs do output some UV (not good for you and not good for your Creatures). So High K temp may not be the best thing all around. Recall that natural sunlight is about 5800K.
Tom
C
cj10488
Guest
You can say that again.. I have been kicking the Idea of switching to 20k bulbs as well.. I have 10k XM bulbs right now and I like them but I am more of a Blue person.. Maybe I will order 1 20k coralvue bulb and see if I like it.. Do you see a problem running 1 10k and 1 20k bulb logan?
James
TheMadNucleus
Aquarium Advice Freak
Hey James,
A 20,000k bulb peaks in the violet area of the light spectrum not the Blue, so perhaps you are a a bit more of a Violet kind of person
Also, please be aware the the UV that 20,000K bulbs produce is a serious consideration. As I mentioned earlier Bob Fenner's articles on these are really enlightening. He also questions the need for such intensity and whether or not it is healthy for our captive critters as well as their owners
Well, doesn't seem many folks want to listen to this dribble - but here for your use if you wish.
Tom
A 20,000k bulb peaks in the violet area of the light spectrum not the Blue, so perhaps you are a a bit more of a Violet kind of person
Also, please be aware the the UV that 20,000K bulbs produce is a serious consideration. As I mentioned earlier Bob Fenner's articles on these are really enlightening. He also questions the need for such intensity and whether or not it is healthy for our captive critters as well as their owners
Well, doesn't seem many folks want to listen to this dribble - but here for your use if you wish.
Tom
snapcrackler
Aquarium Advice Addict
That 12,000k sunburst looks very nice.....
reefrunner69
Aquarium Advice Addict
Uh...OK, gotta take you word for it, my nerdspeak to science moron dictionary is on the fritz.
Simply to add to what MadNeucleus has posted in antecdotal terms. The higher the K rating goes the more colorful your colors get, this is probably due to the corals needing to create pigments to protect them from the high UV being produced by the bulb. Many are finding the 20K bulb to be a nice color that is pleasing to the eye. 10K is supposed to be a compromise between color and growth and then the 6700Ks are noted for the growth rates of the corals. FWIW, the K rating is gonna be a personal preference thing, most find the 10K very pleasing and I have used it for a little over a year, but was unhappy with the amount of color shift I got from the Ushio bulb after a few months of use. Since I am switching brands, I also thought...hey why not give the 20Ks a shot and see what it looks like, if I don't like it, I'll also have the 10Ks which have been consistantly pleasing to me.
TheMadNucleus
Aquarium Advice Freak
Hmmm,
I wonder if the original poster of the question has read any of this
Thanks reefrunner, I have now been firmly planted in the realm of geekdom. Yikes!
Yep - what you say makes a lot of sense. Didn't think why everyone is so tempted to the 20,000K bulbs - even snapcrackle made an illustriously enlighting and philosophilcal observation:
Anyway - thx for pulling me back into the world of reality - also if you'd like some sources for the calculations etc. pls let me know. I'll find some, but I that came from recollections of college physics.
Tom
I wonder if the original poster of the question has read any of this
Thanks reefrunner, I have now been firmly planted in the realm of geekdom. Yikes!
Yep - what you say makes a lot of sense. Didn't think why everyone is so tempted to the 20,000K bulbs - even snapcrackle made an illustriously enlighting and philosophilcal observation:
Anyway - thx for pulling me back into the world of reality - also if you'd like some sources for the calculations etc. pls let me know. I'll find some, but I that came from recollections of college physics.
Tom
reefrunner69
Aquarium Advice Addict
LOL, I thought it said more about me than you
TheMadNucleus
Aquarium Advice Freak
Couldn't resist - one more post on this subject. Kevin - you might like this one. It's a program that lets you clike or enter the Kelvin (temp. of item) and then displays the intensity of the spectrum created and then on the left the resulting color.
Really cool. Also note that 5000K is pure white.
Anyway - only added here for some fun.
http://skyserver.fnal.gov/en/proj/advanced/color/physlet/blackbody.asp
If you click anywhere in the light curve it tells you the wavelength in Nanometers and also lets you drag it to different locations - as you drag the curve it shows the new spectrum and resulting color and Temp in K.
Tom
Really cool. Also note that 5000K is pure white.
Anyway - only added here for some fun.
http://skyserver.fnal.gov/en/proj/advanced/color/physlet/blackbody.asp
If you click anywhere in the light curve it tells you the wavelength in Nanometers and also lets you drag it to different locations - as you drag the curve it shows the new spectrum and resulting color and Temp in K.
Tom
reefrunner69
Aquarium Advice Addict
That is pretty damn cool!!!!
loganj
Aquarium Advice Addict
To answer the question James had, I don't think there would be any short term problems with using one 10k and one 20k long enough to see if you wanted to make the switch. I know some folks with larger tanks run a combination of 10k and 20k instead of using actinics. It would certainly show the difference in the colors of the bulbs. I wasn't aware of the higher levels of UV produced by the higher K bulbs and I will certainly look into that.
FWIW, Coral Vue offers their bulbs in 12k and 15k for those who don't want to be "violet"
. As far as I know, these are not available at this time in 400w though.
Jerejohnson,
Did we answer your question? Or totally confuse you? Personally, I kinda favor the Coral Vue bulbs. And, yes, the fact that I sell them on my commercial site probably has something to do with that . But, I do think they are the best value available in a MH bulb right now. Check out the sponsors on this site...there are several. Also, look at www.hellolights.com as they usually have good deals and are a reputable retailer. Champion Lighting would be another place to check out at www.championlighting.com . They carry a line of bulbs called Blueline. I don't know much about these bulbs, but I know Perry at Champion is top notch and a pleasure to deal with. HTH.
FWIW, Coral Vue offers their bulbs in 12k and 15k for those who don't want to be "violet"
. As far as I know, these are not available at this time in 400w though.Jerejohnson,
Did we answer your question? Or totally confuse you? Personally, I kinda favor the Coral Vue bulbs. And, yes, the fact that I sell them on my commercial site probably has something to do with that
. But, I do think they are the best value available in a MH bulb right now. Check out the sponsors on this site...there are several. Also, look at www.hellolights.com as they usually have good deals and are a reputable retailer. Champion Lighting would be another place to check out at www.championlighting.com . They carry a line of bulbs called Blueline. I don't know much about these bulbs, but I know Perry at Champion is top notch and a pleasure to deal with. HTH.jerejohnson
Aquarium Advice Activist
Thanks for clearing it all up everyone, actually confusing me but it helps, the 6700Ks are better for growth the 10,000 are a comprimse between growth and color and the 20,000 are for better color and they are more pleasing, is there any down side to running all three? i have 3 400 watt ballasts or should i run 2 of 20,000 for the color and 1 6700Ks for growth or just one of each? any help is great. thanks for all the quick replies, the advice is the best on the web.
loganj
Aquarium Advice Addict
Running different colors of MH is a common setup. It really depends on how your bulbs are oriented. If you have a 6' tank with three bulbs over it, I think you'd see a difference in the colors of the tank from one bulb to the next. If you had the bulbs closer together so that their coverage overlaps, it wouldn't be so noticable. A MH bulb is good for about 2'x2' of coverage.
