Power Compact how many K?

[rbarr110]

I am in the process of putting together a 40 gallon tank 36"x16"x15". I am going to use (2) 96 Watt PC bulbs, but am not sure what "size" to use for the lighting. They are listed from 5000K, 6700K, 8800K, and 10,000K.

I want to do soft corals with a handful of fish. What do you recommend?

I am assuming 1 daylight and 1 Actinic. Or both Actinic? Or two, 2 in 1 lights?

https://www.reefgeek.com/products/category_indexes/16-30_lighting_bulbs_-_pc_square.html

Thanks
Ryan

 

[RockyHeap]

I've run 4 x 96 watt PC's over my 135 for the last 5 years and have done ALL the combinations.

My impressions. Skip the 5k or 6700K right off the bat, don't even consider them as they're wayyyyy to yellow.

10K is a much nicer purer white, and the Smart bulbs which are half true 03 actinic and half 10K are nice too.

I'd start with one 10K bulb to run in the back of the tank, and then one 2 in 1 Smart bulbs in front. The actinics do help the corals glow a bit more, and if you want a deeper water look with more blue, you could run a full 03 actinic bulb up front.

Cheapest place to buy bulbs I found is AHsupply.com, his 10K 96 watt bulbs are only $33 each, and he sells full retro kits to wire up your own system.

Check 'em out.

http://www.ahsupply.com/bulbs.htm

I'll be making an order for bulbs soon myself. Heck shipping is only $8 for 4 bulbs too!

 

[BCT182]

I think I'd stick with one 10,000k and two .03 actinics. Or two and two. Just what I've found to work well.
Brett

 

[wrightme43]

I've 4 96 watt bulbs on my 75, 2 are 10,000k, 1 is a 50/50, and the last is a full atinic. This is what it looks like

 

[Katchupoy]

Ryan, like everybody says.... Go with 10k then 03 actinics. So you can have dusk and dawn effect...

Hey if you can afford another 96 watts.... then you will have 2x10k and 1x03actinic.

9:00 = actinic = on
10:00 = 10k = on

8:00 = 10k = off
9:00 = actinic = off

have fun...

 

[gobie]

I Ran A 55 Gal Reef For Years On Pc I Used Hamilton 2 96 Watt 10,000k And
2 7100 K Actinics It Gave A Nice Ice White Color.

 

[WaterDogs]

The general rule is 50/50 between daylights and Actinics. So if you have 4 bulbs then 2 are daylight and 2 are actinic. But some fine tune by not following this general rule of thumb.

Dwaine

 

[Elmo18]

With power compacts my preference (albeit is not for everyone, nor is it the law) are...in order of FRONT to BACK of the tank:

If 2 bulbs: 03 Actinic (front) with 10k White (back)

If 3 bulbs: 03 Actinic (front) with 10k (center) and 50/50 (back)

If 4 bulbs: 03 Actinic (front), 10k, 03 Actinic, 10k (back)

If you're running more than 6 PC bulbs in a hood....I advise..to go metal halides, as it will cost more in the long run to replace the PC bulbs as compared to a couple MH bulbs.

For more bulbs, I would alternate starting with an 03 Actinic in front, and ending with a 10k at the back. If you like a lightly different hue, the 8800 kelvin white bulbs are also nice.

- Elmo