lighting

daugherty

part time reefer
i am going to change my lights to all MH's when my current ones go bad. my plan is to use 2 250w mh 14k i was also thing about using 10k lights and having a duel pc attinic light any thoughts on this. currently i have 559w on my tank.
 
The 10000K halides and dual Power PC actinics would provide a better light for your corals than the 14000K halides alone, although the appearnce visually to the human eye would be near the same. Even 10000K is considered at the top end for coral health and best growth. Down around 6500K is best for coral health and growth , but most people consider the viewing as to yellow. Even with actinic supplementation the light as seen by humans does not make it even to the white light state as seen with the 10000K without actinic supplementation. You might want to consider dropping down to 150 watt halides instead of 250 watt halides with a tank as small as 50 gallon. Outer Orbit has some nice halides with T-5 actinic supplements, althought the fixtures are bulkier than the AquaLight Pros with Power PC's actinic. Plus the cooling system of the Outer Orbit fixtures doesn't seem as effectice as on the Aqualight fixtures. Both use 10000K HQI halides.
 
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