MH bulbs

[ccCapt]

Have you noticed a difference in growth rate from these bulbs? I see you added an Orange Cap on the right side of the tank....

I am getting nice growth, but it's hard to say if it's just from the bulbs. I replaced 2 AC70 ph's with 2 Koralia 4's...so that's a big increase in flow too. Flow and lighting and big factors in growth. I had the orange cap a long time. I just moved it from the middle to the side.

The Iwaskis 6500's (175w)and the XM 10k's(250W) are supposed to be the PAR monsters for their wattage.

These Iwasaki 15k's have the highest PPFD (71 w/magnetic ballasts) rating of any 175w 15K bulb Sanjay tested. It's higher than many 250w bulbs. As a comparison, 175w Hamilton 14K's are 29 PPFD. I don't think Sanjay tested the 175w Iwasaki 65k's, but the 250's are insane. PPFD is 189 (electronic ballast)! 250w XM 10k's are 182 PPFD.

PPFD = Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density