Metal halide bulb question

Hens4Fish · 06/24/2006, 07:50 PM

Hi everyone,
Recently I bought a tank with 2 400 watt MH lights. My question is, is there a difference between 10000K and 20000K? I do not know whether they are 10 or 20k. Can the balast handle both? Is one brighter than the other? Is there a better brand than others? I have been looking through magazines and some are $50 more for the same wattage. Also, how often should you replace MH bulbs? PLEASE help and advise with any knowledge. Thank you very much.

Ti · 06/24/2006, 07:52 PM

the less blue the brighter it is.
ur ballast will burn both fine.
20k is more blue than 10k
replace at 6 months

bertoni · 06/24/2006, 09:17 PM

http://www.reeflightinginfo.arvixe.com/

That site has a lot of data on lighting equipment. Your ballast will probably handle a wide range of bulbs, as noted. The lifetime of bulbs does seem to vary, and often the bluer bulbs don't seem to last as well. I went about 1 year on my Hamilton 20,000 K bulbs, but they did seem rather dim by that time.

As noted, 20,000 K bulbs do tend to be quite blue, and usually seem less efficient at producing light than the 10,000 K bulbs.

Hens4Fish · 06/25/2006, 06:16 PM

Thanks for the info, anyone else with advice is greatly appreciated.

06/24/2006, 07:50 PM	#1
Hens4Fish Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Oshkosh, Wi Posts: 1,297	Metal halide bulb question Hi everyone, Recently I bought a tank with 2 400 watt MH lights. My question is, is there a difference between 10000K and 20000K? I do not know whether they are 10 or 20k. Can the balast handle both? Is one brighter than the other? Is there a better brand than others? I have been looking through magazines and some are $50 more for the same wattage. Also, how often should you replace MH bulbs? PLEASE help and advise with any knowledge. Thank you very much.

06/24/2006, 07:52 PM	#2
Ti Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Bay Area Posts: 7,927	the less blue the brighter it is. ur ballast will burn both fine. 20k is more blue than 10k replace at 6 months __________________ Hair algae is my Macro algae.

06/24/2006, 09:17 PM	#3
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	http://www.reeflightinginfo.arvixe.com/ That site has a lot of data on lighting equipment. Your ballast will probably handle a wide range of bulbs, as noted. The lifetime of bulbs does seem to vary, and often the bluer bulbs don't seem to last as well. I went about 1 year on my Hamilton 20,000 K bulbs, but they did seem rather dim by that time. As noted, 20,000 K bulbs do tend to be quite blue, and usually seem less efficient at producing light than the 10,000 K bulbs. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

06/25/2006, 06:16 PM	#4
Hens4Fish Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Oshkosh, Wi Posts: 1,297	Thanks for the info, anyone else with advice is greatly appreciated.