Saltwater aquarium Lighting

[253 FISH]

Ok i was wondering on my 90 gallon saltwater tank i have 4 54watt t5 with 2 250 watt hqi metal helide. its a whole fixture

now on other tanks they look darker with more lighting and i was wondering why

My tank looks awsome but i want a little more darker lighting

what do i do change the bulbs change light fixture

 

[TJL]

Darker??? Meaning higher Kelvin temp??? What is the K rating on your MH bulb ??? If not 20K but 10-14-15K then try replacing with 20K first or have all T-5 lamps be Actinic...

Cheers, Todd

 

[mercenary-grunt]

the higher Kalvin or k rating the bluer the spectrum. one would assume that this is what you are talking of. and i agree with Todd, get a some higher K bulbs. don't go too overboard on the 20k bulbs. the lower K is what plants and corals use to grow. the higher k is what will bring out color.

 

[jezzeaepi]

Actually most corals actually use light in the 410-475nm range, which is the blue spectrum.

Are your bulbs SE or DE? 20k radiums and 14k phoenix's are popular blue looking bulbs in SE. I am pretty sure phoenix makes a 14k DE too.

What T5's are you using?

 

[253 FISH]

i have 4 t5 2 daylight and 2 atinic
my metal halide are 15k hqi de 250 watt

 

[Skimmy]

The man wants a bluer tank! (much cooler, imo)
german made Giesemann bulbs all around FTW!!!!

hqi:
20K-250DE-G Premium Aquatics - 20K-250DE-G Aquarium Supplies

t5:
SL-531010 Premium Aquatics - SL-531010 Aquarium Supplies

and FWIW, that is the exact combo i would use myself.


dont get too wraped up in what manufacturers say about the color of their M.H. bulbs, there is no industry standard, merely their own interpetation.