Can I run just MH light?

[Jeraljay]

I am trying to figure out my lighting configuration for mmy 60' tank and I want to pull my hair out. Could I just run 2 250 w MH lights and be done tih it? I want to setup a reef with corals and my tank is 80 g. I see most mix it up with some sort of MH lights and actinic. BTW what the heck does actinic mean? What would be my best bet for a wide variety of species. Just tell me what to do and I will.

 

[lando]

you can certainly only run MH. The bulb color will make a difference. Bulbs all have a Kalvan rating which tells you what color on the spectrum the bulb will reproduce. A bulb with a rating of 6700K or 10,000K will produce a light that has more yellow/white in it. A bulb with a 14,000K or 20,000K rating will appear to have more blue in it. SInce corals tend to grow a bit faster under 6700K or 10,000K MH lamps, many people will use actinic (blue spectrum) lighting in the way of CF or VHO fixtures to add more blue to the lite tank. It is just more pleasing on the eye.

 

[Jeraljay]

so the high k actinic lights are mainly for asthetics. I kinda of thought that but wasnt sure. cool.

 

[lando]

Correct. The actinic tubes are mainly for asthetics. IF you choose to go with only MH look at 14K or 20K bulbs so it will look better.

 

[tecwzrd]

This is a good link to get ideas on how the bulbs compare.