Picked up some shrooms and zoas...

tangboy · Feb 1, 2011

So I am officially back into the reef hobby! I went by AM and picked out some random shrooms and zoas that were free floating around the tanks. I glued them on some "Islands" on my BB tank so we'll see what happens.

Not sure if I am happy with the color of my MH, it's just so white! It's the 10k that came with the lamp, should I go 14k for more of a blue? I can't even tell the actinics are on when the MH is fired up

Suggestions?

skinz78 · Feb 1, 2011

First off, THIS THREAD IS USELESS WITHOUT PIC'S! LOL :tongue:

I would go with the 14k Pheonix bulbs if you want more blue.

tangboy · Feb 2, 2011

I will get pics soon, I just hate using photo sights to upload pics

How's the growth under 14k?

jason.tammy · Feb 4, 2011

I agree with the 14k.If you like the deep water look go for 20k.Dont buy cheap bulbs,spend the money for a good brand like Phoenix,XM,Reeflux ect. Just my oppinion.

tangboy · Feb 4, 2011

Since it's a 40g Breeder I figure I don't need to go as extreme as the 20k, I will try a 14k Phoenix here in the future when I have saved up the $60 or so they run!

cee · Feb 4, 2011

SE? I'll sell you a Radium for a small fraction of what they cost new with plenty of hours left on them. You can even try them out and bring them back if you don't like the color. My favorite bulb hands-down and they are not as deep blue as most 20 k bulbs. If you have a DE fixture then I can't help you out.

Dave

Engloid · Feb 5, 2011

I actually have the 20k XM's. At first, I didn't like the blue color. I was used to the 10k's. I tend to like a more natural whitish color. However, with a little time, the blue on the 20k isn't nearly as noticeable. They tend to start out really strong blue and then lighten up some. I've got coralline algae that covers probably 95% of my rocks, so at this point, it's hard to tell if the light is putting out much blue or if the blue color in the tank is due to having so much coralline. No kidding...I haven't seen a tank in any fish store in the area that has so much coralline...and I remember back when I bought live rock that had little dots of coralline on it and so badly wanted it to spread.