Neal December 13, 2009 Share December 13, 2009 Hey Guys, About 2 years ago I moved into a new house and the Mrs. required that I get a new tank. I settled on the Current Solana with a 150W MH (The Hair Dryer Light.) Since I mainly keep SPS I quickly moved up to an IceCap 250 DE MH with an electronic ballast. The setup came with am IceCap 10K bulb. On my old setup I had T5 actinics to supplement my MH. With the new IceCap the Mrs. has asked that I keep a clean looking tank since it is in our living room. Problem: Under the 10K bulb my corals look brown. When I add any type of actinic the corals magically pop with types of blues / greens / purples / oranges. Is there any way to make this happen with just a bulb change? Has anyone made the change and seen a drastic color difference? If so what type of bulb were you using? I am thinking about one of the following: Phoenix 14K XM 20K Ushio 20K Thanks for the advice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lhcorals December 13, 2009 Share December 13, 2009 The Coralvue 15K give a really nice color to the corals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami December 13, 2009 Share December 13, 2009 Phoenix 14K's have great color. If high nutrients are the cause of your corals browning, however, it won't cure that problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John December 13, 2009 Share December 13, 2009 I am running the 14k Icecap paired with an Icecap ballast...I love the color...you can check out my album to see the pics (taken without flash)... I've heard of some bulbs changing tint if they are not run on a matching ballast...but I have no personal experience with it. Most of our vendors run 20k, so that'll give you a good idea of the color too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k December 13, 2009 Share December 13, 2009 Any old 14k mh bulb will do the trick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveoutlaw December 14, 2009 Share December 14, 2009 All 14ks are not created equal. I personally would go with the phoenix 14K. It's the best 14k I've found (color wise). But again, that is just my opinion. You're best bet is to find tanks running some of these different bulbs and see which one YOU like the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Ward December 14, 2009 Share December 14, 2009 The blue color spectrum will make the fluorescent colors in your corals pop, that's what you're seeing when the tank is under Actinics only, or when you have strong supplementation. Many people like the Phoenix 14k, and many like the Radium 20k. You can go with either (I think the Radium comes in DE?). Try to take a trip and look at people's tanks that are running the bulb you're thinking about so you can pick the right spectrum for your taste. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami December 14, 2009 Share December 14, 2009 (I think the Radium comes in DE?). It's rather limiting, but Radiums only come in 150W for double-ended lamps. They come in 150W, 250W, 400W and 1000W in SE packages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neal December 15, 2009 Author Share December 15, 2009 Thanks guys.... I am going to go ahead and get the Phoenix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RudyCDX1 December 15, 2009 Share December 15, 2009 Radium 20K's there is no other bulb like it!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now