20,000k MH with no actinic?

[anthony.grimes]

I heard that if you run 20,000k Metal halides that you don't need actinic supplementation, just wondering if there was any truth to this. thanks

[ccCapt]

They are not necessary since 20K is very blue already.

[lando]

I agree. Most all MH fixtures come stocked with 20K bulbs. Should be just fine.

[anthony.grimes]

great thanks, i just wanted to make sure
I am thinking of setting up a 55 with 2 250watt mh pendants with 20,000k bulbs. this should be enough light to do anything that i want right?

[lando]

Yes, that should be plenty of light for high-light corals. You may run into photo-acclimation issues with some sofites and LPS corals. I suggest adding them first and acclimating them to the light appropriately. After that, clams and SPS should be fine as long as the LFS kept them under intense light as well.

[anthony.grimes]

great thanks lando!

[lando]

anytime

[melosu58]

Moved to General Hardware and equipment discussion.

[Ziggy953]

I have run 20ks (dual 175s) on my tank in the past and I liked the look. I eventually added actinic (220w VHOs) to the setup and things really popped. The only draw back to the 20K is they will spectrum shift after about 4 months burn time. They will not look as blue as they did. I have since switched to 14K bulbs for better coral growth. Just a little of my $.02