Metal Halide bulbs ... any in particular?

[OceanMist]

I have a 150 watt Metal Halide unit, I think the bulb is on its way out because this dark red algae keeps covering the aquarium, anyways, should i purchase a particular type/brand/etc. of bulb or is any MH bulb with the correct wattage, kelvin rating & UVS sheild sufficient?

Many thanks in advance.

 

[fishfreek]

Well you must match the MH wattage with the ballast wattage. So if you have a 150W bulb now you have to replace it with another 150W bulb. As far as what kelvin rating and what bulb I like to refernce this page.

http://www.cnidarianreef.com/lamps.cfm

While his test where with 250W bulbs you could expect the same overall coloration of the bulb brands given their different kelvin ratings. As you can see not all 10K bulbs look the same.

 

[Brenden]

If the MH is the only light in your tank I would go with a 14K bulb for its blue tint.

 

[OceanMist]

the MH is accompanied by a (T8) 38w power-glo and a (T8) 40w actinic ... i think i would prefer a 14k bulb though anyway. so is there any special 'aquarium' bulb i should purchase or is any bulb with the right fitting & specs. okay?

 

[stradt03]

i'm confused on all these types of lighting....whats the advantages of MH lighting over lets say like a actnic 50/50 light?

please help the newb

 

[OceanMist]

stradt03, deeper water penetration, higher intensity, unrivaled for keeping coral, and gives a nice effect on the water ... anyways can someone please try to answer my previous post ^ many thanks.

 

[schoeplein]

Any bulb with the correct fitting and right specs is ok.

 

[Phyl]

NJRC on RC had a recent thread about this. Some of the numbers topped 700$! I'm sadly not far enough behind at 450 and that was before the 2 400w MHs got fired up!