XM Bulbs

[Aquariareview]

These photos are taken with the same camera settings (white balance neutral).

The blue is not as visable to my eye as to the camera

 

3x 175 12k AB Aqualine + 4x 110 pc Actinics

3x 175 20k XM +no actinics

 

Ok I confess, Just like everyone else I put off changing my halides until algae is not only growing in the tank but on the wall of the den and and on the carpet in front of the tank. Then I try to convince myself, maybe If I just do a water change the problem will go away. Well eventually I do break down and buy bulbs, I just hate the process.

 

My system recently has been downsized to a 160gal tank and in the process I switched to different lighting. I had some 175 MH ballasts and bulbs and I thought this tank is not that deep so I went with them, I had 3, 10k AB Aqualine (that had some time on a different system on them) so I put them in and Wha-La, lights. All looked good then the bulbs began to shift (now I remembered how much time was on the those bulbs).

 

I was at the meeting and Rich who was there had some XM 175 20k MH bulbs. Because I am generally lazy I thought:: If I buy these I won't have to stop and get bulbs today. So I grabbed 2 of them and took them home. (I had one at home I got a while back)

 

I put them in and watched them fire up. WOW! I have never seen color like this in my tank. I haven't seen color like this in anyone's tank.

 

I took the opportunity to remove a lot of the drab softies I had rescued from other people over the years. I called a couple of friends with PC lit tanks and they came right over and took home all of the coral I removed. Now the tank has some real estate for new coral but it does look a little empty.

 

My coral looks so good I have taken the actinic's off of the system. They just don't need to be there. The coral loves these lights, bright color and great polyp extension lets me know they are happy.

 

Can you tell I like these bulbs? My Prop system will have these and my new system going in the living room of my home will be 4 of the 250 watt 20k.

 

I see why Dr Mac Raves About these bulbs.

[chideloh]

Looks good, Nathan. !!!!

 

I just hope the corals grow with your new lights.

[Aquariareview]

That was a concern that has kept me from going to a color temp of 20k until now. but Dr Mac says he gets great growth under these lights

[chideloh]

That's great !!!

[eddi]

Nathan,

 

I switched to XMs as well.  I had 2 Ushio 250W 10K and one 250W Radium and I went to 2 10K and 1 20K XM.  My initial impression, and I am way too lazy to take pictures and post them, is that the 10k are a bit on the yellow side and the 20k is not as blue as the Radium.  

 

However, yesterday was my first day with the new lights and I am actuallu acclimating them this time so I imagine it will be weeks before I see their true color.

[peacetypes]

I think that it looks very nice, but then agian the 20k is for the human eye not for the corals, but let me know what kind of growth you get with them because i do like the color

 

Robert

[Guest RED DOG]

Nathan,

 

    I'll take the 4x110 setup from you. I am setting up a couple of other tanks and can use the extra lights.

[Guest Wombat]

Hi,

 

I noticed the concern about growth rates in changing over to the new 20K bulbs versus other bulbs. I found a two part article by Steve Tyree that seems to indicate that much of the light spectrum that is measured by PAR in many bulbs is not used by the zooxanthellae. Most of the photsynthetic pigments seem to mainly absorb blue/violet light around the 450nm spectrum and this is exactly the spectrum you find on the XM 20K, the Radium 20K etc. The links to the articles are below. I'd be interested if anyone knows of other articles such as this and also others that deal with the correlation between lighting spectrum and coral pigmentation.

 

http://www.dfwmas.com/pdf_files/ReefJun02.pdf

 

http://www.dfwmas.com/pdf_files/ReefJul02.pdf

 

Simon

[peacetypes]

So could this suggesting that 20k is good for growth?

 

Robert

[Aquariareview]

sorry tony, I all ready got rid of them

[krish]

Wow,

That is blue.

I run 2 250W 6500K sakis on either side and a 250W 20K coralvue in

the middle of my 4*2*2 120G tank.

 

I had my better half comment that the 20K coralvue was blue.

Now the 20K XM is real blue.

 

I was going to swap out the sakis and introduce 10K XMs.

But looks like even the 10K is pretty white with those 440W of actinics.

 

Darn, this doesn't get any easier.

 

Anyone got either 1 or 2 250W 10Ks pullouts that i can borrow for a

day or 2 to see how it looks?

 

The yellow sakis need to go to the prop and clam tanks.

 

thanks

krish

[Aquariareview]

The Blue is not quite as blue to the naked eye as it is to the camera.

 

It looks like the reef 25 ft down looks when you dive. very clear with a hint of the water color around you. It looks very natural and it make the coral glow like nothing you have ever seen..

[AquariaUSA]

I have several dozen XMs running on various tanks. Although I like the look of the 20K, I have yet to figure out how to adjust my white balance on the Canon to take pics of tanks with 20Ks. Most of our clients love the blue look, but I like more of a whiter look personally, for it makes taking pics easier, and is much brighter. However, I do have a few frag/prop tanks lit by 20ks. The growth is the same from what I can see and the corals seem to hold color longer (when taking out of the tank, etc.) under 20ks. 10Ks do grow a heck of a lot more algaes, so might be switching the new holding tanks over to 20ks. I have always used VHO actinic supplementation with 10K bulbs on display tanks.

 

Glad you liked the bulbs We would all be in for more trouble if AB started making 20ks. hehe