What light Bulbs Should i buy?

[ace1uno_00]

Last year i bought a light fixture from Aquatraders.com. Its a 36 inch fixture with two power compacts and a Metal halide. I think The 2 compact fluorescent bulbs burnt out. How can i tell if they burnt out? and if they are burnt out. which lights should i replace them with. Originally it came with 2 actinics. Should i keep it the same or get a 50/50 or daylight or a pink one.

and what are the certain lights for?

 

[blazeyreef]

well cf usually are only good for one year or less (unfourtunately) and I would just go with 2 more antics...thats what your corals are used to right?

 

[lando]

CF lights do not realy "burn out". They do shift spectrum over time (toward the lower or "yellow" end) and this is why they need to be replaced. If they are not coming on, turn your attention to the ballast. As far as color goes...it is up to you. If I am not mistaken, the Aquatraders stock MH bulbs are 20K. This is more on the higher end, or blue/purple portion of the light spectrum. Replacing them with new actinics is a good option for presentation. If you find the tank too "blue" for your liking you can look at 50/50 bulbs. Most corals demostrate the best growth in the 6700K to 7900K light range. If you lite your tank soley in this spectrum it will appear very yellow. this is why actinic suppliments are used. For appearence purposes, I like a 10k or 14k MH with actinic suppliments. I recently replaced both the CF and MH bulbs in my Odyssea fixture with bulbs from Aquatraders. I went with 10K.

 

[melosu58]

I know on my VHO`s I use an actinic and a 50/50. I love the combination of those two.

 

[ace1uno_00]

CF lights do not realy "burn out". They do shift spectrum over time (toward the lower or "yellow" end) and this is why they need to be replaced.

Thanks Lando.

Thats what i thought too! thats why I took one of the bulbs to petco to try to test it but they told me they dont do that. I want to make sure its the bulbs before i order them. It could be the ballast. how can i test that?

I should still order the bulbs, i guess, since i have had them for about a year now.

 

[lando]

It could be the ballast. how can i test that?

Test it with another bulb and see what happens.